Hello, and welcome to the second part of my UK travelogue!
We've reached Monday, the 10th of August when, after a leisurely start to the day, we were ready for another little adventure. With the weather gods gearing up for what would ultimately be the hottest day in the UK later that week, we were thankful for the temporary drop in temperature to a more bearable 27°C. This we judged to be the perfect opportunity to make a return visit to Royal Tunbridge Wells after we'd last been there back in the mists of time 2005.
Truus, our Satnav, was well-behaved for once, and brought us to the Upper Pantiles car park without any issues. There, it seemed that all parking spaces with the tiniest bit of shade were reserved for hotel guests, so that there was nothing for it but to park in full sunshine.
From here, it was just a couple of minutes walk to the Pantiles, although it took us some time to cross the traffic heavy road separating us from the town's most-visited landmark.
The Pantiles are a historic Georgian colonnaded walkway, its Upper Walk lined with cafes, bars and restaurants, while the Lower Walk is home to a range of high-end boutiques
In 1698, Princess Anne, who was a frequent visitor to the Wells - more about these in a minute - gave £100 to have the Upper Walk paved after her son, the Duke of Gloucester, slipped and fell whilst playing. When she returned the following year nothing had been done and she left never to return.
Eventually both Walks were paved with Pantiles which were clay tiles baked in a pan.
The Pantiles is also where you’ll find the Chalybeate Spring, the iconic spring discovered in 1606 that put the town on the map.
The Chalybeate Spring (pronounced ka-lee-bee-at) water contains iron, manganese, zinc and calcium in extraordinarily high volumes. It has been claimed that the water has rejuvenating properties, helping to cure hangovers, stomach ailments and even infertility!
In fact, in 1629, Her Majesty the Queen of England came to enjoy the waters – quickly followed by finding herself pregnant with Charles II! Eventually, in 1909, King Edward VII granted Tunbridge Wells its Royal title to commemorate its long-standing royal connection.
On the occasion of the coronation of King Charles III in May 2023, a new brand of spring water was introduced: Royal TW Spring Water. Available to buy in glass bottles from the vending machine (above, top left), it includes natural, sparkling and botanically-infused varieties.
According to the town's website, it takes 20 minutes to walk from one end of the town to the other, which is something we often did back in the days when we were 20-odd years younger. It took a bit more of an effort this time around, particularly as part of the way is slightly uphill. At one point, I left Jos sitting on a bench, while I went ahead to see how much further our destination was.
Ever since I'd learned of its existence, I was determined to have lunch at Tunbridge Well's branch of Wetherspoons. This was originally built as an opera house, opening in 1902 and becoming a cinema in 1931. About 40 years later, it made the transition into a bingo hall and then finally, into a pub after it was purchased by J D Wetherspoon in 1996. It was tastefully restored it to its former glory including the stage, stalls, circle and boxes. Since 2006, they are even hosting annual opera performances.
My photos definitely doesn't do the venue justice as, having accidentally left my camera behind at the cottage, I had to make do with my phone's camera.
After lunch, we ditched our plans to do some proper shopping and made our way back to the Pantiles, stopping for a browse at a handful of charity shops along the way. Then, after a final round of cappuccinos on the terrace of a Pantiles coffee bar, we returned to the cottage.
The weather on Tuesday was almost a carbon copy of Monday's, with a deep blue, almost cloudless sky and temperatures reaching the high twenties.
On the menu that day was a visit to Hever Castle, just under half an hour's drive from our cottage.
The contrast with our previous visit, on a rainy Sunday afternoon in July 2004, couldn't have been greater. Apart from the weather, it was definitely a lot busier now, smack dab in the middle of high season. Arriving at the car park, there was a sea of cars already parked in the grassy field, with a handful of parking assistants giving directions as to where to leave our car.
Having paid for our tickets, we admired the impressive Loggia, overlooking the 38-acre lake, before venturing into the Italian garden with its Pompeian Wall and classical statuary, all part of the 125 acres of glorious grounds at Hever Castle, and one of the most spectacular gardens to visit in Kent.
I'm sure it would all look even more spectacular set amid fresh green lawns instead of the semi desert these had been turned into courtesy of the relentless succession of heatwaves this Summer had in store for us.
I was charmed by the so-called Blue Corner (above, top left), a rockery garden where the predominant colour is - you've guessed it - blue. The plants are concentrated around huge rocks and a set of steps (see outfit photo below) and include blue hydrangeas, ceanothus and blue seasonal perennials.
Although there was so much more of the gardens to explore, it was nearing midday and our stomachs demanded that we stopped for lunch. Silly us hadn't brought a picnic, or even a bottle of water to drink, so thankfully we weren't too far from the Guthrie Pavilion. Here, we ordered egg mayonnaise sandwiches and cappuccinos, plus a sweet treat for afters.
Then we were ready to continue our explorations, but not before taking outfit photos in the Blue Corner.
My Missoni-esque zig-zag patterned skirt came out of my suitcase again, combined with a drapey black patterned top by Rhétorique, charity shopped about two years ago. My Clarks sandals - bought in Shropshire back in 2018 - were the only footwear I would wear that week.
We started walking into the direction of the castle, which was once the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, the ill-fated second wife of Henry VIII and mother of Elizabeth I.
The romantic double-moated 14th Century castle formed the backdrop to a sequence of tumultuous events that changed the course of Britain’s history, monarchy and religion, making it one of the most fascinating castles in Kent.
