Last week Bill and I spent a few days on holiday in Kent. There is nothing unusual about that. We have always loved to travel and explore new places. However, this year is a bit different. Bill is finding it difficult to walk and relies on a mobility scooter or a rollator to get around. I thought that our exploring days as a couple might be over.

I was pleased to find out that Buglers a local Somerset coach firm has won awards for providing accessible holidays for disabled travellers. They have wheelchair accessible coaches and their drivers receive special training. Even more importantly they pick up from the bus stop across the road from us. When I saw they were offering a short holiday to Kent, we booked it straight away. Bill was able to bring his rollator and I know that Kent is very flat!

We stayed at the Great Danes hotel near Maidstone and also visited Chatham Dockyard and had a ride on the Hythe and Dymchurch steam railway.

Leeds Castle

For Natalie’s weekend coffee share I am inviting you to join us for a hot drink at Leeds Castle which despite its name is in Kent rather than Yorkshire. In fact, it was next to our hotel. We enjoyed tuna melts and coffee but you might like something else.

I was very impressed with their provision for disabled guests. We were able to borrow a free wheelchair and our son Richard who lives in London joined us for the day as an extra pusher. He also took the photos for this post as I forgot to charge my phone. The website has very clear information about what parts of the castle are accessible for wheelchairs and the castle itself has a well-marked wheelchair route inside. We could not go upstairs but they provided a video of the rooms we missed.

They suggest that visitors with hidden disabilities such as autism or dementia wear a sunflower lanyard which staff are trained to spot. A mobility bus runs throughout the day from the ticket office to the castle and can take wheelchairs. There is a also a ferry from the castle to the maze area which can take up to three wheelchairs.

Leeds castle is nowhere near the city of Leeds in Yorkshire. It was built on two islands in the river Leeden which forms a natural moat. It has a long history. It was a Norman stronghold and for a long time it was used to accommodate British Queens before their marriage or after the king had died. Seven medieval and Tudor queens spent time at the castle including Catherine of Aragon the first wife of Henry VIII.

Lady Baillie

The castle we see today was largely the work of Lady Olive Baillie an extremely wealthy Anglo-American heiress. She wanted a country retreat in Kent and bought the castle and 400 acres of grounds in the 1920’s. During the next forty years she remodelled the interior with the help of leading French designers.

We enjoyed visiting several of the downstairs rooms which looked very comfortable. We also looked round the bird of prey centre.

The castle also has an adventure golf course, a maze, a children’s playground and even a dog collar museum. As it was a warm sunny day, we were able to enjoy time sitting in deckchairs and watching the ducks, geese and swans on the river.

It is good to know that we can still enjoy a top tourist attraction so thankyou to the staff at Leeds Castle and Bugler coaches.