Winter Wonderland
Kent Life|December 2017

Christmas preparations are well underway at Scotney, Ightham Mote and other National Trust places across Kent.

Emma Ward
Winter Wonderland

SCOTNEY Castle has turned into a winter wonderland this month, and it’s all thanks to a team of volunteers working behind the scenes to conjure up the magic of Christmas

From Christmas carols to festive lunches, garden trails to wooden Christmas trees, the team at Scotney Castle has embraced the yuletide season to the full. Carolyn Keely and Felicity Whittle started volunteering at Scotney Castle on the same day 10 years ago when the Victorian mansion first opened to the public.

Both now retired, the friends thoroughly enjoy the variety of their volunteering roles, which can see them welcoming visitors as room stewards one day and cleaning books the next.

Carolyn says: “I worked in the travel industry for many years, enabling me to travel extensively with my husband. Now I have retired to a cottage in the country I enjoy combining a love of gardening with my volunteering at Scotney. I often pick and arrange flowers for displays around the house, and I also enjoy talking to visitors and helping with the Flower Festival in the spring”. 

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