Leeds Castle

My breath was taken away as we neared the beautiful Leed’s Castle in Maidstone, Kent. Rolling hills, lush gardens, mazes, moats, lakes, and a black swan greet you before you cross the drawbridge to enter this historical fortress built in 1119. A short video shows has the castle has been altered and changed over the last 900 years. Originally built by a descendent of one of William the Conqueror’s lords, it passed into royal hands in 1278 becoming part of the Queen of England’s dower remaining in royal ownership until 1552 when it went private. An American heiress, Lady Baillie, bought the castle in 1926 and is responsible for the splendor and elegance we witness today. (A bit like Downton Abbey, where an American rescued the castle from ruin) A tour through the castle reveals rooms that are in keeping with the different periods. In the 1930’s and 40’s, Lady Baillie entertained many celebrities including Errol Flynn, Noël Coward, and Douglas Fairbanks. Elton John and Pavarotti have also been guests. Weddings and events are held at this palace and we witness a bridge and groom taking photos with the falconry team. It is a nice walk from the entrance to the castle, but if you have mobility issues or it is raining, take the castle train. This is a fairytale castle and it’s mind boggling to know that families have grown up here.

Loved visiting this place! Not only is the castle beautiful, the grounds are amazing and home to so much wildlife… So many geese, swans, and other birds. We got to see a falconry show as well which was really interesting. We also really loved the maze, which was challenging even for 4 adults! It really was a lot of fun.
The castle itself has an interesting history and combined with the grounds it’s a great day out. Price wise? £24? Hmm we had 2 for 1 tickets otherwise I doubt we would have paid that much (hence 4 stars not 5).

Came here today for the first time. I really enjoyed it, and would have given five stars, but two things prevented me:
1) Some parts were closed to the public because of meetings or an event showcase or something. Which would have been fine, except:
2) We were still charged £24 apiece.
I don’t mind missing out on a couple of rooms because of an event. I do mind being charged full price and not finding out until after I’ve walked 25 minutes from the gate to the castle that I can’t see everything my ticket would normally cover. Especially when that ticket is on the expensive side (or maybe I’m just cheap…)
Anyway, we arrived at 9:55 this morning and had to wait until the car park opened at 10. Surprisingly, about six or seven other cars were doing the same. When the car park opened, we drove a bit, found a spot, then went to get tickets. It’s about a half hour walk through beautiful grounds before getting to the castle (though they do have a train to get you there for 50p).
We went to the castle and made it through in about 35 minutes — with only about 5 other people there, it was easy to get through at our own pace, plus a few rooms were closed. I was a bit disappointed to see most of the rooms were done up as they were in the 1900s — a bit more modern than I expected.
Overall, very enjoyable, just not what I expected.

Visited April 2015: «Leisure stroll up to an incredible Castle»
We got to the Leeds Castle, the first thing we were able to enjoy was the grounds. In the large garden, they had laid out an Easter Egg hunt for the children to complete. We were able to see different types of ducks, and get up close and personal to the peacocks. There were several different bridges going off from the Moat and rivers throughout the grounds. We were able to see the bailey, inside the castle, and various paintings of the family around the history of the castle. There were so many paintings regarding the royal family: The Tudors. There was also a gentleman playing the piano, whom was also taking requests. We completed the entire tour, and covered almost all 3 floors in about 2 hours. We did not see: segway tours, exhibition centre, get on the ferry, culpeper garden, Lady Baillie garden, maze and grotto, falconry shows, squire’s courtyard playground, knight’s realm playground, birds of prey, golf shop, and go ape!
We paid for our tickets online, before coming to the UK. You are provided with a colored map with very details information.

Wow what a lovely area so big, so green, lots of water, beautiful castle, an amazing maze with a surprise grotto in middle and the grounds are full of birds from swans, wagtails, geece, bluetits etc. This is a great place for a picnics, photography, walkers and bird watchers. You can even see a new cinema like show called The Dark Sky which was very interesting on the army in 1415. The castle is not just beautiful from the outside but also from the inside. Many royals and lords have owned the castle through the years such as William II, Henry VIII etc. with Lady Baillie being the last owner. When she died she left the castle to the charity Leeds Castle foundation.
Entrance is £24.00 (your tickets can be used again and again for a whole year)
You can get around the area either by walking which is the best way, road train (50p charge), platoon (seasonal £?) and ferry (£1).
Feed for birds is £1. Don’t be afraid to feed the ducks the seeds from your hand especially the swans. The swans nip your skin a bit but such a magical experience to feed them via your hand.
During August on weekends you can feed for free with the swan man at 3pm the swans
Falconry shows (seasonal — free to watch)
Experiences:
Owl experience or Hawk walk experience (3hrs) £75
Bird of Prey experience (half day) £75, (family half day) £200, (full day) £135
Falconer for the day £150
Bird of Prey Photography Day £300 per group for 4 people
5 Day Falconry Course £550
Wildlife experience £40
Go Ape (£?)
Golf (£?) and Golf Coaching (£?)
Segway Rides
Champagne Balloon Flights £99
Also many events take place throughout the year such as Knights Challenge, Flower Festival etc at Leeds Castle so check out their website regularly.
You can even stay at Leeds Castle and eat. Celebrities such as Cliff Richard has stayed at Leeds Castle over the past so you really will feel like a VIP /​royalty if you stay at the castle.
I will definitely be going down to Leeds Castle a lot with my yearly tickets just for the ground alone as I love feeding and watching the birds especially the swans.