What's the Deal?

 On a warm August day, we headed to Deal to be near the sea, absorb some history,  not too far from London and enjoy the last few days of summer. 

We first headed to Walmer Castle and Gardens.  Free for English Heritage members, this is a nice little castle built by Henry VIII vital in the military phase of the country, a 20mins walk along the sea from Deal town centre. It is also where the Duke of Wellington lived and died with the actual bedroom where he died with the original furniture and books. The castle had beautiful gardens to stroll in. The playground wasn't much but plenty of space for kids to run or play hide-and-seek.

We ten walked back towards Deal to Deal Castle which overlooks the beach. This is free for English Heritage members. It may look like it doesn't offer much but oh boy, did it offer so much fun and things to do for kids! The kids at the beginning didn't want to explore so they sat on a bench while I went to look around. I first headed to the underground tunnels which was dark but so cool to walk around and a bit creepy. I then headed to the rest of the castle to see the history. I enjoyed it so much that I came back to my kids and encouraged to explore the castle. It was such a good idea because they loved it especially the underground tunnels!

We then spend some time on Deal beach. This was a pebble beach and with the sewage debate, didn't swim in it but it was nice to sit, have an ice cream and chill. The beach also had lots of quirky boats which made for some nice photo opportunities.  We also walked on the pier and see some fishing happening in front of us.

This rounded up our Deal trip. It was such a nice and chilled day which costs us less than £20 including travel and food!