At English Heritage it is our aim to bring the story of England to life at the places where history happened, and what better way to do it than to give visitors the opportunity to experience the restorative properties of Walmer Castle as a coastal retreat, as many of its famous historical inhabitants used it. We are bringing revitalisation by the seaside into the 21st century with our wellbeing programme and we welcome visitors of all abilities to come along to our new wellbeing sessions.
With a seaside holiday long established in the British psyche as the ultimate in wellbeing and relaxation, English Heritage is encouraging the British public to take the trend into the 21st century with a new range of wellbeing activities hosted at Walmer Castle in Kent. The coastal fort, which overlooks the English Channel, has long been used as a place of retreat and recuperation by successive Lords Warden of the Cinque Ports, including among them some of the country’s most iconic Prime Ministers. And now visitors to the historic castle can follow in their footsteps with a wide range of therapeutic wellbeing activities from yoga to meditation to forest bathing.
In Walmer’s award winning gardens, with the picturesque coastal castle as a backdrop, visitors can immerse themselves in a whole host of wellbeing activities as they find restoration beside the seaside. Activities include yoga, meditation, forest bathing and laughter yoga – plus many more. Through ‘Wellbeing at Walmer’ visitors can experience the gardens in a new and unique way all whilst promoting good physical and mental health.
The idea of good health by the English seaside has been longstanding – with doctors prescribing emersion in cold sea waters in the 18th century to cure an array of ailments, until eventually the idea of the seaside resort took hold. In the mid-18th Century, Walmer Castle itself had become a seaside retreat as well as a fort. With former Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and one of Britain’s most famous Prime Ministers and soldiers – The Duke of Wellington – staying their most years from the end of August through to mid-November, and even loaning the castle to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to stay there for four weeks at their leisure. William Pitt the Younger, another former Prime Minister, also regularly visited the Castle whilst Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and created the pleasure grounds which can be still enjoyed today. In April 1805, following his return to Walmer after an absence, his niece Lady Hester Stanhope, wrote on the improvement of his health during his time at the castle, “Mr Pitt looks better … I am so much pleased with his having expressed great approbation at my plantation, & saying it could not have been better done, exactly as he wished.”
Through Wellbeing at Walmer, English Heritage hopes to bring the restorative peace and beauty of the gardens, as experienced by Pitt over two hundred years ago, to all those who wish to benefit from them.
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