Chiddingstone Castle Kent Review

Chiddingstone Castle
Chiddingstone, Kent

www.chiddingstonecastle.org.uk

Reviewed by Amanda Hayes

We were looking forward to visiting Chiddingstone Castle as its less than 30 minutes away from us, but we have never been. We had fantastic sunny day weather wise, so packed a small picnic and set off through the Sussex and Kent countryside to arrive at a long, stately home type gravel drive.

At the end of the drive is the “castle” set in its own grounds with fantastic views across to the church in the nearby village. The car park asks for a donation of two pounds towards the upkeep of the castle. I thought this was really good value for money as you then had use of the grounds, café, shop, toilets and picnic benches. It really is a gorgeous spot for a picnic, with a river running through it and lots of birds and small wildlife to spot. You can also get day fishing permits for £10, and there were several fishermen enjoying the sun. Entry to the castle itself is £4 for children (aged 5-13) and £8 for adults.

On entering we were greeted by an extremely knowledgeable lady who gave us an overview of the house. It is then that we found out it was not a castle as such, but had been built to look like one to maintain an appearance of a wealthy family residing in it. On asking a few more questions we got a detailed history of the building and its owner, it was fascinating and told with real warmth.

The house is split into two sections, part is laid out with collections from the owner Denys Eyre Bower and part is laid out to show the house as it would have been lived in. Both were equally as interesting. Denys had collected some really unusual items in his lifetime and there are rooms dedicated to Japanese, Egyptian, Jacobite and Buddhist items. The Japanese collection is particularly interesting with swords, armour and lacquer ware. You follow the house through and see various rooms such as the study, bedroom and servants quarters then end at the Victorian kitchen. This is recreated particularly well and even has costumes to try on. There is also a school room where children can play with various themed items e.g. dress up as a mummy and write their name in Hieroglyphics.

On Thursdays and Fridays the castle is closed to the public and does school visits for children to learn about how Victorians lived, Ancient Egypt and look at the collections. I think this is a great concept and from the notes in the visitor’s book the children seemed to enjoy it too.

Past the kitchen is a lovely little café and shop with a walled courtyard eating area as well as an indoor one for cooler days. We didn’t eat there as we had brought a picnic but the sandwiches are made to order and looked fresh and tasty. There was also a good selection of homemade cakes.

From the café you go out through the café into the grounds and around to the Orangery. The grounds really are lovely but I was hoping for a large garden area bursting with colour but there is only a rose garden with the rest of the grounds mainly laid to lawn or woodland. Their colour is mainly daffodils and bluebells. We took the woodland walk along the river and back to the picnic area, you can also walk to Chiddingstone village where there is a pub serving food, shop and church, but my son’s little legs were getting tired.

We sat out and watched the birds, fishermen and other visitors and had our picnic in the sun. It was amazingly peaceful and made for relaxing Sunday afternoon.

The castle is also available to hire as a wedding venue.

Rating: 4.5/5

Tickets cost £4 for children aged 5-13, children under 5 are free, adults £8 and family ticket £21.50.

For more information, opeining times and up to date tickets pricing visit www.chiddingstonecastle.org.uk.

Chiddingstone Castle, Hill Hoath Road, Chiddingstone, Edenbridge, Kent, TN8 7AD
01892 870347