Bodiam Castle

We took a wonderful long weekend trip to Sussex with Mark's parents at the start of August. We love Bodiam Castle in East Sussex  and since it has been a few years since we were last there we thought it was high time we paid it another visit. Could it look any more like a castle? I always say that if you ask a child to draw a castle, they will draw Bodiam! The exterior of the 14th century moated castle is remarkably well preserved and the gatehouse contains the original wooden portcullis. It is a fantastic place for the children to let their imaginations run riot and, as ever, we had a lovely time. We ended our visit with a picnic lunch before heading off to our next destination, Rudyard Kipling's Sussex home, Batemans.

Emma in a fake fireplace!

Lily is pretending to be Santa as Emma sleeps in a fake Medieval bed!

Tom in the stocks!

I definitely need some of these at home!

They didn't work on Emma. She is so tiny that she could just put her feet in and out of the holes at will!

Alex loved walking around the castle

Alexander exploring

Tom, Lily, Emma and I climbed all the way to the top of the tower. We were rewarded with a lovely view, but it was hard to get a nice photo of them at the top as the sun was so bright. Emma wasn't too keen on going back down the long, steep spiral staircase and needed lots of encouragement. I told her that if she didn't walk down the stairs she would be like Rapunzel trapped in her tower and would have to grow her hair long so we could come and visit her! She seemed amused by the idea and talking about it kept her mind occupied as we descended. My brave girl!

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