Bodiam Castle is the moated castle on the front of every book about English castles, and you can reach the station beside it by steam train. Adult admission is £13.00, it opens every day, and the National Trust knocks 10 per cent off the price if you arrive on the Kent & East Sussex Railway. The catch is the season: that railway's ordinary trains stop running at the end of October, and Scotney Castle, eight and a half miles north, has its old moated ruin shut to the inside and asks every visitor to pre-book a parking space by 9am. Here is how to do both properly, and why you cannot do them on the same day without a car.
The two make an obvious pair and are nothing alike. Bodiam is a complete fourteenth-century shell in a square of water, empty inside, that children can run around. Scotney is a Victorian country house looking down over the ruins of an earlier castle, deliberately left ruined as garden scenery.
Both are National Trust, both are in deep country on the Kent and East Sussex border, and neither has a mainline station near it. Our guide to Sissinghurst and the gardens of Kent covers the taxi problem across this area, and our page on the Bluebell Railway weighs up the preserved lines within reach of a London day return.
Bodiam and Scotney: the numbers
- Nearest station to Bodiam
- Robertsbridge, 5 miles. Charing Cross 1 h 17 to 1 h 24, hourly
- Robertsbridge fare
- Super Off-Peak Day Return £25.60; Advance single from £9.60
- Bus to the castle gate
- Stagecoach 349 from Hastings station to Hawkhurst
- Steam railway
- Tenterden to Bodiam, about 47 minutes. Adult Freedom Ticket £30.00
- Bodiam admission
- £13.00 adult, £6.50 child 5-17, £32.50 family. Daily 10:00-17:00 to 1 Nov 2026
- Nearest station to Scotney
- Wadhurst, 5½ miles. Charing Cross 1 h 02 to 1 h 05, direct
- Wadhurst fare
- Super Off-Peak Day Return £25.10
- Scotney admission
- £20.00 adult, £10.00 child. Garden daily; Old Castle interior closed
- Distance apart
- 8.4 miles in a straight line, and no bus between them
- Fares and times checked
- National Rail, for Tuesday 6 October 2026
Bodiam: what the castle actually is
Bodiam Castle was built for Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, who came home from the Hundred Years' War, acquired the manor by marriage by 1378 and got a royal licence to begin work in 1385. Historic England's monument description says it was probably finished by about 1390. It is square in plan, rising from an artificial island, and built of sandstone ashlar quarried at Wadhurst fifteen kilometres to the north-west, which is the station you would use for Scotney.
The outer walls survive almost to full height. The gatehouse in the middle of the north range has three levels and a basement, a recessed entrance passage between projecting towers under a machicolated parapet, and something remarkable still hanging in it: the medieval outer portcullis, made of iron-clad oak. In the basement of the south-west tower is a restored stone-lined well about 2.75 metres across, originally spring-fed.
Inside is a different story. The domestic buildings round the courtyard were largely pulled down during the Civil War in the 1640s, by which time nobody lived there. What you read instead is the pattern of doors, windows and fireplaces on the inner face of the wall, plus fragments of the kitchen, pantry and buttery and one large mullioned window marking the great hall.
The water is scenery rather than defence. The moat is 155 metres by 115 and about two metres deep, and beyond it lie ponds, terraces and ornamental earthworks that Historic England describes as designed "to provide an attractive, elaborate approach and landscaped setting for the castle", plus a separately scheduled medieval pleasaunce thirty metres from Court Lodge. Walk the outside first and the castle stops looking like a fortress and starts looking like a very expensive statement.
The site also holds a Second World War pillbox and a fourteenth-century mill pond, in the bottom of which a herringbone drainage pattern survives from Lord Curzon's attempt in the 1920s to turn the hollow into a cricket ground. Curzon bought the castle in 1917, restored it in 1919 and left it to the National Trust in 1925. It is listed Grade I, entry 1044134, and scheduled as a monument under entry 1013554, first scheduled on 8 February 1915.
Photo: Rlumstead · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized
Bodiam: what it costs, and the railway discount
| Bodiam Castle, standard rate from 1 March 2026 | With Gift Aid | Without |
|---|---|---|
| Adult, 18 and over | £14.30 | £13.00 |
| Child, 5 to 17 | £7.20 | £6.50 |
| Family, two adults and up to three children | £35.80 | £32.50 |
| Family, one adult and up to three children | £21.50 | £19.50 |
| Parking, non-members | £5.00 per car | |
| National Trust members | Free | |
Arrive by steam train and the National Trust takes 10 per cent off. Bodiam's own price page offers a tenth off the listed admission to anyone who has travelled there on the Kent & East Sussex Railway, which is £1.30 on an adult ticket and £3.25 on a family. It is the only discount of its kind we have found at a National Trust property, and it is the strongest practical argument for the slow way in.
