Your next staycation is closer than you think. This is Kent. So, stop scrolling for somewhere else. Kent has this covered.
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. Acres of history and 400 years of maritime heritage at The Historic Dockyard Chatham, where families can spend an entire day discovering it. 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.
Ready to plan your break? With high speed trains straight from London, getting here has never been easier. Check our Southeastern's app and book your next break.
There are days out and then there are days that children talk about for the rest of the summer. The Historic Dockyard Chatham is firmly, gloriously the second kind. Acres of maritime history on the banks of the Medway, where Britain's naval story unfolded across four extraordinary centuries, and where families can spend an entire day discovering it without once looking at their watches.
Board the warships. Actually board them - climb the decks, duck through the hatches, stand at the helm of vessels that have seen more of the world than most people ever will. Watch ropes being made by hand in one of the last working ropewalks in the country. Take in galleries that bring the whole extraordinary story to life for curious minds of every age - the kind of interactive, hands-on history that sparks questions on the drive home and lingers long after. Big ships. Big history. Big day out. 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 weekend of it - seriously, have you seen their accommodation? 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.
