Day Seven Medieval Fair and More

Like home, there are many weekend activities that one can participate in. To us the most interesting one in our area was a Medieval Fair at Tonbridge Castle, a mere fifteen miles away. Since we are now an authority on castles, I can tell you that this one had it’s distinct characteristics, but it paled in comparison to Dover or Leeds or Hever. We did the tour of the castle, which had by far the steepest spiral staircase leading to it’s upper floors and tower. These early inhabitants must have been in pretty good physical shape because we were doing a little huffing and puffing by the time we reached the top. And the walk down was no joke either.

The Medieval Fair was really cute. Participating Knights showed us how they dressed for battle with all their various metal protection (approximately 60 pounds). Four of them participated in mock demonstrations of battle and the audience was asked to cheer for their Knight. This was all staged in front of the castle – very cool!

After the fair we headed up to Ightham Mote which is a charming English Manor house dating back to the 13th century and marvelously restored through the years by various benefactors. It was a truly charming place, complete with a mote. We took a leisurely tour through the home, asking many questions of the various guides. The flower gardens contained a bright array of beautiful flowers and roses. Roses do well here. We seem to see them everywhere and they are the prettiest colors and have the nicest scents.

Our last stop consisted of a tour of the Osted Theater. This is an amateur community theater set in and old hops barn complete with it’s tall drying tower. In the old days they would string up the hops in these towers and the heat would pass thru them as it filtered out the top. Today they use the space in this tower for dressing rooms and storage.

By now it was well after five and we were ready for our dinner. So many Pubs, which one to choose. We asked our theater guide for a recommendation and followed it and we were not disappointed. It was called The Beefeater Pub – how more English can you get.

The weather was great. Cool and sunny. We had a great day and didn’t travel more than fifteen miles from our castle. Charlie was very pleased.