Strawberries on the Way

I only like Strawberries when they are in season here... But I would do as I'm from the County of Kent - The Garden of England...!;o)

I'm familiar with Kent, Isn't that were Leeds is? I remember visiting Rochester Castle ruins.

Paul, do you mean the small village of Leeds? which is dominated by the most romantic Leed's Castle? The castle is Norman, it was left to the Nation in 1974 and since then has become a huge tourist attraction set in it's 500 acre park. The gardens are absolutely wonderful too!
Rochester is a lovely town steeped in history, with the both the Cathedral and the Norman keep of Rochester Castle from which you can look out across the River Medway. The town retains it's ancient High Street with many fine buildings and of course Charles Dickens is associated with the town, while living at Gads Hill, Higham which is about 2 or 3 miles away from Rochester. (My claim to fame is I've lived in Higham too... but many years after Dickens!!!)

Yes that all sounds familiar. Castles are obviously a novelty to me. I loved visiting the ruins and tried to imagine what life was like during it's "glory" days. Were all castles inhabited by kings and queens?

Many Castles were also lived in by Dukes, Earls or the King's/Queen's appointed servants who were responsible for the surrounding land, and people who lived on the land. We are exceedingly fortunate in this country, to be surrounded by just so many beautiful historical Homes, Monuments, Gardens etc., All have volumes of history, which through time has been well documented and illustrated.

I must say I enjoy nothing more than going around a historical property and dreaming of living in the "time zone" of the house. Sometimes it's working in the Kitchen or Garden... Or sometimes it's trying to imagine being The Lady in charge of the house! Of course we have plenty of period drama's here that help to capture our imaginations... Downton springs to mind! It is one that I've been following! ;o)

That's fascinating. Thank you for a little insight to these historical places. On my visit to the UK, I wore myself ragged visiting as many castles as possible. One of my favorites was King Henry the Eighth's house.