You do not need to book. The castle, grounds, shop, Wharf Tea-room and a riverside second-hand bookshop open 10:00 to 17:00 until Sunday 1 November 2026, then 10:00 to 15:30 from 2 November, with the car park opening fifteen minutes earlier. Last admission is thirty minutes before closing, it shuts on 24 and 25 December, and only assistance dogs may go inside.
The steam train, and the date it stops
Bodiam is the southern terminus of the Kent & East Sussex Railway, whose trains come down from Tenterden Town through Rolvenden, Wittersham Road and Northiam; the station is a quarter of a mile from the castle gate. On its four-departure timetable, trains leave Tenterden at 10:20, 11:25, 13:10 and 14:15, reaching Bodiam at 11:07, 12:17, 13:57 and 15:07, so the run takes about 47 to 52 minutes. Coming back, Bodiam departures are 11:25, 12:45, 14:15 and 15:35, the last of which reaches Tenterden at 16:28.
A Freedom Ticket gives unlimited travel on any public train that day: £30.00 for an adult, £20.00 for a senior over 60, £5.00 for a child aged 3 to 15, and £60.00 for a family of two adults with one or two children. First class adds a £4 supplement per single journey for adults only. Allow twenty minutes on arrival to buy or collect tickets.
The railway's ordinary season ends on Saturday 31 October 2026. Its calendar shows trains in October on the 3rd, 4th, 7th, 10th, 11th, 14th, 17th, 18th, 21st, 24th and 25th, then every day from 27 to 31 October for half term. After that there is nothing until the Southern Through the Ages weekend on 7 and 8 November, and then Santa Specials from 29 November which are a different kind of trip altogether. From November to March, "arriving by steam train" is not an option, and neither is the 10 per cent discount that goes with it.
The other problem is Tenterden. It has no National Rail station, so reaching the top of the heritage line from London means a train to Ashford or Headcorn and then a bus, which turns a day out into four legs. If the steam journey is the point, that is the price; if the castle is the point, read on.
Reaching Bodiam without the steam train
There are two honest options and one trap, and the National Trust's own directions are unusually frank about all three.
The trap is Robertsbridge. It is the nearest mainline station at five miles, 1 hour 17 to 1 hour 24 minutes direct from Charing Cross, hourly at about 45 minutes past, with a Super Off-Peak Day Return of £25.60 and Advance singles from £9.60. But the Trust says there is no public transport link from the mainline stations to Bodiam, only private taxis, and that Robertsbridge has no taxi rank. Turning up there without a booked cab strands you.
The better option without steam is the bus. Stagecoach service 349 runs from Hastings railway station to Hawkhurst and, in the Trust's words, "stops opposite Bodiam Castle car park entrance", Monday to Saturday, with a Sunday service "every Sunday until further notice". Hastings is 1 hour 32 minutes direct from Charing Cross, though at £38.80 for a Super Off-Peak Day Return it is the dearest of the three fares. Battle, ten miles out, does have a taxi rank.
Scotney: the ruin you cannot go inside
Scotney Castle at Lamberhurst is two buildings and a landscape. The one you can go into is a Tudor-style country house that Anthony Salvin designed in 1835 and built between 1837 and 1844 for Edward Hussey, in sandstone quarried on the spot; the house looks down into its own quarry. Historic England lists it Grade I, entry 1336699, and notes an interior largely decorated in a Jacobean manner with a great deal of imported seventeenth-century panelling, mostly Flemish in origin.
The other is Old Scotney Castle down in the valley: a quadrangular castle with a sixteenth and seventeenth-century manor house grafted on, scheduled on 14 July 1933 under entry 1009005 and left as a picturesque ruin when the new house went up. The whole nineteenth-century garden was designed around that view.
Two things at Scotney will spoil an unplanned visit. The interior of the Old Castle is closed, with exterior access only, so you can walk round the ruin but not into it. And the Trust says all visitors must pre-book a car parking space before 9am on the day of the visit to guarantee entry, because of works in the overflow field and reduced capacity, with some noise and dust while that lasts. Bookings open up to four weeks ahead and matter most at weekends and in school holidays. That requirement applies whether or not you are driving, so book before you buy a train ticket.
Admission is £20.00 for an adult and £10.00 for a child aged 5 to 17 without Gift Aid, or £22.00 and £11.00 with it; a one-adult family is £30.00 and a group adult ticket £19.00. Non-member parking is £4.50. The Trust's own page is inconsistent about the family ticket: the notes say two adults and up to two children, while the price table says up to three, both at £50.00 without Gift Aid. Ask at the welcome desk rather than assuming.
