Whilst browsing through Google Maps looking for interesting places to go to in or around London, I came across a castle! It didn’t seem big, but I thought it’ll be worth checking out anyway.
We took the DLR to Woolwich Arsenal and then the bus 244 to
Memorial Hospital stop. Whilst we were walking towards the castle, we could see
much of the London skyline as we were on a hilly road. It looked beautiful.
It was a 7- minute walk to the Severndroog Castle from the bus stop, hidden away amid woods. We passed by blackberry bushes (much to my delight!) The castle is truly a hidden gem of London. As we approached the entrance, a very kind gentleman (a volunteer), told us that we could go up to the viewing platform. We thanked him and walked in. We walked up a round staircase to the first floor where a friendly lady explained to us the booking process. We paid for the ticket (card payment facilities available) and then headed up to the viewing platform. In total there are 84 stone steps to climb.
The view was breath-taking. We looked out from the castle turrets. A volunteer on this level gave us binoculars to look out with. We could see the usual landmarks such as the Shard, Walkie-Talkie tower, The Gherkin, the BT tower etc. We also saw as far as Crystal Palace Transmitting tower. It was a nice day for nice views. I am sure would look really nice with the sunset.
The lady told us that we can also see Windsor Castle (The
Queen’s residence) from here and helped us locate it with the binoculars. She
also told us that the woods have Parakeets and something for us to look out
for.
We went down to the second floor into a room which explains
a bit about the castle. It was round and had wooden beams on the ceilings.
There were some toys and books here too.
Severndroog
Castle was built in 1784 as a memorial to Sir William James by his wife Lady
Anne James. It celebrates his most famous exploit, the capturing of the island
fortress of Suvarnadurg.
Interestingly Suvarnadurg fort is in India and there still stands, in a small island. The volunteer that we had made at the entrance came up here. He gave us a map of a local trail and also told us about a farm that wasn’t too far from the castle that we might be interested in visiting. The children were more interested in playing with toy ships!
After leaving the castle, we went to the lovely tea-room and got a mocha, tea, cookies, and brownies. The workers were friendly.
We decided to follow the trail map and head down to the woods.
Whilst checking the map, I came across my worst fear. Dogs! (I don’t like it
when dogs jump around and especially if they are wet, lick etc.) A dog came up
to me and started sniffing around. I was petrified! It’s owner came and took it
away apologising.
Having come down to the rose garden, we decided to have our lunch.
Home-made sandwiches were on the menu one made with sausage and cheese and the
other with potatoes. We also had honey roasted peanuts and crisps, washing it
down with Lucozade.
Remember I told you about blackberry bushes? Well, there were
quite a lot of bushes here, scattered around. I took an empty crisp packet with
me and started picking the blackberries whilst they others raced each other. The
berries were not all ripe yet. But I did find some that were. Alhamdulillah
took them home where wife made a lovely chutney for my mum. We went for a nice
walk. Due to the drought, we are experiencing in UK, the grass here were dry.
We then decided to check out the Woodlands Farm, that the
volunteer was telling us about. We took the 486 bus which was only two stops
and arrived at the farm. There weren’t many animals here apart from sheep,
couple of ram, a horse, a few pigs, and some chickens.
It was now time to head home. We took the 486 bus back to the
Memorial Hospital and then the 244 to the Woolwich Arsenal DLR station.
The castle is mostly volunteer run, and they are very friendly
indeed. It’s something worth checking out at least once. I’m hoping to check
out more of the local trail too.
FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION HERE:
https://www.severndroogcastle.org.uk/
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