Leeds Castle
Located in Kent about 40 miles south-east from central London, Leeds Castle ♥♥ is a grand destination for a day trip.
The grounds are expansive and appealing, containing several gardens and ponds, an aviary, a falconry field, a maze, a couple of playgrounds, a picnic area, and several refreshment points. There are ducks and geese everywhere, not just in a separate duckery.
The castle itself is beautiful to behold from several vantage points. Its rooms are furnished in both medieval and early 20th century styles, but are probably no more than nice. It’s what’s outside that is the main attraction.
Just walking around the grounds is a pleasure, both trough wooded areas and formal sculpted gardens. The maze is quite challenging – getting to its center turned out to be rather hard; the exit from it is through a quite amazing underground grotto. The aviary contains several dozen of species: Parrots, cockatoos, toucans, etc. There are also owls and falcons nearby, with daily displays of falconry (weather permitted). Recently opened Knights Realm playground has a couple of apparatus that the kids cannot get enough of.
Special events, such as Food and Wine festivals, and so on are held throughout the year.
Tickets are valid for a full year after issue, making it easy to come back.