Scotney's opening, and the fortnight the house shuts
The garden and estate walks open 10:00 to 17:00 until Sunday 1 November 2026 and 10:00 to 16:00 after that. The house opens 11:00 to 16:30, closes completely from Monday 2 to Friday 20 November 2026, and reopens on Saturday 21 November at 11:00 to 15:30 for the Christmas season. Last entry is thirty minutes before closing.
The garden is the reason to come: a moat, a quarry garden, woodland glades, a heather-thatched icehouse and a Victorian boathouse, in 780 acres with marked walks. An external lift reaches the ground floor of the mansion and there is a video tour of the upstairs for anyone who cannot manage the stairs; powered mobility scooters and manual wheelchairs can be borrowed by ringing the property office ahead. The Coach House tea-room held the top food hygiene rating of 5 at its inspection on 6 July 2026.
Getting there is the weak point. Wadhurst is five and a half miles away, 1 hour 2 to 1 hour 5 minutes direct from Charing Cross with a Super Off-Peak Day Return of £25.10, and the only bus the Trust names is the 256 from Tunbridge Wells via Lamberhurst, Monday to Friday only. At a weekend, budget for a taxi both ways.
Why you cannot do both in one day
The two sites are 8.4 miles apart in a straight line, measured between the grid references Historic England gives for each, and rather more by road. There is no bus and no railway between them and no station near either. A taxi across would cost more than both admissions put together, and you would reach the second one close to last entry.
So choose. Bodiam if you have children, if the weather is good, or if you can make the steam train work before the end of October. Scotney if you want a garden and a house, can pre-book the parking, and travel on a weekday when the 256 runs.
Doing both properly means a night in the area, which our guide to the houses of Kent reaches the same conclusion about. For a Sussex alternative you can walk to from a platform, Rye is on the same Hastings line, and Hastings and Battle covers the town where the 349 bus starts.
For moated houses on a different Kent line, see Penshurst Place and Ightham Mote and Hever Castle. The full set is in our overview of day trips from London.
Frequently asked questions
Can you get to Bodiam Castle by steam train?
Yes, on the Kent & East Sussex Railway from Tenterden, about 47 minutes, stopping a quarter of a mile from the castle. An adult Freedom Ticket is £30.00 for unlimited travel that day. The ordinary season runs only to 31 October 2026, and Tenterden has no mainline station, so reaching it from London needs a bus from Ashford or Headcorn.
How do you get to Bodiam Castle from London without a car?
Take a train to Hastings, then the Stagecoach 349 bus towards Hawkhurst, which stops opposite the castle car park entrance, Monday to Saturday plus a Sunday service. Robertsbridge is closer at five miles, but the Trust warns there is no public transport from there and no taxi rank, so book a cab ahead.
How much does Bodiam Castle cost?
£13.00 for an adult and £6.50 for a child aged 5 to 17 without Gift Aid, or £32.50 for a family of two adults and up to three children. Members go free; non-member parking is £5 per car. Arriving on the Kent & East Sussex Railway earns 10 per cent off.
Is Scotney Castle worth visiting if the old castle is closed?
Yes, because the ruin is meant to be looked at rather than entered: the garden was laid out to frame it. You can walk around the outside, and the mansion, the quarry garden and 780 acres of estate walks are open. Check before travelling in case the interior reopens.
Do you have to book Scotney Castle in advance?
You have to book a car parking space. The National Trust says all visitors should do so before 9am on the day to guarantee entry, because of works in the overflow field, and bookings open four weeks ahead. Admission itself does not need booking.
Sources
- National Trust - Bodiam Castle (read via an Internet Archive copy dated 31 August 2026, as the live site blocks our requests)
- National Trust - Scotney Castle (read via an Internet Archive copy dated 31 August 2026)
- Kent & East Sussex Railway - timetable and running calendar (checked September 2026)
- National Rail Enquiries - Charing Cross to Robertsbridge, times and fares (checked September 2026)
- National Rail Enquiries - Charing Cross to Wadhurst, times and fares (checked September 2026)
- Historic England - Bodiam Castle, list entry 1044134, Grade I (statutory description read via an Internet Archive copy dated 11 March 2026)
- Historic England - Bodiam quadrangular castle and its landscaped setting, scheduled monument 1013554 (read via an Internet Archive copy dated 27 November 2024)
- Food Standards Agency - food hygiene rating, Scotney Castle, The National Trust, Estate Office, Scotney Castle TN3 8JN (checked September 2026)