Hot & Headless In The Heat, Lullingstone Castle

Decided to go for a micro trip to Lullingstone Castle near Eynsford. I had never been there before and the entrance through the 15th Century gatehouse was spectacular. Another reason to go was to see the World Garden created by Tom Hart Dyke which features wonderfully exotic and rare plants and trees from all round the world. The Garden was started after he went plant hunting in Panama and Columbia but his trip went terribly wrong and he was held captive by armed guerrillas for over nine months!
When he came back he was determined to build his garden and it's a testament to all his hard work that it is absolutely fantastic. Also, dotted through the garden are tributes to all the Victorian and Edwardian plant hunters that came before him which was a fascinating touch. The weather was perfect for the exotic plants but on the hot side for us - being inside a walled garden it retained the heat more than the rest of the grounds. There was also a hot house with some truly amazing giant cacti.
Today's main image was of a family trying to hide from the heat of the sun under this huge tree. When the man put his hands on his hips it just made the shot. The extra two images are a couple of shots from the World Garden.