Scotney Castle

A ruined medieval moated castle sits on an island in a small lake, framed on purpose by a Picturesque garden of rhododendrons, azaleas, wisteria and roses.

A sloping, wooded garden dug out of an old sandstone quarry blazes with azaleas and rhododendrons in spring and turns red and gold in autumn.

The Tudor-style mansion above the lake, built in the 1830s and 1840s, has been open to visitors only since 2007, so you can look down on the old castle from the family's own windows.