SPECIAL FEATURE: FAMILY FUN IN KENT
DAYSOUT
SPECIAL FEATURE: FAMILY FUN IN KENT
© Oliver Dixon
HEVER CASTLE
The Garden of England becomes one enormous playground in summer. Beyond its orchards, hop fields and famously green countryside lies a county made for family adventures, where castles, coastlines, wildlife, woodland and wide-open spaces can turn every day into something different. With so much waiting beyond the front door, the extended school break in Kent feels less like a six-week slog and more like a summer that perhaps isn’ t long enough.
Across our diverse county, a change of scene rarely requires a long journey. One morning can begin among lions, gorillas or birds of prey and end with sandy feet and fish and chips while the sun drops behind a harbour wall. Children can charge through castle grounds, crawl into underground tunnels, climb aboard historic ships and take control of machinery they would usually only get to view. Elsewhere, woodland paths become natural playgrounds, rivers open up new views of familiar towns and the county’ s enormous skies make a simple picnic feel like an escape.
This variety matters during a break when everyone wants something different. Toddlers need room to roam, older children want a proper thrill and teenagers require an experience worth looking up from their phones for. Parents, meanwhile, likely require a good coffee, a beautiful view and the feeling that the day has been more than simply getting everybody out of the house. Kent delivers all of it, often in the same place. Its great estates and historic landmarks have become increasingly imaginative family destinations, while wildlife parks, adventure centres, museums and creative spaces bring learning to life without making it feel remotely like school.
Better still, a successful summer in Kent doesn’ t depend on uninterrupted sunshine. When the weather turns, there are galleries to explore, stories to step inside, workshops to join and centuries of history hidden beneath roofs and streets. When the sky brightens again, more than 4,000 miles of foot and cycle routes, a sweeping coastline and acres of green space are waiting to be explored.
This Family Fun in Kent special feature is designed to help families make the most of that extraordinary choice. It is packed with ideas for big days out, small discoveries, high-energy adventures and slower moments together- proof that the sixweek holiday need never feel like a struggle when one of England’ s most exciting family destinations is right on your doorstep.
www. insidekent. co. uk • 35