We spent a weekend away a couple of weeks ago, staying in Kent to see Santa at Leeds Castle but wanted to find something else locally to do, and Ightham Mote was a national trust property we’d not visited before!
It was cold and crisp but lovely day and we wandered around the grounds doing a little Victorian Christmas trail, where there were random facts about Christmas in the ‘olden days’ as Athena puts it!
I love this picture, Athena took it of us both when we were strolling around, and for once there is a picture of me on a day out!
Ightham Mote is a medieval manor house, with a moat around it, with its origins dating from the 1300’s. There is a display board inside that shows how the house has grown over the centuries, and the rooms are done up to show how the rooms would have been used. I’d love to go back and explore more when some of the other rooms are open too.
The house itself was gorgeous inside, but I didn’t take any pictures as we were too busy exploring! They’d done it up as it would have been in a Victorian Christmas, with huge real trees decorated classically, garlands over the fireplaces and long tables set up for Christmas dinners – it was lovely!
In the grounds there is a playground made entirely of wood and rope, with little bridges over streams and stepping stones and all sorts of fun things, the kids adored playing on it and we had to drag them away to head off to Leeds Castle to see Father Christmas!
Ightham Mote is near Sevenoaks in Kent, their website is here if you want to find out more. For more days out in kent take a look at Ashleigh’s post with 50 ideas!