Saturday, 9/23
Driving from the Isle of Wight, we arrived in Crawley in the early evening, where we stayed at the Travelodge in the center of town. It was very nice that they had free parking in the adjacent garage.
Because we would be having an elaborate dinner Sunday night, we wanted to keep it simple and not have to do any more driving for the day, so we went to the Old Punch Bowl, a traditional pub just a block away, that had gotten good ratings. The food was simple but good. We had fried squid and Nidderdale sausages to start, then a flatiron steak and a steak and ale pie for mains. It was all good and we had good beers with it. Total was about 52 GBP.
Sunday, 9/24
Getting an early start, we visited 3 houses and gardens. The first was Chartwell, which was Winston Churchill’s country home.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/kent/chartwell
For lunch we had originally planned on The Greyhound in nearby Charcott, but not knowing what time we would get there, I hadn’t reserved, which was a mistake as it’s very busy on Sundays. Nonetheless, we found that The Wheatsheaf, which is very close by in Bough Beech, had availability.
There we had a delicious appetizer of venison carpaccio, then both of us had burgers, which we requested to be medium rare and were informed they only do it one way, which unfortunately meant overcooked. They were tasty anyway, and came with cheese and bacon, but if they had been cooked as we wanted would have been much better. With beers and service the total was 73 GBP.
Next up was Hever Castle, which was the home of the Boleyn family beginning in 1462. After passing through a number of owners over the succeeding centuries, it was bought and restored by William Astor in 1903.
https://www.hevercastle.co.uk/
The last stop of the day was Nymans, which is known for its gardens, the house being mostly in ruins and only open earlier in the day.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/sussex/nymans
From there we returned to Crawley and then went to dinner at the Pass, which is in a hotel and spa called South Lodge.
The chef, Ben Wilkinson, received a Michelin star after taking over the kitchen just a year ago. The menu is a 7-course tasting for 145 GBP. The menu is below:
The total with wine and service was 400 GBP, the equivalent of $500. We liked it very much but whether it was worth the steep tariff is hard to say.
Monday, 9/25
We left Crawley and drove to the next stop, Scotney Castle, about an hour’s drive. The main building, the “new castle” was built in the 19th century, so the owners could move there from the “old castle” which you will see pictured, in ruins. The ruins did not occur naturally, but were created by purposely demolishing parts of it. The reason for this was supposedly to make an interesting centerpiece for the gardens, but in fact the architect used parts of the old castle in the construction of the new one.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/kent/scotney-castle
Near Scotney, we had lunch at the Bell in Ticehurst, another very traditional pub but with good food.
Stanley had bangers and mash, and I chose to have 2 appetizers instead of a main course, as they had softshell crab tacos. These turned out to be very good, and plenty to eat. With beer, coffees and service the total was 65 GBP.
https://www.thebellinticehurst.com/
From there we went to Godinton House, where only the gardens were open on Mondays.
We continued on to Canterbury, where we would be staying until Thursday, at the Chaucer Hotel, which is now a Travelodge.
Our room was more like a suite, very large and with a king size bed. The location right in the center was very convenient.
Canterbury doesn’t have much to offer in the way of serious restaurants so we had to do a bit of driving in the evenings. Monday’s dinner was at the Whitstable Oyster Company, a 20-minute drive away in Whitstable.
I started with local oysters and Stanley with fried squid, followed by a dressed crab for him and whole roasted bream for me. Everything was extremely fresh and perfectly done. With a bottle of rose, the total was 136 GBP.
http://whitstableoystercompany.com/
Tuesday, 9/26
The first stop was Leeds Castle, where we were shocked to find the admission was 35 GBP. With that you can return as many times as you want for a year, but that is useless to us.
The gardens are mostly lawn and ponds, but very attractive.
After Leeds, we had an excellent lunch at Fish on the Green in Bearsted.
I began with fish cakes, Stanley with crab and tomato soup. Then I had plaice and he had hake. We shared a coconut parfait for dessert. With a bottle of rose, coffees and service, the total was 105 GBP.
https://www.fishonthegreen.com/
After lunch we went to Great Dixter, where we opted to skip the house, the interior of which didn’t appear to be very interesting, and strolled through the gardens, which are very impressive.
https://www.greatdixter.co.uk/
Back in Canterbury, we drove a few miles to The Dog in Wingham for dinner.
The food was very good. I started with smoked burrata and tomatoes, and can’t recall Stanley’s starter. He then had roast lamb and I had pork belly. We shared a raspberry and frangiapane tart. With a bottle of wine, the total was 140 GBP.
Wednesday, 9/27
First we headed to Goodnestone Park, just a few miles from the center of Canterbury. The house is closed to the public, so it’s all about the gardens.
It was very nice but couldn’t compare to Great Dixter.
We had lunch at Dunkerley’s in Deal. It’s a lovely restaurant facing the sea, and they have a bargain lunch deal at 19.95 GBP for 2 courses.
I had a whole grilled mackerel to start. Stanley had chicken liver pate. The mackerel could have been a main course, and was delicious. He then had fish and chips and I had slow-cooked lamb shoulder, which was a huge portion but I managed to finish it because it was so good. With a bottle of rose and coffees, the total was only 66 GBP.
Our last house and garden was Walmer Castle.
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/walmer-castle-and-gardens/
Dinner was at the Fordwich Arms, a very short drive from Canterbury, where the food was absolutely fabulous, every bit as good as what we had on Sunday at The Pass, but not nearly as expensive.
3 courses are 75 GBP and a 5-course tasting is 125 (better to just order the 3-course and share dishes, just as much food for much less moey and not limited to the choices on the tasting).
We started with the scallop and duck liver parfait, then had the lamb and the suckling pig. For dessert we had the plum tart and the raspberry parfait. With wine and service the total was 225 GBP and well worth it.
https://www.fordwicharms.co.uk/
Thursday, 9/28
We set off for Dover where we dropped off the car and caught the ferry to Calais. See the next instalment for our overnight in Amiens before continuing to Paris.
Robert Rems' Open House 