Chilham

Hi folks. Here we are in a lovely little village called Chilham. Dogsitting. It's nice that there are dogs here. It's especially nice that there is TV. I even got to see a bit of the Winter Olympics. Ice hockey was always the desired sporting event to watch, but you know, curling isn't half bad either. It's slower and the puck is much bigger and they use brooms instead of sticks. And if there are any fistfights in curling, I certainly missed them. Still, it's an okay sport.

Chilham is a lovely little English village a few miles southwest of Canterbury. And like Canterbury, it's old. A number of the houses in the village, including the one we're staying at, are about five hundred years old. Many of them are Wealden Hall houses, which is specific to this part of the country. The Weald is an area in southeast England which used to be a huge forest. Weald is Old English for woodland. These Wealden Hall homes are timber-framed. With oak from...you guessed it, the Weald.

Chilham, star of the silver screen

The village square is beautiful, what you might call quintessentially English. Chilham is a popular filming location for that reason, especially for Jane Austen-y type things. Jane's brother lived a ten or fifteen minute walk from Chilham so it is very likely she visited the village. Just off the square is Chilham Castle. There is part of a Norman castle on grounds but the home that is referred to as the castle is actually a mansion built on the site of a castle. The grounds are extensive and can be seen when you walk along a lane that follows the boundary of the grounds. On the other side of the lane is, among other attractions, a beautiful rolling field.

Chilham Castle horses are very large apparently, much taller than the castle itself



Castle grounds, complete with equestrian things, you know, for horses

the field near chilham, afternoon

So, three cheers for Chilham and three cheers for TV and dogs.

the beasts watching TV