Welcome to Kent
'Kent, sir - everyone knows Kent - apples, cherries, hops and women' said Charles Dickens. This wonderful agricultural and maritime county proves that you do not have to go abroad to get a great holiday experience! Whatever you want, you will find it here. Gorgeous beaches, exciting coastal resorts and stunning scenery, golf courses, historic manors, fairytale castles, exotic gardens and parks... and it produces some of the best food and drink you could wish for.
Testament to the beauty, heritage and charm of The Garden of England is the inspiration it has provided for the works of countless writers and artists. Dickens was inspired by the scenery of Chatham, Rochester and the Cliffe marshes, medieval writer Geoffrey Chaucer provided a comic reflection of the pilgrim's trip to Kent in the Canterbury Tales, and JM Turner was an avid fan of the seaside resort of Margate, which inspired many of his seascape paintings.
This really is a county with something for every season. Autumn has special significance given Kent's rich agricultural and hop growing heritage. Head to the Museum of Kent Life for the Beer and Hops Festival in September or whet your appetite at the Canterbury and Broadstairs local food festivals. If you’re feeling brave, venture out to Pluckley on Halloween - reputedly England's most haunted village, it has 14 different ghosts!
Enjoy the magic of winter at seasonal celebrations in Sandwich and Margate. If you're here over Christmas itself then what can be more appropriate than visiting Canterbury's magnificent Cathedral?
In Spring Kent's beautiful landscape blooms, offering the perfect opportunity for a refreshing break. This is one of the best times to head out into the North Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, or the ancient medieval landscape of the Kentish Weald.
With some of the UK's greatest beaches, premier coastal resorts and sunshine records, Kent epitomises everything that’s best about an English summer. Get into the holiday spirit at the flurry of music and arts festivals along with fun-filled seaside carnivals that provide traditional family entertainment at locations including Broadstairs, Ramsgate and Deal.
While you're here...
Take a walk around the 1000-acre deer park at Knole House - glorious in autumn.
Canterbury is a must - its World Heritage cathedral always makes for an interesting day out.
Take a walk back in time with a hike along the 163-mile Saxon Shore Way.
Rediscover favourite characters and stories at Rochester's Dickens Festival in June.
Discover Dover Castle’s underground tunnels, where the Dunkirk evacuation was organised.
Join in the fun at the Whitstable Oyster Festival in July.
No visit to Kent would be complete without a tour of iconic Leeds Castle and its wonderful grounds.
Enjoy Sissinghurst Castle Gardens, the beautiful legacy of poet Vita Sackville-West.
Coastal Kent
Kent's coastal region is so much more than a place to travel through - it really does have the diversity and quality of its continental neighbours!
The long and varied coastline extends from the mudflats of the Medway estuary to the wild shingle outcrop of Dungeness - a fascinating collection of coves, bays, cliffs and artificially-created lagoons with plenty of opportunities for walkers and wildlife lovers.
Kent's beaches - many of which regularly achieve Blue Flag status - and charming coastal resorts retain a timeless appeal for visitors of all ages. Our properties in Herne Bay and the 'oysters and arts' town of Whitstable, the quirky Victorian resort of Broadstairs and Regency favourite, Ramsgate, put you at the heart of all that’s best about a seaside break.
Kent's proximity to the continent has created a rich maritime and military background -symbolised by the beautiful White Cliffs of Dover - that provides plenty of fascination for history lovers. Roman forts are located at Reculver, Richborough, Dover and Lympne, Tudor castles are at Deal and Walmer, Elizabethan Upnor and Napoleonic Martello towers are dotted along the coast - all of them symbols of a past threat of invasion.
Pleasant days out can be enjoyed at the medieval Cinque Ports of Hythe, a small coastal market town on the edge of Romney Marsh, plus Sandwich - one of the best preserved medieval towns in England - and Deal, which has a lovely pier, promenade and long beach.
Rural Kent
Kent is known as the Garden of England for good reason... beautiful landscapes, a rich agricultural heritage and a wealth of country houses evoke the countryside of yesteryear, while award-winning vineyards and delicious locally-produced lamb whet the appetites of a new generation of connoisseurs.
The Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty known as the North Downs stretches from the White Cliffs of Dover to Surrey, or head west and you will come to the Kentish Weald, another AONB and home to our office in the town of Cranbrook.
Rural Kent is dotted with country houses and castles including Sissinghurst - the former home of poet Vita Sackville-West - and Scotney Castle, a 19th century house whose formal gardens feature castle ruins on an island. Near Sevenoaks is the exquisitely preserved Knole House, Ightham Mote - one of the most complete medieval manor houses in the country - and Hever Castle, converted into a manor house by the Boleyn family.
Leeds Castle is built on two islands in the middle of a lake and surrounded by 500 acres of parkland and gardens, while nearby Maidstone is the county town of Kent and home to the Museum of Kent Life. Alternatively, for family fun head to the Hop Farm Country Park, a 400-acre site with a wide variety of entertainment and annual events including the largest military vehicle show in the world!
No visit to this beautiful county would be complete without a day in Canterbury. The religious heart of England for 1,400 years, Canterbury is a quintessential English gem and its Cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
