Tunbridge Wells, Kent 2025

In early October 2025 we had a short break with our friend Jo staying on a farm near Tunbridge Wells. Unfortunately I got food poisoning on the first night & the weather was awful. Luckily the farm cottage was recently refurbished to a high standard, very comfortable & the farmer & his wife were most welcoming.

So not the most enjoyable breaks we’ve had. We visited several interesting nearby places and Hever Castle in particular deserves another visit.

Ightham Mote

Ightham Mote is a 14th century moted manor house. The owners over the centuries were not significantly wealthy to make significant changes to the buildings, so luckily the fabric of the building – after extensive recent renovation by the National Trust – remains largely medieval throughout. A delight to explore.

Great Dixter House & Gardens

The 15th century house was restored by Edwin Lutyens for the influential gardener & writer Christopher Lloyd. Fortunately the weather was chilly but bright the day we visited.

Down House

Charles Darwin’s house where he lived and brought up his family from 1842 until his death in 1882. This is where his Origin of the Species was written and he used the extensive gardens as his laboratory for his research. Most of the house is exactly as he left it. Even the books in the bookcases are original. When I pointed out to a guide Karl Marx’s Das Kapital – he said it was the original signed copy that Marx sent him as he was an admirer of Darwin’s theories. The guide also pointed out that Darwin only read the first few pages as most of the later pages were still “uncut”. (The cheaper printing technique in those days meant that pages were bound together on both edges and the reader had to slice them apart as he/she read through a book – I didn’t know that!)

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