#3 Edenbridge, England

Holy history! This place was amazing! Me and mom arrived late last night. That's RIGHT!!! My mommydecided to come long for the European trek! She flew into London and ran as fast as she could to catch up, and we met up in lovely Edenbridge last night.

Here is a few pictures of Storborough Manor... the bed and breakfast we stayed at the first night...

Our room!

The view of the moat in the back from our room's window...

And of COURSE, we couldn't stop in Edenbridge without seeing the "Eden Bridge" now could we?

The bridge (for which the valley and the town was named for) was built in the 10th century. Forget 'London Bridge' falling down, after 1000 years how come this one hasn't?!?!

First thing in the morning, we did a little shopping and found a cute little bakery to have some breakfast at.

Then we started our sightseeing! First stop, the Edenbridge Church from the 13th century!

Hever Castle was definitely one of the most exciting (and famous) things to see in Edenbridge. This was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn (second wife of Henry VIII and mom to Queen Elizabeth).

The site was originally occupied by a farmhouse, which was converted to a stone fortified Manor in the 13th century.

Inside was filled with old paintings and decor from the times...

Sometimes we'd look up and the front of the castle would have no vines...

And then the next second we'd look and it WOULD have vines! Crazy... guess that's just the magic of castles!

Ahhh... a beautiful view of Hever Castle and the surrounding countryside...

In 1903, the new owner of the castle expanded the grounds into a Tudor-style village for his many guests. (See behind the caste?)

 

This was orginally the farm that served the Castle. Now just one of the buildings of the village, it's been converted to a hotel... 'Hever Hotel'.

For more Hever Castle & Boleyn family history... go here...
http://mainstreetone.blogspot.com/2011/06/hever-castle-childhood-home-of-anne.html


Here is Edenbridge Castle... which is technically not in Edenbridge, it's just outside in a village called Hartfield. This is the place Henry VIII stayed when he came to visit Anne Boleyn. It was also the location of the movie "The Other Boleyn Girl". That's right! We were at a home of a King AND a movie set!!! We're so cool. : )

This castle has the second largest fireplace in all of England. And I must say... it is one MEGA fireplace!!!

Hartfield was made famous by another character... probably more beloved than Henry VIII... it was A.A. Milne & Winnie the Pooh!!! A.A. Milne lived in this house with his young son (Christopher) when he wrote the Winnie the Pooh books.

Nearby Ashwood Forest is the site of none other than the "100 Acre Woods) from the stories. Many of the places in the book are inspired by actual places in the forest, such as... Pooh Sticks Bridge! Where Winnie the Pooh invented the game of Pooh Sticks. : )

A plaque is now placed in Ashwood Forest (aka The 100 Acre Woods) with the names of A.A. Milne (author) and E.H. Shepard (illustrator) who together created the beloved children's books.

Our journey to Edenbridge was certainly an exciting one, with all the fabulous historical and memorable sites to see! We've gone 24.8 miles so far since London... and have 10.4 miles til our next stop: Royal Tunbridge Wells!