A Corner of Surrey and Kent

Yesterday we visited a tiny corner of Surrey and Kent. It took quite a while to get there with London traffic, but all the sites were within minutes of each other. We went first to see the London Temple with its beautiful grounds. They are so well-cared-for; I saw a gardener working soil that looked good enough to eat (almost).

The second stop was at Hever Castle, the ancestral home of Anne Boleyn owned most recently by the American Waldorf-Astor family. We proceeded on to Penshurst Place, home of the Sydney family. It has a spectacular great hall that has survived since the Middle Ages (no photography allowed inside, unfortunately). The hall was the site of the Inigo-Montoya sword fight in The Princess Bride: "...you killed my father, prepare to die."

The final site was Chartwell, the country home of Winston Churchill. It is one of my favorite houses because it is so homey (homely as they say here). It is so comfortable and feels like a place that you could move right into, like comfortable old shoes.

Ringers, Kris, Em and Madeline at the London Temple

The girlies on the temple grounds

Lunch time at Hever Castle

Penshurst Great Hall (from the internet)

Forbidden (stolen) fruit is always tastiest --
the wonderful orchards at Penshurst

The girlies at Chartwell

It was a nice day. It looks like the weather will be good and we will go to the City today. More later.

OXO

D.