Its panelled rooms house fine furniture, tapestries, antiques and what is regarded by some as one of the best collections of Tudor portraits after the National Portrait Gallery.
Today, much of what you see is the result of the remarkable efforts of William Waldorf Astor, who used his fortune to restore and extend the castle in the early 20th Century.
The fact that it was quite busy - more often than not, there were queues for entering certain rooms - made photography a difficult exercise, particularly if like me you don't want people in your photos, the odd exception notwithstanding!
Lacking the patience for using audio guides, we just roamed at will, preferring to buy a guide book which we could later leaf through at ease.
It is traditionally believed that Henry VIII visited the Castle on several occasions during his courtship with Anne Boleyn, though it is doubtful that he ever spent the night considering the small size of the castle as well as his ownership of Penshurst Place, located a mere 3 miles to the north.
Now, let it be so that Penshurst Place was next on our itinerary, and our destination for Wednesday the 12th of August. The weather gods were having a dress rehearsal for Thursday, which would officially be declared the hottest day of the year in the UK. For starters, they'd cranked up the thermostat to a sizzling 32°C.
Once again, Penshurst Place is somewhere we'd been before, in July 2004. I'd forgotten to take note of the temperature in that year's travel journal, but I'm sure it wasn't anywhere near this hot. That said, judging from our photo album, the sky definitely matched this year's.
Trying to keep as much to the shade as possible, we ventured into the garden, where we were captivated by the sight of the 14th Century turreted manor house peeking out above the hedge, with the lily pad covered pond in the foreground.
We briefly stopped to get our bearings, perusing the estate map while sitting on a stone bench in a shady corner.
As you can see, I was wearing my tiered fuchsia maxi skirt again. A Think Twice find back in March 2025, it has more than earned its keep by now. Its companion this time was an orange and pink patterned cotton top by Belgian label Mer du Nord, charity shopped in May 2022.
Having had another late start that morning, it didn't take long for our stomachs to remind us that it was time for lunch, for which we returned to the Porcupine Pantry Café, which is situated just outside the property itself next to the ticket office. There, we ordered cheese and ham sandwiches, which came with a complimentary packet of crisps.
Thus fortified, we made our way towards the manor house, again keeping to the shade wherever possible, as it had become unbearably hot by then. Once the property of King Henry VIII, who used it as a hunting lodge, the house was left to his son King Edward VI and granted to Sir William Sidney in 1552. The Sidney family have been in continuous occupation for more than 470 years since, making it one of the oldest family-owned estates in England.
If at first we were mystified by the café's name, the penny dropped when I noticed the carved porcupine plaque in the wall and found out that the porcupine is part of the Sidney family crest.
Before entering the house proper, we paid a visit to the small but perfectly formed Toy Museum in the courtyard. The collection consists of around 2000 items, with pieces dating from the Georgian period to the 1980s. Its undisputed star is the Drinking Bear, a 1920s automaton made by Roullet & Decamps of Paris, for which 2 p coins were generously distributed by the museum's warden.
The manor house is entered via the Baron’s Hall, which is at the very heart of Penshurst Place.
Belonging to the original part of the house, the Hall was completed in 1341 and features a magnificent chestnut roof, arcaded windows, a 16th century Minstrel’s Gallery and unique octagonal hearth.
It was mercifully cool inside, so we might have lingered a bit longer. At regular intervals seats were provided for Jos to make use of while I took in the details of the various rooms.
The Queen Elizabeth Room (above, top right), named after Queen Elizabeth I, who often held audience there during her many visits to Penshurst Place, has a remarkable display of early upholstered furniture. It was one of the first additions to the original house in the early 15th century.
Once the withdrawing room of the medieval house and where the family would retreat for some privacy, the West Solar (above, bottom left) contains an interesting collection of family portraits, furniture and porcelain.
We wandered along the magnificent Elizabethan Long Gallery (above, bottom left) full of royal and family portraits. The wing that includes the Long Gallery was started in 1599. Long Galleries were very fashionable at the time and were used for exercise and showing off portraits, tapestries and furniture.
Penshurst Place is a popular filming location for historical dramas and television series. The costumes on display on the bottom right were used in Wolf Hall (2015), a British television series adaptation of the book trilogy of the same name by the late Hilary Mantel.
Located in the 15th Century Buckingham Building, the so-called Victorian Kitchen – with its high ceilings and flagstone floor – was used as the main kitchen for Penshurst Place from at least the 1800’s through to 1950. Now carefully restored, it provides a snapshot in time of how a traditional kitchen in a large private house would have been used, plus insight into the roles of the household staff on a country estate.
After a final round of refreshments at the Porcupine Pantry café, it was time to return to the cottage.
And then Thursday, our final day, dawned, bringing along temperatures which would climb to the mid-thirties and beyond, making it the hottest day of the year in the UK.
Now, what to do? Well, we actually spent a large portion of the day in a blissfully airconditioned shopping centre in Tunbridge Wells, as we had some shopping to do.
To make up for the fact that we would be going home the next day, I treated myself to a couple of naughty purchases at Monsoon, all at 70% off! I wore the gingham maxi on our journey home on Friday.
A quick look at what I was wearing on Thursday. Funnily enough, both the skirt and the top were charity shopped in the UK. If the skirt looks familiar, it's because it featured in my previous post as one of my finds in the charity shop in Wadhurst on our first day.
Well, that was it. In the meantime, our bags are packed again, as we will be leaving for our usual week in Belgium's west country on Sunday!
See you on the other side!
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