The first historical record of a building is listed in the Domesday Survey of 1086, where the ‘Manor of Esledes’ was owned by Odo the Bishop of Bayeux, who was also the half-brother of William the Conqueror.
Leeds Castle has a long history of noblemen, kings and queens, but it was not until the 16th century that King Henry VIII transformed it from a fortified stronghold to a magnificent royal palace.
Leeds Castle was the last Castle to visit on our tour, and here I found the indoors to be the most interesting part – but let’s have a short look at the roses first, and the multitude of Hollyhocks!
Jumping into the 20th century, during the 1930s, Leeds Castle became one of the great country houses of England and a centre of lavish hospitality for leading statesmen, European royalty and film stars. The interior decorations are very stylish in cool colours, giving it quite a modern feeling. There are not many castles you feel you actually could live in – but Leeds Castle, yes.
In 1974 the castle and grounds were finally left to a specially created charity called the Leeds Castle Foundation, whose main aim was, and still is, to preserve the castle for future generations to enjoy. The reputation of Leeds Castle as a leading visitor attraction and conference venue grew, and in 1978 it was chosen as the location for the Middle East peace talks that preceded the Camp David Accords of the same year.
Since then Leeds Castle has become one of England’s top tourist attractions with over 600,000 visitors a year.
Arundel castle again – still in use by the Dukes of Norfolk – interesting! But after so many castles, maybe you too need a rest?
I really loved that dog…I should take out my sewing machine.
Time for a rest again, before entering the Castle itself.
A truly impressive castle that didn’t disappoint inside either. I would have loved a sleigh ride with that beauty…I guess it’s on wheels as England doesn’t get much snow?
Thank you for good company. Now there is only one castle left…Leeds Castle. Maybe next Thursday. Have to rest again!
As this was my favourite house and garden on the tour, I will post some more from both the garden and indoors. The interior was very special, and the windows amazingly beautiful.
On entering the house, the light from the many windows and the open architectural solution made for an immediate love. In the header you can see the second floor and some more modern architecture.
I loved the seemingly wild and random, unorganized looks of the garden – even if I knew there is a design behind it. For more facts, please visit Jude again!
The nursery is a must see in every garden – and maybe buy a little something…which I of course did! Thank you for walking with me – hope to see you in my next garden walk too.
We are back again – and a big thank you to all our guest hosts! Patti is hosting this week, and the topic is Zigzag. Let’s start with my favourite – Danish architecture – and more.
If you go looking for it, natural zigzag can also be interesting…
Beautiful European adder met on the path some years ago while hiking. I have never seen it rise like this one did – and we backed off…
Winter snow bending the straws in elegant zigzag.
In a Narnia Park, we found the broken stone table from the story of Narnia and Aslan by C.S.Lewis.
The sand dunes of the Sahara desert made me think of a soft zigzag pattern.
A walk in Porto is a great joy!
These are all from Tblisi, Georgia – a lot of zigzaging there. Buildings, construction sites and staircases. And fountains!
Have fun with the challenge and we are so looking forward to seeing your choices. Be sure your post includes the “Lens-Artists” tag and a link to Patti’s challenge post.
Next week, I, Ann-Christine, will take the lead for LAC #311, so be sure to visit next Saturday. Until then, stay safe, be curious, and be inspired!
PR of Flights of the Soul is our next lovely guest host, and she is inviting us to find Balconies – please visit her beautiful site for interesting facts and more inspiration!
PR talks about the many ways of using a balcony, and – some cities seem to have no balconies at all, while others have them in every building. In many countries I have seen a dog sitting or walking on the balcony of a house. Hopefully the door in is not closed!
So, we are looking for balconies… A good advise is going to Georgia (not in the US…) and Old Town Tblisi. In the header though, is a Bhutanese balcony for monks only.
For well kept, beautiful architecture and balconies, an impressive place to visit is Prague. This balcony is surely not intended only for a quiet, nice cup of coffee.
