“I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.” A.A. Milne

People must like Winnie the Pooh.  A Lot! We drove from RTW on a beautiful spring day, hoping to arrive a few minutes before “Pooh Corner” opened.   When we got there it was clear we were not the only ones with this idea. The more we looked for parking, the more people came streaming in and the less parking there was.  And the huge mob of people outside the little tea shop made me think that even if we found a spot to park, there was no way they would let 85 people in the compact building.

Let me take a moment and address parking.  Parking in the UK is literally the Wild West!  They just sort of stop their car on the side of the road and get out.  Most of the time this narrows the roads to a single lane, and thank god our cabbie masterclass teacher told us how to deal with it.  We don’t like it, but we know how to deal with it.  

Anyway, circling back by Pooh’s Corner once again, we thought, “Let’s go to Pooh Bridge and the Hundred Acre Wood and hike around – let the crowd clear out.” 

If possible, It was even more crowded there than Pooh Corner.  People had to  back out of a crappy little makeshift parking lot.  Picture 20 people trying to fit in the little Herring Cove Parking spot meant for four cars. “No Parking” And “Private Property” signs lined the country roads surrounding, so we pulled over and came up with a backup plan (This is becoming the theme of our trip!) 

So we looked up Penshurst Castle.  We had driven by it one day, but it wasn’t really on our radar. It was nearby so we decided to go check it out.  Having learned our lesson at Hampton Palace, I checked the website to make sure it was ACTUALLY OPEN.  It was.  And apparently the maze was closed (mazes are a thing here…)  It was closed because an colony of bees  had set up camp there.  I am one of those people who don’t like mazes, I get scared and panicky.  So when I read that I thought, my God, what could be worse than finding yourself…stuck  in a maze with a swarm of bees!!!

We purchased our tickets and had the best Plan B day ever (no mazes!)!  When compared to the gardens we had been seeing, lush English Cottage Gardens, layered and layered, these were formal and tightly controlled.  The design was razor sharp! Symmetry and sightlines, complex plantings and hedges that were shaped within an inch of their lines.They were “Old English-Style Gardens”.  Not unlike the one we visited in Versailles.  Each part of the garden was a clearly defined space with tall border plants that prevented you from seeing into the next part.  There were topiary, shaped hedges and knot gardens.  But the most clear aspect for me that set it apart, was the symmetry.  If there was a purple columbine on one side of the path, there would be an exact twin on the other.  Even in the area that was dedicated to a more rustic garden with four paths mown through naturalized plants, if there were little white wildflowers in one corner, you would find them in all four corners.

The house really made us happy.  It was a true Castle.  It had fortifications for protection.  It has a great hall with a fireplace in the center.  There were suits of armor.  Swords, long spear-type devices and history.  The history of this place was fascinating. Built in 1341, the original occupant who designed the hall – an earl or something – died from the plague.  THE PLAGUE!  That was looonnnggg ago.  Surprisingly, it stayed in the same family for a very long time.  Like each of the other houses we visited, Henry the Eighth had visited.  And again, someone got their head chopped off and guess who took over ownership of the house?  Yep Henry.  He gave it to someone else, and it stayed in their family a loonnnnggg time.  Basically, the ownership has rarely changed hands.  And the current family, who has owned it for 450 years, still lives in part of the castle.  In fact, they had a celebration in the great hall to honor the coronation of King Charles.

We left tired, but happy.  We headed back to Pooh Corner and easily found parking, (although we have this sneaking suspicion that we circled the county of Kent several times in our travels… we passed a dog show four times, and the weird white house with the bars on the windows three).  In any case we left with a bag of gifts for the grandkids, and cannot wait to give them to them.

This day we wandered to unexpected places.  We wandered in circles.  We wandered in tea shops and castles and formal gardens.  And I would say that is what wandering well is all about!