Grottoes, labyrinths, dragons and swans
On Sunday we returned from a short break - four days - in the western end of Kent, staying in Goudhurst, a few miles from Tunbridge Wells. The whole of Thursday was spent at Leeds Castle - a very pretty place with a maze and an awesome grotto.
This is Aragon the dragon. I like this chap. I especially like the chap he's sitting on.
Leeds Castle is a very scenic place, used as a filming location in two of my favourite films: Kind Hearts and Coronets, and The Moonraker, a 1950s swashbuckler that I have an immense fondness for. Although originally medieval, much of the current castle is 19th century, done in a Tudor style, but it still looks pretty, anyway.
Once again, I indulged my addiction to photographing comical lions.
In the stable courtyard, there's a museum devoted to dog collars, just because. There were hideously armoured monstrosity, clearly designed for monster creatures of the medieval hunt (dogs, I should add, not vicars), and lavish golden decorated collars from the Renaissance. There were slender silver ones from the 18th century, some of them engraved with messages along the lines of, "I am Mr Bloggs' dog. Whose dog are you?" and presentation collars for prize-winning 19th century dogs and their owners, and even the collar belonging to Sweep, as in Sooty and.
There were birds of prey, but since it was a week day in October term time, they weren't flying, but were merely sitting on posts contemplating the infinite.
There was an audio-visual Battle of Britain "experience," but we opted not to experience this.
And then there was a hedge maze. A really good hedge maze, in which you could really get lost - even with the guidance offered by the roar of the nearby Battle of Britain and the occasion screeches of contemplative owls. People who had successfully reached the middle could stand on a platform and gloat offer guidance to their lost companions.
And then, from the platform, one descended into the depths, where there was a grotto. It could have been tacky and horrid, but we both thought it was really rather wonderful. Other visitors whizzed through, barely glancing at it, but we stayed for at least 20 minutes, just appreciating the atmosphere and the tiny details.
Here is the monster guarding the pool. You can't tell the scale from this picture, but he's a good 10 feet tall.
The roof was all swans - black swans being the badge of Leeds Castle. I used flash for this picture, since Pellinor wanted a good picture of a swan for roleplaying purposes, but in reality it was much darker and atmospheric.
Four figures lurked in niches. Four seasons? Elements?
The longer we stayed there, the more hidden figures we noticed, such as this white hart, half hidden in the darkness.
And then there were things that we could only see with a torch, such as the black patterns on the back of this chair. What do they mean? Probably nothing. They're probably just there to tease the imagination and make people try to find meaning.
Then, moving away from the main chamber, a twisty path led slowly towards the outside. In a small side chamber there was a... thing. A phoenix, we decided, but we weren't sure. Then there was a section where the walls were painting with upside-down animals. Why? Who knows?
Then, finally, we emerged from our subterranean journey through myth, to find this fellow waiting opposite the door.
And, turning back, we saw the door to the underworld, leading back the way we'd come.
But it was marked No Entry, so, being law abiding people, we went back to the labyrinth, got horribly lost in the maze for a while, and descended into the grotto all over again. :-D
This is Aragon the dragon. I like this chap. I especially like the chap he's sitting on.
Leeds Castle is a very scenic place, used as a filming location in two of my favourite films: Kind Hearts and Coronets, and The Moonraker, a 1950s swashbuckler that I have an immense fondness for. Although originally medieval, much of the current castle is 19th century, done in a Tudor style, but it still looks pretty, anyway.
Once again, I indulged my addiction to photographing comical lions.
In the stable courtyard, there's a museum devoted to dog collars, just because. There were hideously armoured monstrosity, clearly designed for monster creatures of the medieval hunt (dogs, I should add, not vicars), and lavish golden decorated collars from the Renaissance. There were slender silver ones from the 18th century, some of them engraved with messages along the lines of, "I am Mr Bloggs' dog. Whose dog are you?" and presentation collars for prize-winning 19th century dogs and their owners, and even the collar belonging to Sweep, as in Sooty and.
There were birds of prey, but since it was a week day in October term time, they weren't flying, but were merely sitting on posts contemplating the infinite.
There was an audio-visual Battle of Britain "experience," but we opted not to experience this.
And then there was a hedge maze. A really good hedge maze, in which you could really get lost - even with the guidance offered by the roar of the nearby Battle of Britain and the occasion screeches of contemplative owls. People who had successfully reached the middle could stand on a platform and gloat offer guidance to their lost companions.
And then, from the platform, one descended into the depths, where there was a grotto. It could have been tacky and horrid, but we both thought it was really rather wonderful. Other visitors whizzed through, barely glancing at it, but we stayed for at least 20 minutes, just appreciating the atmosphere and the tiny details.
Here is the monster guarding the pool. You can't tell the scale from this picture, but he's a good 10 feet tall.
The roof was all swans - black swans being the badge of Leeds Castle. I used flash for this picture, since Pellinor wanted a good picture of a swan for roleplaying purposes, but in reality it was much darker and atmospheric.
Four figures lurked in niches. Four seasons? Elements?
The longer we stayed there, the more hidden figures we noticed, such as this white hart, half hidden in the darkness.
And then there were things that we could only see with a torch, such as the black patterns on the back of this chair. What do they mean? Probably nothing. They're probably just there to tease the imagination and make people try to find meaning.
Then, moving away from the main chamber, a twisty path led slowly towards the outside. In a small side chamber there was a... thing. A phoenix, we decided, but we weren't sure. Then there was a section where the walls were painting with upside-down animals. Why? Who knows?
Then, finally, we emerged from our subterranean journey through myth, to find this fellow waiting opposite the door.
And, turning back, we saw the door to the underworld, leading back the way we'd come.
But it was marked No Entry, so, being law abiding people, we went back to the labyrinth, got horribly lost in the maze for a while, and descended into the grotto all over again. :-D