September 2019 - Trip to Kent Part 2

We continued our weekend in Kent with visiting on Lullingstone Villa on the Sunday morning. I don't know what it is, but I can never get enough of anything Roman. It fascinates me how nearly two thousand years on, the Romans have a grip on us in England stronger than ever since they left. And the fact that we are so lucky to have so much left about them too.

Lullingstone Villa is run by English Heritage, and is currently closed for restoration which is a shame. But if you're heading to the area, keep an eye on the website which will update when the site has reopened. It was no means the biggest, fanciest or most interesting of the Roman Villa's I've been too, but it had a wealth of information on several levels of platforms that gave you a really good vantage point over the site. It also had a light show, which highlighted parts to you, as well a giving you more of the history of the Villa in a different medium, which I actually quite enjoyed. I hope the conservation work they are doing helps to make this an even more immersive and interesting visit!

As we were leaving, we went under this beautiful railway viaduct, but annoyingly there was no where to stop and get out to have a proper look at it. We then headed over to Eynesford Castle, a rare Norman castle built in the enclosure style, rather than the more traditional motte & bailey the Normans used to build. There's quite a lot of it left and we had a quick wander round before the rain started. It's free entry, and if you've got a dog that enjoys Norman history, you can bring them too!

We then headed to Rochester, where we first popped in and had a look inside Rochester Cathedral, which apparently is the second oldest cathedral in England. (Canterbury is the oldest). It was nice, nothing we hadn't seen before anywhere, but still a nice place to wander round, the altar being a highlight, framed by the stained glass windows around it. There was also the Knife angel there, which absolutly blew my mind. The angel is made from over a hundred thousand, yes you read that right, a hundred thousand blunted knives. These are knives that have been seized or handed in to police forces across the country. I was astounded by that, I know knife crime in the UK had been steadily getting worse over the past few years but the fact that a hundred thousand knives had been removed from our streets is incredible. And to think it's probably only a drop in the ocean. It was a very sobering moment to think about. The knife angel is touring the UK, sharing its message of how much knife crime and violence affects our nation. The Knife Angel is in Sandwell in October, before moving to Seaham in November and Perth in December. Stay up to date with it's travels on thier website.  https://www.britishironworkcentre.co.uk/the-knife-angel-official/

Here's some of the ruins that were opposite the Knife Angel, I think they were priory ruins, but I can't remember exactly, but they had these beautiful rose bushes planted into them, which gave the air such a lovely smell.

We then headed across to Rochester Castle. This was good fun, I really enjoyed my visit here. There was a little shop/museum as you went in, and you then just wandered around the castle to your hearts content. There was all these interesting little details in the arches and columns, plus it gave a nice view from the top (aside from the strong winds that nearly blew me off the top!) Entry starts at £8.50, and was well worth the money, especially as we were the only people there visiting, so we had the place to ourselves. You know what they always say, if you're the only one at the castle, then it becomes your castle!

One small word of warning, some of the steps were steep and slippery, and if you've got a nervous disposition, don't look to closely into some of the arches or on the nets, there was a lot of dead pigeons about!

The top floor gave you a great view over the cathedral too. 

And with that, another weekend gone! Why do weekends off never seem to last as long as the weekends that I work?