My trip to Kent, England

On the third day, I took most of my photos. There were so many beautiful and interesting things to see. First we visited Hailsham Grange, a former vicarage from the early 18th century with an incredibly wonderful garden. It is not very big but effortlessly merged the formality of British gardening traditions with wild growth and carefully selected color schemes. The owner and creator of the garden, Noel Thompson, graciously leads visitors through his domain and explains the ideas behind his garden. The visit is rounded off with tea or coffee. I was as delighted by the hospitality as by the beauty of the garden.

Hailsham Grange

a formal area in front of the main house

Hailsham Grange

a more natural area with a lovely spot to sit and enjoy the garden

Our next stop was Old Clergy House, the first ever house to be acquired by the national Trust of England (they paid ten pounds for it at the time). The house was built by a yeoman (small, free landowner for all non-Brits) and was later sold to the church as a vicarage. Inside, a woman in a traditional farmer wife’s costume explained about the architecture and answered all our questions. Outside, a glorious garden, much wilder than the other ones we had seen, surrounded the cottage.

Old Clergy House

I loved the old timber framing. It’s so different from the timber framing I know from Germany

Old Clergy House

Colorful flowerbeds surround the house

Old Clergy House

Judas tree (Cercis siliquastrum)

Last but not least, we visited Hever Castle, where Anne Boleyn grew up. The more formal cut boxwoods cluster near the castle while the wild Rhododendron compositions spread out to the side in a huge park. There also is a lovely lake at the bottom of the garden with a Chinese pagoda. I marveled most at a poplar so wide that two people’s arms wouldn’t have been long enough to embrace it.

Hever Castle

Hever Castle, the home of Anne Boleyn

Hever Castle

Rhododendrons in bloom – most marvelous

I hope you still like my pictures because there’s two more days to go. 😉
Let me know in the comments where you prefer to travel to,
my signature

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

If you comment, we will store the data you provide to ensure that your words are atributed to you.
We will never pass on this information to anyone.