Over the half-term holidays we visited Leeds Castle in Kent with the Little Weeds. I had always feared Leeds Castle might be a bit too commercial, but even on a drizzly October day was pleasantly surprised to find it is a very well-run destination, with something for everyone.

The ticket price was not cheap – around £80 for a family of five – but we can go back for free any time in the next 12 months, which is a compensation if you live (sort of) locally.

The Little Weeds loved the Hallowe’en trail in which four young actors played different comic spooky characters in locations around the castle grounds, as well as the maze which we got quite lost in and the two adventure playgrounds.

I loved the castle, one-time residence of Medieval queens, most recently inhabited in the 1920s and 30s by an American heiress Olive Baillie, who used to host glamorous parties here.

And we all loved the profusion of pumpkins in the Culpeper Garden – each individually carved in imaginative styles!