Chic fortress that's fit for the queens

Walking in the footsteps of monarchs and Saxon rulers, NATALIE KING enjoys the splendour of Leeds Castle in Kent, with its tales of witches and ghosts

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here's something that feels deliciously naughty about wandering around castle grounds at night after the rest of the visitors have gone home. It's almost eerie, but offers a sense of what it must have felt like for residents in centuries gone by.

At least, that's how I felt when I spent the night in Leeds Castle in Kent, often known as the Castle of Queens due to the many female monarchs who called it their home. Its name comes from Saxon ruler Led or Leed, who laid the foundations for what would become the castle, building a wooden structure on two islands in the middle of the River Len.

This humble wooden abode was soon replaced by a stone fortress, and over the years it grew into the spectacular castle that was home to Edward I's wife, Eleanor of Castile, and later Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

Nowadays, it's renowned for tales of hauntings, including ghostly sightings of two black dogs, said to be connected to a former resident alleged to have been involved in witchcraft. There are also tales of a spirit in a long flowing dress wandering the rooms.