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Discover Kent, The Garden of England
Kent really is ‘The Garden of England’ with its breathtaking landscape, coastline, vineyards and pick-your-own fruit orchards. Combine this with its public gardens, stately homes and castles and you have the most quintessential English setting for your holiday in the UK.
With all this history, culture and scenery it really is hard to pick the best parts of Kent. It’s ‘garden’ includes many pick-your-own fruit farms and during the summer you will often find local fruit growers selling their produce on the sides of the roads, cherries and strawberries being the most popular fresh fruit on offer.
In fact ACCORD ISS students visit a local farm in Goudhurst, Kent, to spend an afternoon picking strawberries and of course eating them back at the school with cream, just like it should be done in England.
Kent is home to many key historical sites including Hever Castle, once home to Henry VIII second wife Anne Boleyn. This 13th century castle hosts spectacular award winning gardens, a water maze, live jousting tournaments and much more.
Another Kent castle worthy of a visit is Leeds Castle. This castle has witnessed a wealth of history over the past 900 years from imprisoning witches to hosting Winston Churchill and the Royal Courts of Europe.
The history doesn’t stop there. There are many galleries, museums and even steam railways in Kent.
Vintage train journeys can be taken on the Kent and East Sussex Railway from Tenterden and Bodiam along 21 miles of beautiful countryside.
If you need to relax after all that excitement then you can visit one of the many famous gardens in Kent which give it it’s ‘Garden of England’ title. Pashley Manor Gardens described as ‘one of the finest gardens in England’ is one of our favourites and one for all the family is Penshurst Place and Gardens which along with its manor house includes 11 acres of Elizabethan walled gardens, a maze, toy museum, adventure playground and woodland trail.
If you fancy a spot of shopping and lunch then Royal Tunbridge Wellsis the best town for this. One of only 3 towns in the country to be named ‘Royal’, Tunbridge Wells dates back over 400 years to when Chalybeate Spring was found and as with the rest of the county this town has been very popular with royalty. The Pantiles is the oldest part of the town and where you can find the famous spring along with boutique shops, cafes and restaurants. The main high street is packed with a range of clothing and interior shops, restaurants and bars right up until you reach the main shopping centre at Royal Victoria Place which has all the known brands plus individual boutiques. You can shop ‘til you drop!
Kent has a lot to offer all types of visitor, even more than what can be described here. One thing for sure is that you will never be short of things to see and do and you will forever be amazed by the beauty that is the ‘Garden of England’.
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