Scotney Castle is a National Trust property tucked inside the Kent border with East Sussex, close to Bewl Water reservoir and the pretty village of Lamberhurst. It’s also probably my favourite National Trust property due to the variety of things to explore. There’s a lot to see and we haven’t even made a start on the estate trails yet!
This was our second visit to Scotney Castle this year – we only managed a quick scoot around in April due to rain and a lack of raincoats. The weather was lovely for our December revisit. I’d like to see the garden in all its glory on a sunny spring day, so you can expect an update sometime in 2024!
Transport and Prices
There’s no doubt that most places in the English countryside are easiest to reach by car, and Scotney Castle is no exception. However, there does seem to be a relatively straightforward public transport option if you’re ok with a 22-minute walk at the other end: Bus 256 from Frant Station towards Wadhurst stops at The Vineyard pub in Lamberhurst Down. I haven’t tried this route, so if you give it a go, I’d love to hear if it worked ok in the comments!
As a side note – The Vineyard is part of the small local Elite Pubs chain. They source 85% of the food from their inventive menus within 25 miles of one of their pubs, located across Kent and East Sussex. I love that they’ve made such an effort to also source English wines. I haven’t tried The Vineyard yet.
If you are coming by car, then you’ll want to pre-book your parking space, which is easy to do online. We didn’t book for our April weekday visit, but on a December weekend, they were checking bookings at the gate. The car park is quite small, and during peak times they have parking stewards to make sure everyone gets parked up neatly (no pressure!). Parking is free for members and costs £4.50 per car for non-members.
| Scotney Castle | Gift Aid | Standard |
| Adult | £16.50 | £15.00 |
| Child | £8.30 | £7.50 |
| Family | £41.30 | £37.50 |
| Family (1 adult and up to 2 children) | £24.80 | £22.50 |
Scotney Old Castle
Once through the entrance, head down the hill in front of you to see Scotney Old Castle. It’s only open at certain times of year, and when we were there in April, it had an exhibition about endangered birds on, which was very poignant. We discovered that it was closed in December, but still enjoyed looking at the very beautiful exterior.
The old castle has been reworked over the years but was probably built in the 14th century. By the 19th century it was proving a bit unhealthy to live in, so deliberately ‘follied’ to provide a centrepiece to the gardens when the new house was built. You can walk through the open ruins and make your way down to the moat. There’s a nice bench there if you’d like to have a bit of a sit down and a ponder.
Gardens
After visiting the old castle, it makes sense to head back across the bridges and walk round the back of the moat. You can see the tiny boat house, as well as some different angles of the castle. We made our way past the Icehouse, which had some spooky spiders inside leftover from Halloween, and round to the quarry.
During the Christmas period you can also hunt for snowmen who represent cultural icons of the 1960s. I love that they had a motion sensor and played related music when you got close – though I have had “C is for Cookie” by the Cookie Monster stuck in my head for several days now.
The quarry provided the stone for the new house and was incorporated into the wider Picturesque garden scheme. The quarry has steep and slippery steps, making it a bit more of an adventure in winter than it would be at other times of year – it’s also not the best season for seeing the plants in full bloom. One of many reasons I’ll return!
Scotney Castle House
The house was built between 1835 and 1843 in the Tudor Revival style. It was home to three generations of the Hussey family, and this is reflected in the décor. From initial grand 18th century rooms, you make your way through to the 1960s!
During our December visit we got to see the house decorated for a roaring 1960s party! It was really fun to see decorations up throughout that reminded me of stuff which my family were still using during my childhood in the 1980s. There are mannequins dressed very smartly on the ground floor as if a party is in progress. Upstairs clothes are laid out on the bed as Betty attempts to pack for her new years’ cruise!
The house has only been open to the public since 2007, as it remained the home of Betty, the final Hussey resident and a big fan of cats (as can be seen in the artworks on display in her bathroom). Apparently, there is still a cat living at Scotney Castle today, but I have yet to meet him or her. One day!
Café, Shop, Second-Hand Bookshop
As you leave the house, you can either walk back to the garden, round to second-hand bookshop which is by the entrance (which is large and worth a visit), or to the right, and through the gift shop.
The café is in the same courtyard as the shop and has all the usual tasty National Trust fare. We were too early for lunch so took it as a sign to check out the Greedy Goat café in Ticehurst on our way home – very friendly service and delicious food, another recommendation from us!
Walled Garden
Finally, as you go to leave, don’t miss the walled garden across the car park. As it’s a kitchen garden, we didn’t think there’d be too much going on during our visit, but we’ll be sure to spend some time there in the summer.
If you’d like to read more about the National Trust Christmas Houses in South East England, I’ve made it round quite a few this year – check out this post to see some of the variety on offer!
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