Country
Country
Entire counties don’t get pronounced the ‘Garden of England’ for no reason, and Kent’s bucolic
moniker hails back to around 400 years ago when Henry VIII declared it so after allegedly sampling
a bowl of cherries produced in the county and becoming overwhelmed by their delicious flavour.
Unlike many other English counties that have fallen prey to developers with voracious appetites
to build on green space, Kent still has a vast and cherished countryside to be proud of.
S
tretching from Kent’s famous White Cliffs to Farnham
in Surrey, the North Downs Area of Outstanding
Natural Beauty is one of the most enchanting
landscapes in the whole of southern Britain. One of
only 15 designated National Trails in England and
Wales, the 153-mile long North Downs Way follows in
the footsteps of pilgrims past over hills and grassland,
through valleys and ancient woodland and along the
White Cliffs to the Dover coastline. An immediate
and tranquil escape from the daily grind, you’ll find
everything from archbishops’ palaces and cathedrals
to Roman and Napoleonic forts and medieval castles
along the main route.
eyes on the UK's largest elephant herd and prowl
with the monkeys in an open-top enclosure, and of
course Port Lympne Hotel and Reserve, famed for its
safari rides on which you’ll spot giraffe and wildebeest
before getting up close and personal with lions, tigers
and cheetah. Run by renowned animal conservation
charity, The Aspinall Foundation, both parks focus on
education and endangered animal conservation, but in
a really fun fashion, making a visit to either (or both!) a
brilliant, child-friendly introduction to the importance
of conservation.
Conversation of an entirely different kind can be
spotted all over Kent in its beautifully preserved castles
that spring up across the sprawling countryside.
Truly majestic and one of the most beautiful spots in
the whole county, Leeds Castle appears to rise from
the still waters of its moat amongst a staggering 500
acres of parkland and gardens; Sissinghurst Castle is
as historic as it is romantic having been fallen in love
with and nurtured throughout the 1940s by poet, Vita
Sackville-West, who cultivated a world-renowned
garden there; and double-moated Hever Castle – the
childhood home of Anne Boleyn – contains priceless
furniture, tapestries and antiques alongside one of the
country's best Tudor painting collections.
Pairing walking and wildlife, at over 220 acres, Blean
Woods National Nature Reserve (NNR) is the largest
ancient broadleaved woodland in southern Britain.
With four nature trails weaving their way through
brambles, bracken and bluebells, you can spot all
manner of forest birdlife such as woodpeckers and tree
creepers along accessible routes ranging in length from
1.5 to 13km. Likewise, Stodmarsh NNR just outside
Canterbury is a hotspot for breeding birds and a place
to seek out shining ramshorn snail and water voles,
which are both very rare in Europe.
Encounters with more exotic animals can be had at
Howletts Wild Animal Park, where you can lay your
45