We made full use of our National Trust membership - we saw Bodiam Castle (a fine castle ruin with a decent sized moat where Virginia used to be taken by her father when young), and also Bateman's owned by Rudyard Kipling whose daughter ended up at Wimpole Hall. At Bodiam Castle we had to wear wristbands - I put mine on with difficulty, almost sticking the paper to me rather than to itself. When it came to try to remove it I couldn't tear it apart! Had to wrestle it over my wrist and off. We had pea and ham soup at Bateman's, a pretty place but not a lot else apart from the house. On the way back Ginny drove and a bird shat on me through the open window! Some aiming that.

The weather was mixed - it was damp which dampened the experience of seeing Sissinghurst Castle Gardens. The National Trust have arranged the place strangely, you come to a small cafe and bookshop first, where they leave the doors open so you feel the draft - but there's a much better cafe further on where we had baked potatoes for lunch. The gardens were ornate and styled - the buildings owned by socialites. Interesting seeing book repairers at work. One day it just tipped down constantly and we stayed indoors apart from venturing out for food.

It was a fine day however, a nice sunny day and warm when we navigated through Tunbridge Wells to get to Groombridge Place, which was seemingly in its off season, or not open to visitors. Neat formal gardens, we also had a long walk along a canal then through the Enchanted Forest (to the eyes of a child enchanted). The house itself was private, moated, scenic. We then voyaged to the popular Scotney Castle, and had a bite to eat before touring the house (last owner was a lover of cats) and a little of the gardens. We didn't go as far as the Castle itself down in the valley and undergoing repairs. Eclectic set of books on the multitudinous shelves.