Hi and welcome to our visit to Scotney Castle in Kent
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as I said Scotney Castle is in the south east corner of the UK in the county of Kent
and if you're in the area then why not check out Sissinghurst Castle, Tenterden
or head into East Sussex to check out Bodiam Castle and Bateman's; Rudyard Kipling's former home
but we're here to check out Scotney Castle
and on our visit, we're going to discover the old castle and moat
the gardens, Scotney House and the Walled Garden
So without further ado let's go and explore
and we start in the courtyard with the ticket office, the cafe and the gift shop
and I'll pop a link in the corner to the National Trust website, as not all features are open all year round
but for us we're going to make our way past the house; don't worry we will be returning later
and make our way towards the old castle
Scotney Castle is set within the High Weald of Kent, in an area of outstanding national beauty
and the old castle and moat lay at the bottom of the hill
and the gardens look beautiful in their autumn golden colors
but we can't wait to head back in spring
did I mention Scotney Castle was moated?
but as pretty as it looks now, I find it hard to believe it was a defensive masterpiece
and now time for some of that history stuff
Records from 1137 lists the first owner as Lambert de Scoteni
but it wasn't until 1378
when Roger Ashburnham had the first castle built
as a fortified home against the French during the hundred years war
but the castle may never have been finished
and in 1580 its south wing was rebuilt in an Elizabethan style
and in 1630 the eastern range was rebuilt in Inigo Jones style
and in 1778 the estate was bought by Edward Hussey
and it was his grandson
also called Edward, who built the house on the hill between 1835 and '43
and it was his decision, to create a centrepiece for his Picturesque Garden,
to purposefully distress the eastern wing of the old castle
to create that ruined look. Now let's take a look around
at times it does look like a fairytale ruined castle
and the National Trust did a really good job of making it look a little overrun
while keeping it perfectly manicured at the same time
there are a number of footpaths that lead through the Scotney Castle estate
and when we return in spring we'll take the one on the opposite side of the moat
which when we look back will give us excellent views of the castle
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now at times things get a little confusing
This is referred to as Old Scotney Castle
and the house on the hill is referred to as New Scotney Castle or just Scotney Castle
but also Scotney House. I think I'll keep it to Scotney House
and now we're going to take a walk back through the gardens up towards that Scotney House
Just one more look at the old castle across the moat
although you can see it as you climb up the hill towards the house
As I mentioned earlier the house was built by Edward Hussey designed by Anthony Salvin
in a tudor revival style, popular at the time
and it does create a rather impressive country house
and it remained in the Hussey's care until 1970
when Christopher Hussey left it to the National Trust
they in turn converted some of the upper rooms to private flats
and one of the notable tenants was a certain Margaret Thatcher
he used it as a getaway from Westminster
It also remained the private residence of Christopher's widow; Betty
When she passed away in 2007 the home was opened to the public
We now arrive at the main stone entrance
and I think it's only right that now we take a look inside
and the first room we discover is the hall
and I believe access, at present, is limited to the ground floor
there's a faint whiff of Agatha Christie about the place
maybe a Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot
One of the things I like about Scotney is, it's fitted out with period features from the family collection
as we move out of the hall we take a sneak peek at the library
We then step into the study where Christopher Hussey edited Country Life
our next room is the library
and wonderfully ornate it is too
and we notice a picture of a cat
There'll be more of that story a little later
We also notice there's a drink or two dotted around
how very could convivial, and perhaps more entertaining than educational
as we continue to explore Scotney house, we find that our next room is the dining room
and you can imagine the ornate banquets and feasts that were held here
maybe the odd shooting party too
Once again I love the attention to detail
and the other thing that makes these National Trust properties so special, are the volunteers
they bring life to the stories of those that lived in this house
and as you may have guessed, this house makes the perfect set for a movie
and in 1979 it featured in Yanks with Richard Gere
and also featuring a Joan Hickson
who later went on to play Miss Marple
and now we enter the small dining room
a place for those more informal meals
and as we journey through the home
we start to discover the more modest side of life
when Betty lived here
and another little detail, you may notice the windows left open a crack
we'll discover a little more when we step outside
but you'll notice the room bells are here from when it was a fully fledged country house
and once we step outside the kitchen we find ourselves in the courtyard
and the answer to that open window
the secret entrance for the house cat
and now we find ourselves at the gift shop
and the day's almost over
but not before we discover the Walled Garden
built in 1840 this one-acre hexagonal garden provided fresh fruit and vegetables for the household
Restored in 2007 it now provides fruit for sale and cut flowers for the house
I think one of the standout features of the garden is the Vinehouse which needs a little bit of TLC
Anyway, that brings our day to a close
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thanks so much for watching, stay safe, stay well and happy travels