The second gallery is from around Europe – we do have some interesting balconies too!
These are from Denmark, Madrid, Barcelona, Bulgaria and Sweden. The ants at Wanås Castle is a work by Colombian Rafael Gómezbarros. And, of course you will recognise Gaudi’s spectacular architecture. PR, the last one is for you – an inside view of the largest balcony of Casa Battló.
Do you have a balcony of your own or are you thinking of some that impressed you? Do remember to use the Lens-Artists tag, and connect to PR’s original post.
Last week, we saw great responses to the challenge Perfect Pairs – a joy! Next week the Lens-Artists team will be back, with Patti starting off the challenge on her Pilotfish blog. Until then- stay nice, enjoy your vacation if you have one, travels if you do and above all – Life. A big Thank You to PR and all guest hosts!
Last week Patti hosted a beautiful challenge – Hopeful. A timely theme, and thank you for so much to contemplate and to learn on the meaning and importance of hope!
Coming back from a beautiful journey – I was so inspired by Japan, that Delicate seemed a natural choice. Most of my examples will be from my art experiences there. And, now we want to know: What is delicate to you? Feel free to use it in any meaning: exquisite, fragile, subtle, elegant…etc. We are looking forward to seeing your posts!
Let’s start with man made art! These are some of Sadako’s delicate cranes made with needles. Sadako was a Japanese girl who died from being exposed to radiation from the A-bomb. She believed she would get well and live if she managed to fold 1000 cranes.
This is a Japanese pot (raku) for growing Fuukiran orchids. I found the pot (diameter about 9cm) in the botanical garden in Nara, and I do plan to try growing a Fuukiran myself.
At one of the many temples I stumbled upon a gorgeously delicate waterpipe decoration – one cannot but admire Japanese art, delicate into the finest detail!
Natural art is important in Japan, but the Japanese tweak it according to tradition and their personal preference. Especially trees.
So, pruning gardens is a truly delicate work. Gardeners work meticulously to keep their trees perfect. The goal is a simple, minimalist natural setting design to inspire reflection and meditation. And this garden, in the middle of Tokyo, was no exception. In all the gardens we visited, people were quietly walking the paths. The only sounds were natural ones, wind and bird song, streaming waterfalls.
A Japanese maple in one of the many beautiful temple gardens we visited. The trees themselves are works of art and they are highly treasured for their delicate and colourful leaves.
Ordinary People, and Geishas too, sometimes need a break… As we went to Japan during the Golden Week, the long holiday and flowering time in Japan, we saw many Geishas – or at least people dressed up for the festivities. Especially in Kyoto. And I was happy to see it was not only elderly people! The most common thing among youngsters was to dress up (there were endless offers of kimonos for hire) and take selfies at famous temples and gardens. Notice their hairdos and the delicate handbags – and shoes. Phones are there too, of course…
And finally, a Samuraj house in Kokura. Clean lines and rice paper windows. Minimalist.
I also want to include a Ukrainian wren, a watercolour by my friend, zen artist Tanya Samsonova. Many artists are inspired by the delicate Japanese style, and surely this painting would fit in any Japanese home.
Starting with the little things and moving up to a whole house – delicate is a useful word. I guess you noticed I haven’t used any flowers for this challenge? If you participate for this challenge (I hope you will!), you might be careful of using them too… because I know that next week Sofia will go Floral. Please visit her beautiful site for more inspiration. Warm hugs and thank you, Sofia, for inspiring me to finally visit Japan – it was just as amazing as you said it would be! (And I am not yet fully recovered from that long flight…)
Well, reading through my post, I just realised that this week is a bit of a milestone – post number 300 since LACP started! That is more than we could have hoped for. Thank you everyone for staying with us!
Lastly, please remember to use the Lens-Artist tag if you are participating, and to link to my original post. Until next time, stay well and enjoy every day!
Leya 
Du måste vara inloggad för att kunna skicka en kommentar.