Ah, spring fever has hit Kent County, and the blossoms are in full bloom and the greenery, which never really lost its hue during the winter months, is now thicker and lusher. We are enjoying the bright days by making good use of the British Heritage membership that we recently purchased for 70 pounds. This pass literally allows us free access to hundreds of heritage sites across Britain, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland. We were initially introduced to the idea after a visit to Stonehenge while Molly was here for a week over Easter break. A map of all of the historical sites was provided to us when we signed up and we were amazed at how many were located so close to Dartford and subsequently an easy train or bus ride away. Since then, we have been to Dover Castle, Down House the home of Charles Darwin, and Eltham Palace.
Dover Castle was the most picturesque castle we had seen so far (apart from Leeds which had the best gardens) as it was situated on top of a hill above the white cliffs and overlooking the English Channel. We had a fabulous view of the ferries approaching and then leaving the docks after we climbed up into the turrets.
They offered a tour of the secret wartime tunnels, which as you can imagine, Channing and Molly were keen to see. However, the timing of the tour and the departure of our ferry to Calaise meant we wouldn’t have enough time to explore beneath the castle and make our sailing. We decided that we would have to make a trip back to Dover castle in the future to see the underground hospital, the barracks for over 2,000 soldiers, and experience life as it was lived by 700 personnel based there during WW 2.
Charles Darwin’s place made me feel homesick as it was a massive home in the country in which he and his wife, Emma, his first cousin oddly enough, lived for 40 years and raised their 11 children. Not that I ever entertained the notion of a family of that size, but there was such a warm and loving feel to the mansion even though it was only their former possession that visitors could see. The famous scientist worked on his revolutionary theories there and he wrote “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection” which rattled the Victorian world and has influence our thinking ever since.
He also had an outdoor laboratory, which were two greenhouses, where he made many of his discoveries. It was funny because just the other day, Rick and I were talking about how we have always wanted to add a greenhouse onto our garage in Douro so our tour to Darwin’s place inspired us to get plans in order when we return home. Oh yes, and we took lots of pictures, as a reminder too.
Eltham Palace was the former home of millionaires Stephen and Virginia Courtauld and was built in the 1930’s. It was a glamorous palace done up in Art Deco complete with pink leather upholstered chairs, maple veneered walls, aluminum-leaf ceiling, and black and silver doors portraying animals and birds. Virginia had a vaulted bathroom, with gold-plated bath taps, and I personally wanted to end the tour right there and just hang out in her fabulous loo. And for those of you that know me well, know I have a passion for exceptional powder rooms. Good lighting, a heated floor, no man hair in the tub, or toilet lids left up, hey, can you blame a girl?
The fact that their home was equipped with all the latest modern conveniences such as under floor heating, a built-in audio system, and a centralized vacuum cleaner, made it very unique. What I got the greatest charge out of was that they had a centrally-heated sleeping quarters for their pet, Mah-Jongg, a ring-tailed lemur. In the floor of his quarters were an escape hole and a tiny ladder from which he could climb down and into the lower level of the house and wander freely throughout the mansion. Not sure how I would feel about a lemur crawling on my bed in the night. And as I write this, I just know I will be getting some cheeky and inventive responses from you folks about Mah-Jongg.
After the tour, we sat in the sunshine and sipped our tea amongst the palace’s 19 acres of gardens which included a medieval bridge, a sunken rose garden, and a rock garden sloping down to the moat and we talked about what sites we wanted to visit next.
