England - Sep18 - Leeds Castle

One of my guidebooks said Leeds Castle was one of the prettiest in England so of course we had to see it.  It is roughly between Chartwell and Canterbury so it was a convenient stop.  It is well worth visiting and we were glad we did. 

The walk from the parking lot to the castle area was very pretty.  It reminded me a lot of the Botanical Gardens of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

A nice view of the castle from across the pond.  The Keep part of the castle is on its own island to the left.

Leeds Castle is in Kent, England.  A castle has been on the site since 1086. In the 13th century it came into the hands of King Edward I, for whom it became a favourite residence; in the 16th century, Henry VIII used it as a dwelling for his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. The castle today dates mostly from the 19th century and is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds.

Lady Baillie bought the castle in 1926 for £ 180,000. She redecorated the interior.   During the early part of World War II the castle was used as a hospital where Lady Baillie and her daughters hosted burned Commonwealth airmen as part of their recovery. Upon her death in 1974, Lady Baillie left the castle to the Leeds Castle Foundation, a private charitable trust whose aim is to preserve the castle and grounds for the benefit of the public.  It has been open to the public since 1976.

We crossed another pond in a boat to an area where they had a maze, garden and a Battle of Britain presentation.

I downloaded this neat aerial shot of Leeds Castle from Wikipedia.

We really enjoyed visiting here and would recommend it if you are touring England.