A Proper Castle – Bodiam Castle

After the disappointment of last week’s visit to Sissinghurst Castle which wasn’t a castle, and we spent more time in the car getting there than actually wandering around, we went out for the day to use our Natinal Trust cards again, this time to visit Bodiam Castle.

Bodiam Castle is a proper, old-fashioned castle in the true sense, with four battlements, a moat, and great vantage point for times of battle. What was good about the place was that you could enter the grounds and wander around for free (unlimited car parking cost just £2) so if you wanted to take the family out for a picnic in beautiful surroundings it wasn’t going to cost a fortune!

We picked up our entrance tokens from the ticket office and made our way across the wooden bridge over the moat and into the castle.

Although the main interior of the castle is in ruins, the main structures are still intact and you can walk around them and there are small exhibitions in a couple of the rooms detailing the history with some artifacts in them as well. As we walked around, The Wife stopped to listen to one of the ‘characters’ dressed as a noble woman giving a talk about parts of the man castle while I enjoyed the sunshine in the courtyard.

We probably spent about an hour and a half looking around the building, taking in the views from the top of the towers, trying to spot the bats that we could hear and listening to a couple more of the noble woman’s talks, before we headed out of the castle and back over the bridge.

A day out in the sunshine wouldn’t be complete without an ice cream and so we bought one from the shop as we took a slow meander back through the grounds before jumping back into the car for a chilled out drive home.

It was a really picturesque place and far, far better than Sissinghurst Castle we visited the previous week. Being able to enter the grounds and park for only £2 make this a great place to you want somewhere to picnic in beautiful surroundings.