Bodiam Castle

I was still staying in Kent on Friday so I decided to visit Bodiam Castle.  You will know by know that I love old houses, castles and history so this was a good day out for me.  I had hoped to take the Kent and East Sussex Railway to get there but unfortunately it doesn't run on Friday - just my luck, so car it was.

Bodiam Castle was built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, who received permission from the King to build a crenelated castle on the site and there is a great deal of debate over the reasons why it was built.  The majority think that it was built to reflect Sir Edward's wealth and power in the County and not for military reasons; it was built to reflect his new found standing.

Anyway, whatever the reasons and though it is now a ruin, it is visited by nearly 200,000 people per year and is very photographed because of its setting in the moat.

South side showing the postern gate.  There was bridge over the moat here.

East side - the arched chapel window is to the right.

North side and entrance to the castle.

The moat was well stocked with koi carp -

Hoping for food or just breathing?

Once inside I spent a couple of hours exploring the layout of the castle and towers at each corner,  I climbed two of the towers up spiral staircases which had a hand rail to assist me. 

The views were amazing -

Looking down into the central courtyard -

... and into the distance - note the 'Oast' in the distant left

Not a Kentish 'Oast' as it is in West Sussex!!

 I explored all the 'rooms' and imagined what they must have looked like -

The Great Hall

With the kitchen, the pantry and buttery, the Great Hall took up all the South side of the castle.

What a great time I had and on the way out I passed this more modern piece of
architecture -

A pill box built in 1940

This was built as part of a defensive line along the River Rother, which would have been a natural tank barrier in case of a German invasion.  Apparently it was manned by ten men from the Canadian Army and the Home Guard until about 1944.

I came home from Kent via Cambridge for a family get together which was great fun topped off by my younger son saying that he was taking my grandson to see this at the Cambridge Botanic Gardens.  So I tagged along!

The Titan Arum

It flowers every 10 years and smells of rotten flesh to attract Carrion Beetles (not many of them in Cambridge!) to pollinate it.  However as it was on its second day the smell was not too strong.  I was really excited by this and it finished my short break off really well.