 Gardens to visit


Enjoy Churchill’s gardens – at any time of the year


CHARTWELL, near Westerham, was the much-loved Churchill family home and the place from which Sir Winston drew inspiration from 1924 until the end of his life. The hillside gardens reflect Churchill's love of the landscape and nature. They include the lakes he created, Lady Churchill's rose garden, the kitchen garden and the Marycot, a playhouse created especially for his youngest daughter Mary. What sets them apart is that they are open all-year round, with plenty to interest visitors in the autumn and


winter months. The woodland estate offers family walks, trails, den building, a Canadian camp, dormouse dens, bomb crater and opportunities to blow away the cobwebs and stretch your legs in the wintry months. The winter interest border is full of heathers and cyclamen.


Things to do before you're 11¾ The National Trust has a project for children to achieve badges for completing 50 tasks before the age of 113/4. Several of these can be done at Chartwell. Climb a tree Once you cross the lakes and enter the woodland you'll find lots of trees you can climb. Be sure you remember only to climb on big study branches and that an adult is nearby. Roll down a really big hill


Across the lakes from the house there's a really big hill going up to the woodland. Once you get to the top gate turn around and roll back down. Keep an eye out for ducks, geese, and swans Build a den Walk up into the


woodland and find out sweet chestnut coppice area. You'll find plenty of dens already made, and lots of material to build your own. Create some wild art The


woodland floor has so much to offer a budding natural artist. Keep your eyes open for interesting colours and


New natural play area A new natural play area was opened by Churchill’s great, great grandchildren in June. The play area, which is open all year round, was created by the Chartwell team to reintroduce some of the fun and freedom that the Churchill children enjoyed in the grounds of their home.


You will be able to discover what it would have been like for the children growing up, and the adventures they would have had on the estate. There are dens that are based on the tree houses the Churchill children built and swings engraved with their nicknames. The play area has also


been designed to tell the story of the Canadian soldiers who set up base here during the Second World War, with a camp and bomb, crater complete with a 500lb Second-World-War bomb carved from timber. Mary Soames, daughter


of Sir Winston and Clementine Churchill, recalls her playing in the grounds of her childhood home in her book A Daughter's Tale: “Chartwell’s gardens offer endless opportunities for fun and freedom for children. There are wide open spaces, and steep banks to roll down, and streams and lakes, and trees to climb. “But I think it had more


possibilities for fun and adventure in my childhood days, for then so much was still in the making.”


textures, leaves, sticks, and pinecones, and create a masterpiece on the ground or in a tree.


Climb a huge hill The hills


either side of the lakes are pretty huge, and the hills keep going up into the woodland. Climb up the hill across the lakes and roll back down, then climb up again and tick off another thing to do before you're 113/4. Hunt for bugs Visit the bug hotel in the garden to see all sorts of creepy crawlies, or go on a hunt in any of the flower beds in the gardens. Bugs are everywhere on the grounds at Chartwell; how many


16 Mid Kent Living


different kinds will you find? Track wild animals Deer,


foxes, dormice, and squirrels are just a few of the wild animals that have been spotted at Chartwell. You'll find all sorts of animal tracks up in the woodland; do you know how to identify each one? Discover what's in a pond


The ponds, lakes, and swimming pool at Chartwell are full of life. What will you find when you take a closer look?


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