The weather has been a bit up and down this week but Thursday was beautifully sunny and warm , if a little windy, and I had use of the car so I packed up a picnic and the boys and I headed off to Castle Hill at Filleigh. Its a beautiful stately home set amongst acres of beautiful rolling Devon countryside, and the gardens are open all year round.
However, apart from a wedding I attended there a few years ago, I have never actually looked around the gardens. Knowing how much fun the boys and I have had visiting the local National Trust gardens recently, I figured that we would enjoy a visit to Castle Hill.
As soon as I paid my entry fee, Burton found a cluster of Tanglewood Trees which we call the ‘Deep Dark Woods’ based on those described in The Grufallo and Gruffallo’s Child books.
Him and Jenson enjoyed tree climbing and I think they would have happily spent all of our visit in this patch of small wood!
We did eventually leave, with the promise of our picnic, and walked through the Millennium Garden which was filled with some pretty plants and flowers and we saw some butterflies – first real life ones the boys had seen.
The gardens are not only filled with some wonderful plantlife and lots of different trees, but it contains sculptures, bridges, monuments, a fountain to name a few which adorn the grounds
And of course lots of rolling land for running, and falling over, on!
Places for climbing and exploring too
There is also a castle – up high on a hill behind the mansion – and I haven’t been able to google much information about it ( I will though as I would like to know more about its history). I was told by the woman as I paid to enter the estate that with my buggy I wouldn’t want to head up to the castle. Hmmm well for some reason I ended up dragging the buggy with a sleeping Jenson inside up such a steep incline, I honestly don’t know how I managed it on my own! But arrive at the castle we did- me with a bright red face from such a difficult walk up to it , Jenson asleep who missed seeing the castle all together, and Burton who was excited to finally see it as he kept calling it Windy Castle (as mentioned in Peppa pig!).
The views are amazing and the castle is in really good condition for its age and Burton and I enjoyed the scenery while having a drink and sharing some grapes!
and Burton took these photos of ‘Windy Castle’
Its fair to say we had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon and we will definitely be returning .
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Thank you xx
Thank you xx
Lots of lovely pictures and a wonderful day out. I always worry that castle/home gardens would bore my two but it looks like the boys had a great time 🙂 x
Jenny I love this post. That reminds me of days out with our boys when they were the same age. They always wanted to visit castles. Lovely to see yours enjoying just the same sort of day as we used to. The grounds there look amazing and that house too. The boys look like they are having so much fun there, really great photos!
Wow! What fabulous photos 🙂 I haven’t visited a castle in years.I love old mansion houses that tare full of history and I love musty smell too.
Fantastic photos, their enjoyment is evident in every one. They are exactly like my boys, can’t pass a tree without climbing!
That looks like a lovely place and the boys obviously had a great time! x
What a fantastic day out, the photos are amazing and what a fabulous place to take the boys. I love that bendy tree, what an invitation to climb if ever I saw one, and well done to you for pushing the pushchair up that hill! Got to be worth a Mars bar?
looks great. Think my boys would be the same and not want to leave those trees mind
That looks fab, my boys would love that x