Your next staycation is closer than you think. This is Kent. So, stop scrolling for somewhere else. Kent has this covered.
Kent doesn't run out of surprises. A Victorian harbour arm reinvented as one of the most creative and vibrant destinations on the English coast. A miniature steam railway crossing fourteen miles of ancient marsh with the unhurried conviction of something that has always known exactly what it is. A medieval estate that has been getting it right since 1341 and shows absolutely no sign of stopping. And a borough at the heart of the Garden of England where the food and drink is as good as the land it comes from, and just thirty-eight minutes from London St Pancras by High Speed train. Four more reasons the county you thought you knew has been keeping secrets.
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.
Running fourteen miles across the most dramatic stretch of marsh in England, hauled by perfectly scaled steam locomotives, The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway is one of those rare things - a genuine original, unchanged in its essential character for nearly a hundred years, and all the more wonderful for it.
Children who board at Hythe and ride the length of the marsh to Dungeness, past the shingle and the sea, tend to arrive at the other end with the particular expression of someone who has just experienced something they will not forget. Adults get that expression too, if they're honest. Not all great adventures happen at full size. Kent, rediscovered.
Kent has always been the Garden of England, and nowhere makes more of that title than Ashford. The borough sits at the heart of some of the most productive land in the country - hop gardens, fruit orchards, vineyards and farms that have been supplying some of the finest ingredients in England for generations.
Here you'll find independent restaurants, farm shops, artisan producers and local markets that take provenance seriously and cook it brilliantly. From the fields of Kent to a very good plate, from grape to glass, Ashford rewards those who take the time to explore it properly. And getting here could not be simpler - Southeastern's High Speed services connect Ashford International directly to London St Pancras in just under forty minutes, making it one of the most accessible food destinations in the country. Grown here. Made here. Best eaten here.
Penshurst Place has been standing since 1341, which gives it nearly seven centuries of practice at being extraordinary, and it shows. The medieval great hall at its heart is one of the finest in England. Outside, eleven acres of walled gardens unfold in a series of rooms, each one distinct, each one immaculate, each one the result of six hundred years of people caring deeply about this particular piece of Kent.
Children will head straight for the adventure playground and the woodland trail. Adults will lose themselves entirely in the gardens and not mind at all. And somewhere between the medieval walls and the Kentish countryside beyond them, the whole family will have the kind of day that makes the drive home unusually quiet - the comfortable silence of people who have spent the day enjoying themselves.
There are places that reinvent themselves so completely that arriving feels like a discovery, even if you've been to the town before. Folkestone Harbour Arm is one of them. What was once a working Victorian harbour is now one of the most vibrant, creative and quietly extraordinary destinations on the Kent coast. Lined with independent food and drink vendors, live music and events throughout the year, a visit here recalibrates everything within about ten minutes of arriving.
Walk the arm on a summer evening and the Channel glitters on both sides, the food smells extraordinary, and the whole thing has an energy that feels genuinely unlike anywhere else in England. And then there is Sea Scrub Sauna - wood-fired heat, cold plunge pools and the particular joy of emerging from cold water with the English Channel in front of you and the rest of the afternoon entirely your own. You didn't see Folkestone coming.
