Castling Queenside
This walk picks up from a previous one that made it to Hever station but not the castle. I realised I could do a number of grand homes in the Eden Valley and, in the course of planning, again deferred an actual visit by going in the direction of Tonbridge and arriving too early. Although Hever was not generous with its appearance, Chiddingstone and Penshurst Park gave more freely and despite lacking any great hill to climb, there are good views to be had and more of those bluebell woods.
This was a completion project rather than a convenient day trip and neither Hever or Tonbridge make great sense to reach from Burgess Hill. Nevertheless, the High Weald must be visited. Sandwiched between the North and South Downs, geology alone will offer you something different.
I might have to do some work to balance time and economy with a train/bus route. Hever is not particularly well served. Timing is crucial to get to it within 2 hours and often necessitates and East Croydon change. This feels a bit too much of a diversion to the capital. Return from Tonbridge asks for decision via Edenbridge or London Bridge. Having accidentally purchased the former at the ticket office, no-one checked it on the train I caught. Know also that Edenbridge has two stations on different lines...
Leaving Hever Station you can follow the route of the Eden Valley Walk or the specific red signage to the castle. The latter footpath took me through some attractive sheep fields. I cut the corner of Hever Road hoping that being closer to the river Eden might give me a look at the castle's north side. It didn't and I went back to the church which sits at the main entrance. It was school and the centre of Hever was a bustle of car and child movement. At the junction is the Henry VIII pub. His face on the sign is somewhat unsettling when you consider the demise of poor Anne Boleyn. Hever was her childhood and family's home. The much older castle was from the 1270 and would have been a motte and bailey design. Much further on in the royal story, it was given to Anne of Cleves.
The Eden Valley Walk then continues through the churchyard and parallel with the visitors drive for a time. Still not a glimpse. After the south side of Park Wood, I found myself walking on the wrong side of a field of llamas and alpacas. I thought I might get back on track by the houses but ended up backtracking.
Going North on Hill Hoath Road will take you to the back of Chiddingstone Castle. The grounds are free to visitors and you could enter here. Alternatively, continue to the front entrance. between the cottages and the road, a view opens to the north. I was compelled to buy plants and marmalade from the Old Forge. Chiddingstone is tudor and once timber-framed. It has been restyled and much altered to be the 'castle' it is today. The eccentric owner who died in 1977 left the collection within it in trust, with the wish that public should benefit.
The grounds of the castle are quite compact and I took a stroll, with the place to myself. It felt almost forbidden to have the morning sun, birdsong and solitude. I stood in the 'orangery' with its fancy glass roof and a dragonfly settled on the woodwork. A thrush bounced around the woodland ahead of me. Finally cross the bridge and exit into Chiddingstone itself. The tea rooms at the castle open at 11 and so I went to the Tulip Tea Rooms on the Tudor high street. Chiddingstone is nearly all owned by the National Trust and there is a certain 'model village' atmosphere to the place. Don't miss a visit to the 'Chiding stone', signposted a little on the right. I sat upon this sandstone outcrop and tried to reconcile today's peace with the proposed past use as a place to punish gossips. There is not much evidence for this but it's that Ardingly sandstone, so ponder and enjoy. Afterwards, take the next footpath on the to rejoin the EVW. You'll pass through The Slips and some more of that geology again.
Cross the road and the bridleway takes you all the way to the Penhurst Road, crossing the Eden on the way. At the road, turn left and enter Penshurst Park. Penshurst Place is in front of you. It was built in 1341 and served as a place where various rich men could go hunting. Henry VIII gets his hands on the property by having a Buckingham beheaded and good old Anne of Cleves wins it with the divorce. In 1552, the Sidney family become the owners via Henry's son and they've had it ever since.
Leave the EVW and go north to get some parkland in. The path will take you to the 'Sidney Oak'. The dead tree met its demise in 2016. A self-seeded baby from the same year is growing next to it. Bear right to the lake called Lancup Well and keep going north. Once through the woodland, continue for a fair way on Penshurst Road. After the junction, turn left and take the footpath on the right through Price's Wood to Price's Farm. Cross the field beyond and enter the woods with their rhododendrons.
Hall Place was owned by Buckingham who lost out when a beheaded by Henry. The one time farmhouse went through a number of hands like a hot potato before being rebuilt as a Georgian property by the same guy that had Groombridge. The current building was a replacement built in 1871, the old one demolished. A wing was badly damaged in a fire of 1940. For all this history, you see little of the house from the path through the parkland. You'll exit on to Hildenborough Road and the Leigh's village green. Leigh is pronounced 'lie'. Cross the green and take either of the roads continuing south, to just outside Haysden Country Park. Crossing the Medway, you will rejoin the EVW going east to Haysden Water.
At Haysden Water, recross the railway, follow the Medway and then circuit Barden Water where you can feed the ducks. Join the byway and the final bit of the EVW into Tonbridge. If all that water makes you fancy a swim, know that you enter town via the leisure centre. Follow the signs for the castle. This section is also part of the Wealdway.
Probably the oldest and most castley of the castles, as it was certainly around in 1088, Tonbridge is a Norman motte and bailey. Getting permission from the king to embattle or crenellate was a thing and Richard de Clare had real reason to fortify Tonbridge and not just for show. In any case, Richard de Clare had status in bags but with the approval of the king or not, the de Clares stood with Simon de Montfort of Battle of Lewes fame and was in support of the barons. After a period where the beheaded Buckingham allows Henry the VIII to get it, it goes back to the parliamentarians.
The castle's appearance is much as it was in Richard's time but currently cannot be visited from within as the roof is being fixed. The motte and grounds can be visited and I did before drifting alongside the Medway and down the High Street to the train station.
I could have continued to Tunbridge Wells but the nearest castle is probably Scotney and that was a bit too far for this occasion.
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