Page 61 - Woman's Weekly - New Zealand (January 2020)

NOTES
it was even busier, with cute
fishing boats reflected in the
water, and quaint rows of tall,
narrow huts converted into
restaurants and art and craft
shops. Mussels and oysters are
big there and, at harbourside
stalls, old men in long white
aprons were cracking shells
open with professional ease.
Along the seafront, people
lay in the shade of wooden
breakwaters, or got sociable
at the Old Neptune pub right
beside the pebbly beach, or
sat on the edge of the harbour
wall, hopefully dangling fishing
lines. Parents paddled with
their children near a fishing boat
listing in the low-tide shallows.
And then the sun set in glorious
red and orange, to the universal
delight of the audience scattered
along the seashore.
Not all of Kent’s treasures
are on the coast. We ventured
inland to visit Leeds Castle
which, confusingly, is nowhere
near Leeds, but a 35km drive
from Canterbury across the
lovely Kent Downs. It’s had
many incarnations since it was
built 900 years ago, most of
them at the hands of women,
from Catherine of Aragon all
the way up to Olive, Lady Baillie, prey centre featuring dozens
who renovated it in the 1920s.
Surrounded by a moat, it’s as
lovely inside as it is impressive
outside, and there’s history here, the magnificent Siberian eagle
both major, from Henry VIII
to Northern Ireland peace
talks, and minor, a Dog Collar
An insider’s guide to… Kent
WHERE TO STAY: The Haywain at Bramling coach
house is welcoming and comfortable. Saturday
night karaoke is taken very seriously.
MUST DO: Get lost as you drive around. Then you’ll
come across delights such as pretty little Eynsford,
or Fordwich, Britain’s smallest town.
Museum spanning 500 years
of canine neckwear.
Out in the extensive gardens,
there’s an elaborate maze, a
grotto, and all sorts of other
amusements, plus a birds of
of feathery creatures from a
cute kestrel all the way up to
a Russian eagle. For me, Stella
owl was the star, but honestly,
glamour is everywhere in Kent.
You just have to look.
Clockwise from above:
Leeds Castle’s distinctly
feminine interior; Stella
the owl; and the fortress’
picturesque moat.