English – The Travelling Ginger

For our last day, we enjoyed a lovely birthday breakfast for Mum before packing up the car and heading home via Chartwell and Hever Castle. Unfortunately, our visit to Chartwell was brief (definitely not just to collect a National Trust stamp for the passport), so we couldn’t explore the inside of Winston Churchill’s family home. However, the gardens were stunning and truly reflected his love of landscape and nature. It’s definitely a place we would love to return to when we have more time.

We arrived at Hever Castle, as always, just a the heavens opened. Luckily it was just a quick downpour, and we were treated to glorious sunshine for the rest of our visit. The childhood home of Anne Boleyn is somewhere I have wanted to visit for a long time, and it didn’t disappoint. Although it was smaller than I had imagined, it was beautifully crafted in Tudor architecture and covered in ivy.

I recommend grabbing an audio guide to explore the castle. You can step into the room where it is believed Anne decided to marry King Henry VIII, as well as the room where he slept during his visits to Hever Castle. Due to his fear of being assassinated, he even brought his personal locksmith to install a special lock for his bedchamber.

The gardens are beautifully designed and well-maintained. We saw many dedicated gardeners throughout the area, meticulously tending to the plants to ensure everything looks its best. William Waldorf Astor designed the garden between 1904 and 1908, and it is now recognized as one of the world’s great gardens. The landscaped grounds include a formal Italian garden, a historic Tudor garden, and a large lake, as well as mazes to explore. Spanning 125 acres, the estate also showcases a herbaceous border and a rose garden, offering visitors a diverse and enriching experience in nature.

The drive home was long ,thanks to multiple crashes and diversions, but we really have had a fantastic week exploring Kent, and hopefully these blogs have given some inspiration for your own trip there.

Day 4 was all about Chatham, but we decided to have an en route stop at Aylesford, because Mum read they had a cute bridge. This tiny village is indeed picturesque and is said to be one of the oldest in England. The free car park, which offers views of the Grade I listed bridge, is an added bonus! As usual, it was raining, so we walked up the road to The Friars Café at Aylesford Priory for some shelter and a flat white. Fortunately, after our quick stop, the blue sky returned, which made for a much nicer backdrop for our bridge photos.

Part of Mum’s birthday present was a the Call the Midwife Tour at Chatham Docks, but before we joined that, we were able to explore some of HMS Cavalier – a CA-class destroyer. Launched in 1944, she saw service in the Arctic, Western Approaches and British Pacific Fleet before finally paying off at Chatham in 1972.

As Santa has absolutely no interest in CTM, he went off on another tour of HM submarine Ocelot, where he learnt that water was rationed, particularly if they were going on a a spying operation, as they never knew how long they would be gone. The crew had only a small bowlful of water per week for washing and shaving, and each man had just two pairs of pants. You can only imagine the smell with 70 men living in such close quarters!

We met with our group and Irene, who was our guide for the CTM tour. The tour focuses on the exterior locations of the series, specifically the streets and buildings that make up the tenements of Poplar. Some locations were instantly recognizable, while others required photos to show how they were transformed for the scenes. Irene was extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic, referencing specific episodes that were filmed in those exact places and providing insights from the production process.

The tour concluded with a secret location, accessible only to tour participants. We entered through a locked door, behind which was an exclusive exhibition featuring many original artifacts and props from the show.

We finished off the day with a quick swing by Rochester, because who doesn’t love a whip round Cathedral and a Castle, especially when they’re both free (Cathedral to everyone.. Castle to EH members) After that, we headed back to Whitstable for another sunset and an absolutely delicious Thai meal.