‘Tree-mendous’
A trail of around 2 1/2 miles - this takes you along public footpaths and trails that are part of National Trust land. It will take you past Sissinghurst Castle where you can pass through and enjoy the walk or for an entry fee you visit the house and gardens.
Parking co-ords were given for where we made the start of the trail (#1), however this has had to change due to issues of parking at that location - please use the alternate parking as given - however if you are a NT member or happy to pay the £4 parking fee you can park in the NT car park and begin the trail from there.
All caches have been placed with the kind permission of Sissinghurst Castle National Trust
We have hidden a mixture of hides - some easy, some quite sneaky. To the seasoned cacher most of the caches shouldn't be too hard - however for newcomers to geocaching some of the hides will be hard to spot - but fun all the same. We do ask however that care is taken in your searching and respect for the area given when doing so. All caches are hidden within reaching distance of the track unless specified in the description
Note: the ground along sections of this walk can get very muddy when it has rained and so highly recommend wellies or good footwear - When this series was laid - it was all good. When a maintenance walk was completed in December it was a different story
If you cannot find a cache, do not assume it missing and do not put a throwdown as a replacement.
ALL maintenance is the responsibility of the CO – if any is required, please add a ‘Needs Maintenance’ log to highlight the issue.
Please replace all caches exactly as found
How Sissinghurst became a castle
The site that Sissinghurst Castle Garden sits on was once a Saxon pig farm, it would have been originally called 'Saxenhurst', with 'hurst' having meant woodland.
The tudor buildings were used as a prison for up to 3,000 French sailors who were captured by the British during the Seven Years War, between 1756 - 63. Held for months at a time in vile, stinking conditions, the prisoners lived in 'cells' with little access to fresh air, clean water or adequate food supplies.
The sailors referred to Sissinghurst as 'le chateaux' hence 'castle' being adopted in to its name, although not a direct translation.
Sissinghurst in the 19th century
In 1796 the Cranbrook 'Councillors' took out a lease on Sissinghurst from the owners at the time, the Mann-Cornwallis family, this was to be used as a poor house for the able bodied. Around 100 men were offered housing, employment and food. The owners repaired many of the buildings, their legacy is apparent even today, on the weather vanes you can see the markings MC 1839. The inmates worked the farm which became profitable for the local parish. When the estate reverted back to the Cornwallis family in 1855 it was the beginning of a great period of Victorian 'high farming,' the Sissinghurst farm was deemed to be the best on the whole of the substantial Cornwallis estate.
Sissinghurst in the early 1930s
When Vita Sackville-West and Harold purchased Sissinghurst in early 1930 it looked quite different to the present day. The buildings were used to house farm workers, the current famous garden had yet to be laid out and was mostly growing vegetables for the workers. The surrounding farm was growing cereals as well as having well established orchards and hop gardens.
The Women's Land Army
During the Second World War the shorthorn dairy cow enterprise continued. The milking and day to day operation of the herd were assisted by members of the Women’s Land Army (WLA) who used to get up at 5.30am to milk the cows. Molly Carr, was a member of the WLA who lived and worked on the farm. Vita Sackville-West was heavily involved in the organisation and welfare of the WLA in Kent.
Vita and a group of her 'shillingses'
The garden at Sissinghurst Castle opened to the public in the late 1930s. The admission fee was 1 shilling, hence Vita's name for visitors to the garden - shillingses. Visitors would often leave their admission charge in an old tobacco tin on a table under the entrance archway.
Sissinghurst in the 1950s
By the 1950s Sissinghurst was a working farm with a yard and machinery all over the site. Several of the buildings no longer exist whilst those that remain have a completely different use today, the gift shop was once the piggery and the restaurant was the granary.
The last private owners of Sissinghurst
Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson were the last private owners of Sissinghurst Castle. After Vita's death in 1962, Harold decided that Vita's beloved Sissinghurst should be given over to the care of the National Trust who started taking care of it in 1967.