Your next escape is closer than you think. This is Kent. Not the one you imagined. The real one. And it's been waiting for you to arrive.
Kent has been keeping secrets. Rows of vines heavy with the grapes that make England's most-awarded sparkling wine, golden in the afternoon sun at Gusbourne Estate. A castle rising from its moat in the Kentish countryside, surrounded by five hundred acres of gardens, falconry and enough adventure to exhaust even the most determined family, and still have you back in time for dinner. A grand Victorian hotel on the coast at Hythe, where the sea air arrives before you've even found the car park and the English Channel stretches out in front of you like it was arranged for the occasion. All of it within an hour. None of it what you expected. Kent has been here the whole time, quietly extraordinary, waiting for you to finally arrive.
Breathe, taste, wander, play and stay - it's Kent, rediscovered.
Between the rolling vines of Gusbourne Estate, sun-warmed and silent but for the distant hum of summer, England's finest sparkling wines are quietly rivalling the best in the world. Wander through vines heavy with possibility, glass in hand, with absolutely nowhere to be.
Gusbourne has been producing award-winning English wine since 2004. Tours and tastings wind through the estate's 200 acres of pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier, and the views across the Weald are, frankly, spectacular.
Leeds Castle isn't just a castle - it's 500 acres of adventure. discover a giant maze to get genuinely lost in, falconry displays that make adults feel like children and children feel like kings, a woodland play area, seasonal events and enough space to run, explore and completely exhaust themselves in the best possible way. The fairy tale is real, it's in Kent, and it has very good facilities. Pack a picnic. Make a day of it. You'll be back before the year is out. This is where fairy tales forgot to stay fictional, and history never looked this good on a Tuesday afternoon.
There are hotels that have a view and hotels that are built around one. Hythe Imperial is the second kind. Sitting directly on the coast at Hythe, with the English Channel stretching out in front of it and nine holes of golf behind, it has been doing this since 1880. Inside, the spa, the pool and luxurious bedrooms offer the perfect escape.
Outside, the sea air does the rest. Check in on a Friday evening and by Saturday morning you will have completely forgotten what you were worried about. That is, after all, rather the point.
