Around Leeds Castle

Majestically moated and surrounded by beautiful grounds, Leeds Castle is a truly ethereal sight. On this walk you can see the exterior free of charge, but a glance may whet your appetite to pay up and look inside. The manorial site dates back to Saxon times, but the castle itself is a Norman stronghold with medieval, Tudor and Victorian additions. For 300 years the castle was a royal palace, before passing into the hands of various wealthy landowners. The influential Culpeper family owned the castle during the 17th century, and a fine herb garden is one of the most interesting features of the grounds. Black swans make a dramatic sight on the castle’s waterways, which were created by damming the River Len.

Leeds Castle today

Leeds owes its present state of repair to its last private owner, the Anglo-American heiress Lady Baillie, who acquired the castle by a judicious marriage in 1926. She devoted most of her life and vast fortune to the castle’s restoration. The charitable trust fund she bequeathed, along with those hefty entrance charges, ensures the castle’s preservation and continued public access. Through the centuries Leeds has played host to royal and powerful visitors from all over the world, but the racy interwar lives of Lady Baillie and her well-connected family are just as riveting as its more ancestral history. Leeds is used for international conferences and seminars, and access is occasionally restricted for security reasons.

A footpath runs into the Leeds Castle Estate from Broomfield Road, following the banks of the River Len. Enter the park at this point and follow the path through the woods for about 400yds (366m), before crossing the river via a footbridge. This section can get very boggy in wet weather. Bear right through the edge of the woods and go through a kissing gate into the fields beyond, continuing along the lakeshore path, with the Great Water on your right-hand side.

At the far end of the lake take the path to the left of the landtrain station, heading away from the castle entrance, and head uphill following the yellow waymarkers. Note: do not follow the tarmac vehicular access drive – this is not a public right of way.

Follow the hill contours through sheep pasture, past a stand of trees and mini-lakes below to your right. At a converging path from the right, turn left and make for the edge of the estate, emerging onto Burberry Lane.

Cross the lane and take the signed footpath opposite, crossing a field towards St Nicholas Church. Walk along the left-hand side of the churchyard.

Go out onto the main street and turn left by the school, walking downhill past some of the older village houses for about 400yds (366m) until you reach the historic George Inn on your left. Turn left again just beyond it into George Lane.

Go along to the end of George Lane (a pretty, tunnel-like walk), turning left again down Burberry Lane past a medieval house, Battel Hall, to the footpath you walked along earlier. Turn right and retrace your steps through the estate, following the yellow waymarkers. There are superb views from this section of the walk.

When you reach the Great Water, turn left towards the castle island, then right before you reach the entrance bridge, taking the path between the north shore of the lake and the moat. Bear left, following the path past the castle’s curtain walls to your left. Immediately to your right lies the courtyard (restaurant, museum and WCs). Continue on the tarmac path over the golf course (take care if golfers are playing), climbing gently through patches of woodland until you reach the edge of the estate at Broomfield Gate. The footpath leads to the left of the lodge gates; follow the waymarkers along a path signed ‘3rd Tee’. Timber steps take you out onto Broomfield Road.

Turn right and walk back to your starting point, just beyond a sharp double bend where the road drops steeply downhill. Be careful – there’s no footway and it can be quite busy.