Dover Private tour, Leeds & Sissinghurst Castle Gardens

Starting your journey from Dover, you will see the famous White Cliffs including Shakespeare's Cliff, named after the famous poet and author, before driving across the edge of the North Downs, a range of hills that runs along the north of Kent. From there you will pass the entrance to the Channel Tunnel which opened in 1994, before travelling through the delightful countryside of Kent, the Garden of England, with the line of the North Downs to your right and the Weald of Kent on your left, until you reach Leeds Castle (close to the village of Leeds and not to be confused with the city of the same name in the north of England). Leeds castle is over 900 years old and has been described as "the loveliest castle in the world".

Having been owned by various queens of England, from the 15th century on it became known as a "woman's castle". In the 16th century it went into the ownership of King Henry VIII; later his younger daughter was imprisoned there briefly before she was crowned Queen Elizabeth I.

Standing in 500 acres (200 ha) of land, in 1926 the castle was bought by heiress Lady Olive Bailie who transformed it into a home for herself and her daughters, the youngest of whom, Susan, lived in the castle grounds for the rest of her life, until 2001.

In 1987 a meeting between Israeli politician Moshe Dyan & Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was scheduled to take place in Vienna, but because of the threat of a terrorist attack it was moved at very short notice to Leeds Castle.

On arrival you will walk about 1 kilometre (0.6 mile) to the castle itself, where you will see many species of birds and a variety of plants. Alternatively you can take a land train (at extra cost). Note: disabled visitors are taken free-of-charge by minibus.

As well as visiting the castle, you have the option of seeing some of its various gardens, taking a boat trip on the lake (additional charge paid on the spot) going round the maze and, depending on the time of day/year, watching a display of birds of prey.

There are several very good cafes and restaurants - or you might like to eat at Sissinghurst Castle Gardens

From Leeds Castle you will be taken into the Weald of Kent, to Sissinghurst Castle Gardens, just outside the village of the same name. While the castle no longer exists, the gardens were created in the early 20th century by artist & author Vita Sackville-West and her husband Harold Nicholson. The gardens are compact and are divided into different areas, each with a different theme, strongly influenced by the gardens of Gertrude Jekyll (1843 - 1932) and architect Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869 - 1944), and together they epitomise the English garden of the mid-20th century.

The estate prides itself on its excellent Granary Restaurant where you can have anything from a cup of tea to a full meal. It prides itself that many of the food ingredients come from within the estate: they really are local produce that have not been transported hundreds of miles.

After visiting the garden you will travel through some delightful Wealden villages with interesting place names, most of them with a particular meaning, and will have some of these names explained, before you join the motorway to return to Dover.