TWO AUGUST DAYS IN DEAL AND SANDWICH, KENT - NOT LONG ENOUGH - GOOD TO VISIT
DEAL BY THE SEA, OVERLOOKING THE GOODWIN SANDS
Spent an uncomfortable day on the shingle beach, on the hottest day of the year so far, (34 degrees) but I loved it!
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| Deal beach, hottest day of the year |
We thought a seaside resort would be bound to have deck-chairs to sit in, but no, absolutely nothing.
The shingle shelves steeply, so you struggle down the slope with all your bags and the rug to sit on. Then you struggle back up to go, and that is even more difficult!
There is a fishing fleet at Deal too, and local Chipies all promote their fried Cod as being locally caught. We did not try the cod though, but its on my little list of things to do, next time
There is a fishing fleet at Deal too, and local Chipies all promote their fried Cod as being locally caught. We did not try the cod though, but its on my little list of things to do, next time
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| Fishing boats at Deal, pier in background |
WALMER CASTLE
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| Cannon overlooking the English Channel |
On our last afternoon, we drove along the coast a couple of miles, to Walmer Castle.
It is a beautiful building which you can visit and walk round inside where the great and the good used to live, including Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and the Duke of Wellington. Queen Victoria's bedroom is there, fully furnished, as is the apartment where the Duke of Wellington lived, and died. His death mask is not a pretty site!
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| The moat at Walmer Castle |
There is a moat and cannon pointing out to sea. Little daisies are now growing round the base of the cannon, times change and our warlike impulses (if we have any) are now focussed elsewhere.
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| Cannon wheel with daisies |
This castle is famous, of course, not only because there are lots of pubs called The Walmer Castle.
Like Deal castle, it was built in the time of Henry VIII, one of a chain of castles including Dover. Protection from those dreadful Spaniards and French, I guess.
Like Deal castle, it was built in the time of Henry VIII, one of a chain of castles including Dover. Protection from those dreadful Spaniards and French, I guess.
It is where the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports has his or her official residence, for instance Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother was a Lord Warden and stayed here often.
GARDENS AT WALMER CASTLE
I really wanted to see the famous gardens at the castle. Above is a link to the web site that gives a lot of information about its history.
I noticed that there were several gardeners busy, not the usual 'young pups' either.
They were mature, and one we spoke to said how they all looked forward to the weekends, because it was such hard work during the week.
They were mature, and one we spoke to said how they all looked forward to the weekends, because it was such hard work during the week.
VEGETABLE GARDEN
Lots of flowers in the veg garden, in fact more flowers than veg, but it is a bit late in the season for salad stuff and the cabbages were all protected by netting, so I guess like in London, the pesky pigeons are a pain.
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| Cabbages in the garden |
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| Are these lettuces gone to seed? |
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| Globe artichokes and calendula |
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| Cold frames are full of flowers |
PLANT SALE
Yes, you guessed it, I was tempted to buy two plants, hemerocalis (day lilies to you and me) and they are growing in 'hairy pots'! They can be planted straight into the garden, 'hairy pot' and all. They are not planted yet, I am waiting for the heat to lessen, and the soil to get a bit more moist.
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| Day lily in its hairy pot |
The Day Lilies in hairy pots sound interesting where will you plan them, I wonder. Don't know whether you recall, but you bought a day lily for us & it has a long bloom season, it is still blooming now. Has a pale yellow almost lemon colored flower. Seems to be very happy in our soil.
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