Be dazzled by the riot of colour for walks through the breath-taking stately homes at this time of year. The trees are turning from green to glorious yellow, fiery red and burnished gold.
Penshurst Place is a quintessentially stunning English manor home which is as popular with Hollywood film producers as with visitors to the area. Oozing Tudor charm it has been the location for The Other Bolyen Girl, The Princess Bride, Merlin, Wolf Hall and JK Rowling’s The Silkworm.
The foliage in the arboretum is ablaze of colour at Penshurst Place and it is a particularly beautiful time of year for a stroll with or without the family, the dog or friends.
With two free-to-access estate walks, which are open all year round, providing the opportunity to appreciate the natural local Wealden countryside you can catch exciting glimpses of Penshurst Place from all angles.
The Parkland Walk and the Riverside Walk are marked with numbered and colour-coded signs to follow and both can be completed in a day, starting and finishing in the visitor car park. Trail maps can be purchased from the Gift Shop.
A ‘must-visit’ is the bright burst of sparky blooms, as summer turns to autumn in the gardens at Pashley Manor. Located on the border of Sussex and Kent, the gardens are ablaze with colour from the thousands of dazzling dahlias, during the Dahlia Days event.
Hole Park Gardens is a cherished gem of an estate garden in a rural location at the edge of the borough near Rolvenden. Really very beautiful, and after the bluebell season, autumn is a shining beacon in their botanical calendar.
The cafe is often staffed by the owner, Edward Barham who provides the archetypal English afternoon tea with homemade scones, jam and cream and that blissfully reviving cup of tea.
Scotney Castle, as a National Trust property, is yet another one of the ultimate places to admire the best of Mother Nature in autumn in the region of Tunbridge Wells. Don’t forget your camera, a truly Instagrammable inspiration! Enjoy walking for free around the Estate and woodland or treat yourself to a castle entrance.
