Leeds Castle

With Smee having missed the fun that was Go Ape, we had a spare day's car rental on our hands.  A few options were laid out on the table..... should we use it to stock up on groceries, should we explore restaurants/neighbourhoods/landmarks in outer London or should we just cancel the whole thing and forfeit our booking fee (no, thanks!).  In the end, Smee and I settled on visiting Leeds Castle which incidentally is nowhere near Leeds (the city) but rather in the nearby county of Kent. 

JT had told us all about the joy she had at the castle and better yet, she lent me her annual pass!  Woo hoo!  At £16.50 per adult entry in to the grounds and park, they better well be giving out an annual pass.  (Anyone wishing to borrow mine in the future, just give me a yell.) 

The first thing Smee and I noticed after we parked the car was that almost everyone else had a kid in tow.  I think we spotted only two other childless couples during our entire visit.  Next time, I'll bring my rent-a-kid!

Just before entering the park, we were greeted by a most friendly peacock who was standing guard near the public toilets. The path to the castle was a perfection of green which you forget to appreciate until you return to drought-ridden Oz.  The previous owner of the castle had a fondness for birds and many were on display including these Mallard ducks. 

Smee posing with some swans.  More and more swans.  Uh-oh... a swan who looks like he's about to attack Smee from behind.

The castle's barbican and yours truly outside the castle. 

I won't bore you with pictures of the interior but I will show you this:

A bed with a high-rise canopy!  Not the first I've seen, not the last I'll be seeing but I thought it was kyoot, that's all.

Smee just enjoyed being near the birdies.

In the first photo he is thinking about roast goose.

In the second photo.... how to roast a swan. 

Here we are pretending to own the castle.

One of the cool bits on offer at Leeds Castle is the falconry show.  We saw an owl who swooped but I didn't manage any photos.  I have to say though, he was so funny looking with his frontal eyes and surprised face! *hoot hoot!*

 Here's Jack the Buzzard.  Just your everyday big ol' bird.

Here's Jack the Buzzard attacking a moving a target - not the little boy, just the little boy's fake rabbit.

Here's Darlene.  I have no idea what kind of bird she is.  But she was hilarious breaking through the crowd to get to the display area.  She walks just like how a lady should. 

Here's Darlene demonstrating how she kills potential snake predators.  She picks them up in her beak and *slams* them to the ground. You see, there's a psycho woman in all of us.

The vineyard's entrance.  Smee pretending to own the vineyard.  A pumpkin patch!

I do like hedge mazes.  Look at that silly smirk on my face.

Smee's face as he entered the maze. 









Smee's happiness after we reached the centre of the maze and entered the grotto. 

Oooooooooooooh... scary face in the wall of the grotto...

Ooooooooooooh.... scary women in the walls of the grotto.... oooooooh... this stuff would give kids nightmares!

Oh, here's another buzzard tied down to his perch just for us to peer at him.

No, these are not S&M accessories, they're displays in the Dog Collar Museum.  The spiky ones were used to protect dogs from wolf attacks. 

Oh and another thing at Leeds Castle?  They have a Go Ape course!  Hmmmm *ponders about going back soon*.