Castle in the Rain

Our dear friend Matt hasn't had as much opportunity us to venture beyond the confines of Olde London Towne, and so we were pleased to take a day-trip with him out to Leeds Castle . . . which, of course, is in the county of Kent just an hour south-east of London and NOT in the city of Leeds, UK. That's a mistake you can only make once, because your significant other will have murdered you after schlepping to the wrong place. When we left Victoria Coach Station, the driver made a joke about Brianne fussing over Matt making sure he had his ticket in order, saying "It's not every day you find a mother like that."

Leeds Castle is known as a lady's castle because of it's delicate beauty and fine views. The reputation is well-deserved, it's a lovely place, despite the drizzle that hovered over us all day. The grounds are impeccable and quite expansive, being one of the few tourist castles not to have had it's sizable land encroached upon. There are a great many birds that live amongst the grounds such as ducks, geese, and swans. The black swans are an iconic symbol of the castle itself. We were so pleased to find the little fuzzy one.

In addition to the wild local birds on the grounds, there is also an aviary of tropical birds such as parrots, toucans, and macaws. They also keep a range of birds of prey like owls and vultures. We saw a rather up-close exhibition of these birds, as it was too rainy at the time to have them flying about.

We braved the hedge maze, one of the best I've ever seen. After we all got a bit separated and lost, Matt made it to the centre first and alternately taunted us and guided us to his location. The exit of the maze goes through and underground grotto of mood-lighting, sculptures and sound effects.We also revisited our childhood silliness on the kid's jungle gym. They sure know how to construct them here. A lovely trip despite the rain.