Severndroog Castle 23 October 2015

On Friday 23 October 2015 Four members met at mid-day at the triangular tower known as Severndroog Castle hidden in Oxleas Woods on Shooters Hill. Not strictly a Castle but a folly erected in 1784 as a memorial to Sir William James of Eltham Park by his widow to commemorate her husband's conquest of the castle of Severndroog on the coast of Malabar in the East Indies.  We had coffee in the tea room on the ground floor of the Castle whilst waiting for the opening time of 12.30pm. A number of walkers and dog walkers stopping for refreshments but luckily for us not many visiting the Castle apart from the students filming who did not want us to block their views! After paying to enter we headed straight to the top and the viewing platform where binoculars were provided for us to take in the spectacular views of London and beyond, up to thirty miles across London, Kent, Surrey & Essex on a clear day.  Ours wasn't the perfect day to see as far as Windsor Castle but we did get some very good views of the Thames and London, trees having been cut to allow clear views.  We then descended to the two lower floors to read about the history of the building.  We agreed it was well worth a visit especially to find out more about the Castle's history and seeing the expanding skyline of London and greenery of the area we live in.