anyways, the grounds were truly pretty, and i can imagine that the gardens would really be lovely in summer when the blooms are in full force. the castle itself was nothing much to shout about, to be honest i was surprised at how small it was. it only has 24 rooms, which is kinda modest for a royal residence (henry VIII lived there once apparently). subsequently it was bought over by an american oil heiress, who has since died. it is now run by a trust i believe.
i suppose if i, a private individual, wanted to buy a country castle, 24 rooms would be just nice. say 4 or 5 rooms for myself and my family, another couple of rooms for visiting friends, and perhaps a couple of 'themed' rooms - e.g. a library, study, games room, etc. of course i would also need a lot of housekeepers for a house that big, so i will build some sort of 'outhouse' or cottage annexed to my country castle to house the help. nowadays with all these psycho indon maids chopping up their employers, i am not taking any chances by having them in my castle. but as i was saying, 24 rooms for royalty is really not a very large castle.
but i digress. check out the castle -
leeds castle from a distance...pity the sky wasn't very clear otherwise this would have been a better shot. here's another view....i liked how the architecture and interior was all fairly medieval, unlike some modern palaces like kensington palace which doesn't look very impressive at all.
see, it's really not so big. i think i preferred warwick castle...here's a picture taken from 2 years back at warwick castle. also very medieval, very nice, (but a bit touristy and expensive).
(dammit, i just realised from comparing the 2 photos that my face REALLY has gone fat. dammit. nairmind, i will go running when the weather improves...WHEN it improves.)
the grounds at leeds castle also has a pretty cool duckery, with all kinds of ducks! (e.g. 4 seasons roast duck, peking duck, crispy aromatic duck - very corny i know) i also realise that i can't really tell a swan and a goose apart - presumably swans are pretty and elegant and all, but aren't they both big birds with long necks? ducks and swans i can tell apart...but swans and geese...hmmm...
anyways here are 2 black swans and their family of cygnets....so fluffy and cute...i am sure they would make great down pillows.
another highlight of our visit there was the falconry show. it was very much like the jurong bird park-type shows but since it was such a lovely day with the sun out and everything...i think it was fairly enjoyable. inpired by jill's bird in flight shots, i decided to try and capture the same...here's what i managed to get -
apparently this bird is not so bright and has something like a 5 second attention span. honestly who cares if a bird is bright or not...it's not like i'm going to talk to the bird or let the bird run my country. so we should just admire them for being gorgeous in flight - that sure as hell is something we can't do.
if anyone is thinking of going to leeds castle, check out the national express webpage - they have packaged the bus rides (1.5 hrs each way, from victoria coach station) to and from, with the castle admission, which is a pretty good deal.
today is my mum's birthday, so happy birthday to my mum. wish i were home to go mong heng and eat orh nee...boohoo.
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