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Leeds Castle & Gardens |
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Leeds Castle & Gardens tel: 01622-765400 Area: Kent |
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| Visitor Information | www.leeds-castle.com | ||||||||||||
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| Leeds Castle & Gardens Kent All details updated* as of: 31/03/2008 |
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| Opening Days and Hours | |||||||||||||
Every day except 25th December and days of Open Air Concerts and Grand Firework Spectacular. |
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| Parties
/ Coaches: Yes Special rates for groups of 15+. |
Groups
/ Coaches need Appointment: Yes Preferred. |
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House
Open for Viewing: Yes |
National
Garden Scheme days: |
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| Best
Times of Year to Visit: Spring Early Summer Late Summer All year round. |
To
see: Woodland Gardens Culpeper Garden Lady Baillie Garden Aviary, Vineyard, yew tree maze and grotto, Dog Collar Museum 500 acres of grounds. |
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| Admission Prices | |||||||||||||
| Fully Inclusive; Adult £15; Concession £12.50; Child £9.50 | |||||||||||||
| Onsite Facilities | |||||||||||||
| Parking:
Yes Lavatories: Yes Disabled Access: Yes |
Shop:
Yes Plants for Sale: No Lunches: Yes |
Teas:
Yes Light Refreshment: Yes Picnics: Yes |
Dogs
Allowed: No On Lead only: No Special Events: Yes |
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| Other
Facilities: Picnics in certain areas. |
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| Garden Features | |||||||||||||
| English Heritage Garden Grade: II* | |||||||||||||
| National Collection: Monarda. | |||||||||||||
| Description of Garden | Designer:
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| Visitors first come to the famous Duckery, which, together with the castle moat, is home to numerous wildfowl. The path then meanders alongside the River Len through the Wood Garden, at its best in Spring with daffodils and anemones, and presided over by the striking statue of a female figure. Numerous summer flowering shrubs and rhododendron and azalea come into bloom as the narcissi fade. There is a good view of the castle from the garden in front of the old summer pavilion. The Culpeper Garden features traditional neat box hedges surrounding colourful perennials and roses, pinks, lupins and poppies. It also contains the National Collection of Monarda - bergamot. The Mediterranean - style Lady Baillie Garden includes terraces planted with palms, olives, pomegranate, mimosa, vines, hedychium and echiums, all more usually found in warmer climes. It also offers spectacular panoramic views across the castle's Great Water. There is also an important vineyard producing more than 8,000 bottles of wine a year under the guidance of Owen Elias, wine-maer of Chapel Down vineyard. The award-winning wines are sold in the Castle's shops. |
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| History of Garden | |||||||||||||
| The Park was established in the Middle Ages, reflecting Leeds Castle's importance as a royal residence. There is documented evidence of a vineyard at the castle in a Register of Royal Expenses dated 1291-1293 for Edward I and Queen Eleanor of Castile. It was re-planted with German vines in 1980 and extended with a wider range of varieties, also from Germany, in 2000. In the 1730s Lord Fairfax sent ginseng and wild olives from Virginia to be grown in the Castle's hothouses. The Duckery was created in the 1960s for Olive, Lady Baillie by Russell Page who also transformed the castle's former cut-flower garden into a "cottage garden", now called the Culpeper Garden. Princess Alexandra opened The Lady Baillie Garden in 1999, on the site of a previous 18th century garden. | |||||||||||||
| Nearby Kent Hotels, Facilities & Amenities | |||||||||||||
| Hotels
& Accommodation: |
Restaurants: |
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| Inns & Pubs: Ringlestone Inn, Harrietsham |
Villages / Towns
/ Sightseeing: Maidstone 7 miles |
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  - Kent |
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*Information
Updates
Garden guide and review © Gardens-Guide.com and Armchair Travel Co Ltd Armchair
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0338_Leeds.jpg - Leeds Castle & Gardens (Kent)
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