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Introduction
Although an official opening ceremony took place on 4 September
2010, there are still some finishing touches being made to the
paths and access road at the revamped Castle Grounds. As a result,
it is not yet fully open to the public.... but we have been able
to use the main driveway from the Gatehouse and explore the rose
garden on the east side of the building. The views are captured in
the photos below.
(NB The photos supplement shots taken for our
Qiuckview Menu on 18 August - click
here to view these earlier shots)
 Photographs
1-2: The Rose Garden
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Above and Below: This is the
revamped rose garden situated to the east of The Castle
building. Many of our readers will remember this area as a
paved outdoor dance floor and skating rink in the 1950s.
The old fountain remains the central feature. |
Photographs
3-4: The Fountain
| Above: The fountain has been restored and now
flows freely - something that it hasn't achieved for many
years! It now stands in a more "open"
Regency-style pool.
Below: The whole feature aligns with the main
turret of the Castles eastern fascia. |
Photographs
5-6: Rose Walk
| Above & Below: The eastern side of the
rose garden is bordered by Rose Walk - a covered walkway. |
Photograph
7-8: Castle from the Rose Garden
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Above & Below: The new Rose Garden now
provides a much more open view of the Castle building.
Notice also that some of the pathways have been given a
"sand texture" surface.
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Photograph
9: The Eastern Turrets
| Above: The attractive but damaging old
Wisteria has been removed from the eastern face of the
castle. As Julia Seath pointed out recently in the Simply
Whitstable Vistors Book, some of turrets are finished in a
sand coloured rendering. This reflects their original
appearance - even down the to the fact that different
sections have different shades. |
Photograph
10-11: The New Orangery
| Above & Below: Our photo sequence on
18 August 2010 showed the west side of the new Orangery.
Here we feature the eastern side. The Orangery has
replaced an ugly "flat-roofed" extension from
the 1960s. It will serve as an attractive tea room. |
Photograph
12-13: The Castle Playground
| Above & Below: The Orangery tea room will
be popular with adults for many reasons... including
the fact that it has a well equipped childrens playground
nearby. The playground is located in the South East corner
- at the top of the main drive leading up from the
gatehouse. |
Photograph
14-16: The Castle - West and South Fascias
| Above and Below: These shots show the
familiar southern fascia.... but with the new Orangery on
the right. |
Photograph
17-18: West Side Features
| Above: The garden on the west side of the
Castle.... including the new pergola. The bowling green
can just be seen on the left.
Below: The lie of of the land.... the tiered
slope leading from the Castle building (on the right) to
the bowling green (on the left). Notice how much more
"open" the garden has become. |
Photograph
19: View from the Bowling Green
| Above: The scene that has dominated post cards
of Whitstable for decades.... but now it has a slightly
different look. |
Photograph
20: Gatehouse Walk
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Above: The main driveway
down to the gatehouse. The surface has been given a sand
texture.
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