As I’ve grown older, birthday celebrations have become quieter affairs. Gifts are not so important, but of course gratefully received, especially when said gift is for a treat. It means, when you were born in the Winter months, you can continue to enjoy your birthday throughout the year.

 

Although we don’t usually gift for birthdays, my hubby’s family feel that as we’re getting older, every 5th birthday should be celebrated 🥳 and they kindly gave me a voucher to enjoy an overnight stay, at a hotel of my choice with dinner and breakfast. However despite much searching on the voucher website, I was unable to find an available hotel within easy reach, so with their blessing, I transferred it to a different adventure.

Back in March, I pre booked a sparkling afternoon tea, to enjoy in June. Being in Kent, we decided to make it a full day out. As the day approached and having just experienced the hottest week of the year so far, we were confident we could include a National Trust visit before our tea.

Owletts

In Gravesend, this 17th-century manor house is only open on Sundays and the occasional Wednesday. Being from the retired fraternity, we thought a Wednesday would mean it would be quieter and as we set off towards Kent, we couldn’t believe it as the skies started filling with threatening clouds 😬. However with afternoon tea booked there was no turning back.

As the house is tenanted, only a small part is open to the public, but it is beautifully presented, with several volunteers on hand to tell you about the house and answer any questions. Once home to the architect Sir Herbert Baker, who was born in the house in 1862, his influence is evident throughout the house.

In the Dining Room, Sir Herbert’s sense of humour was on display, as every one of the dining chairs sitting around the table, has caricatures on each of its finials, depicting members of his family. There was a little nook in the corner of the room, filled with book shelves, and a huge fire place. What a lovely place to sit, in the Winter, your nose in a book and a log fire roaring in the grate.

As we climbed the stairs to the First Floor, the beautiful stained glass windows sparkled in the remaining sunlight, lighting up the otherwise dark staircase. Above our heads on the landing, a plaster ceiling bears the initials of the original owners and is dated 1684. It is vast and immaculately maintained.

Heading back down the stairs you are faced with a telephone room. Not sure why the phone had its own room, but we were told that the lady of the house was scared of passing the room when she could hear voices coming through the grate above the door 😂

In the Library, filled with some incredibly old books, a couple of book restorers were working to maintain the history.

We stepped out into the Garden, which is currently undergoing its own restoration. But we could still take a wander and look back at the house. Sir Herbert redesigned the Bank of England building and some of the original columns were removed from the site. Part of one of them found its way to the garden of Owletts and has been used over the years as a bird bath………. Recycling at its best.

As the rain started to tumble, we were joined in the garden for a short talk, by children from the local primary school. The very first time Owletts had invited the school children en mass through its doors, was the day we visited and the first day for some time the heavens had opened 😳

Our final stop was the Living Room, which was now filled with small people and quite difficult to manoeuvre around the ornaments. Sir Herbert obviously loved to travel and hanging on the wall in one corner is a water colour depicting some of his adventures around the Empire.

Above the fireplace an Empire Clock holds pride of place. Every corner of the Empire from India to New Zealand, Hong Kong to Canada are mentioned around the perimeter of the impressive timepiece.

As we made our way to the front door, we looked up to see where Sir Herbert had left his mark, with his initials and those of his wife set into the plaster ceiling. A permanent reminder of previous occupants.

Only a small part of the house is open to view, but it is very interesting and wonderfully maintained. Much as I love children, 20 or 30 chattering primary school kids, noisily filling the small rooms, did spoil the experience a little.

As we still had a while before tea, and having passed it on numerous occasions, we decided to visit the Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel Le Ferne.

The idea of the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust, the site was opened in 1993, by Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. As we entered the driveway, we were greeted by the words from Winston Churchill’s most famous speech, carved into a wall. Unfortunately for us the heavens had definitely opened and the driving rain prevented us from heading out to see the memorial itself, which is formed of a large propeller-shaped base, and has the figure of a seated pilot sitting in the middle.  Alongside stands a memorial wall bearing the names of almost 3000 airmen who flew in the battle. Also on the site are replicas of a Hawker Hurricane and a Spitfire, all barely visible in the weather.

However there is a new interactive exhibition called The Wing, which was open in the main building. Sold as an experience rather than a museum, a huge screen fills one wall and shows footage of the German Luftwaffe flying across the Channel and our own pilots scrambling to defend our shores.

There was a small cockpit, where you could sit and take control of a plane attempting to shoot down the incoming enemy aircraft. We could take a seat in the canteen and listen to recordings of wartime chatter around us, take orders from an officer over the phone or dress up in airforce uniforms.

It is an interesting place, filled with history. We will definitely return on a fine, dry day to experience the external memorial and the aircraft we could only just see through the mist.