West Kent Royal Tunbridge Wells Sevenoaks High Weald Hever Dartford Gravesend Kent UK

Royal Tunbridge Wells

Royal Tunbridge Wells sits in the heart of stunning Kent High Weald country and retains all its Georgian charm whilst offering one of the best specialist shopping experiences in Kent. The town didn't officially receive its Royal tag until Edward VII ordered it in 1909 in recognition of the town's royal patronage over the centuries! Like Brighton on the Sussex coast, a number of Royal visitors visited the town frequently after the discovery of the widely believed 'therapeutic' Chalybeate Spring in 1606. Princess, later Queen Victoria, was one such Royal visitor. Political and artistic notables were also attracted to the town including Samuel Pepys, Daniel Defoe and William Makepeace Thackeray. Royal Tunbridge Wells came into its own during the Georgian period and historic architecture such as the Pantiles colonnaded walkway survives today.

Royal Tunbridge Wells is as popular today as it was during the Georgian period, attracting huge numbers of visitors. Surrounded by the stunning Kent Weald countryside and boosted by a number of surrounding historic homes, castles, abbeys and gardens, the town itself is a mecca for arts and crafts, unique boutique and antiques shopping, as well as offering a fine choice of restaurants, pubs and specialist Kent food and drink.

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Tonbridge

Tonbridge boasts a selection of historic features including a 13th century motte and caste. Markets were held on Tonbridge's High Street as far back as 1259 and the River Medway flows right into this small Kent market town. Tonbridge Tourist Office sits within the central castle grounds.

You're well placed centrally in the pretty Kent Weald countryside here at Tonbridge, close to a number of top attractions including Hop Farm where you'll find Kent's largest collection of Victorian Oast hop drying houses, as well as a choice of surrounding Kent Weald gardens. Maidstone, Sevenoaks, Knole and Royal Tunbridge Wells and Cranbrook are all within easy reach of central Tonbridge.

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Sevenoaks, Knole House & Chartwell

Sevenoaks was so named after its ancient seven oak trees, six of which were unfortunately lost during the great storm of October 1987. Set in the heart of the North Downs, Sevenoaks has a most attractive town centre with a fine selection of chic cafes, restaurants, specialist shops including books and antiques and plenty of alfresco dining in the summer months. The Kino Sevenoaks cinema and theatre is the arts centre hub in the town offering a choice of art and mainstream cinema, alongside theatre, comedy and music shows. South Eastern Railways operate direct links from Sevenoaks into central London. The town serves as an excellent central base from which to explore not just nearby famous stately homes Knole and Chartwell, but also the sublime countryside of the Kent Weald and Downs. To the north of Sevenoaks Lullingstone Castle & World Garden, Lullingstone Roman Villa and Lullingstone Park (with visitor centre) are more attractions within easy reach. Ancient woodlands and Sites of Special Scientific Interest are nearby at Shoreham and Farningham.

Two of England's most popular historic homes are close to Sevenoaks. Knole House was home to the Sackville Wests for centuries and childhood home to its most famous resident Vita Sackville West who was born here at Knole. Vita was an acclaimed poet, gardener and novelist who was closely connected with Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury set. Virginia Woolf drew inspiration from Knole and lover Vita Sackville West in the writing of one of her most famous works - Orlando.

The other famous stately home in the region is Chartwell House, Winston Churchill's home from 1924 until his death in 1965. Both homes boast extensive stunning gardens.

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Hever, Penshurst, Edenbridge & the Eden Valley

The South West Corner of Kent is a mere 25 miles from London, a fact that's hard to believe as you tour the stunning countryside of the Downs, Eden Valley and Weald in the region. Typical in the area are stunning historic towns and villages including main centre Edenbridge in the Eden Valley. Some of Kent's most famous historic houses are here including Penshurst and Hever. Country pubs, arts and crafts and antique shopping, festivals and events including summer jousting tournaments and a fine choice of historic churches are to be found around Hever and Edenbridge.

Hever and Penshurst are particularly good days out for families, with on-site attractions such as toy museums, adventure playgrounds, trails and a host of summer events alongside the stately home and gardens.

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Kent High Weald, Sissinghurst & Cranbrook

Idyllic Cranbrook is one of the Weald's prettiest small towns and perfectly placed for exploring the Kent Weald and Royal Tunbridge Wells to the West and Tenterden to the east.

Several of Kent's most popular and attractive gardens are within easy reach of Cranbrook, including the famous creation of Vita Sackville West - Sissinghurst Castle Gardens and romantic garden gem Scotney Castle Gardens. Both of these are on the Weald Seven Wonders list of attractions! Cranbrook benefits from a superb choice of fine restaurants, pubs, specialist shops and a selection of art galleries and arts and crafts shopping. A number of artists are based in this pretty Kent Weald town still, a legacy which began with the settlement of the Cranbrook colony of artists between 1855 and 1900 which included brothers George and Frederick Hardy, Find out more on the Cranbrook Colony of Artists at Cranbrook's main local history museum.

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Dartford & Gravesend

You're in prime London communter territory here in Dartford, with South Eastern trains running frequently from Dartford Station into London Bridge and Charing Cross. Journey times won't set you back much over half an hour, and Dartford makes for a superb budget London base with easy access to nearby shopping mecca Bluewater Shopping complex, Canterbury and the North Kent Coast.

Dartford is conveniently close to Kent's new Ebbsfleet Channel Tunnel station, which whisks you off to Paris and Europe in no time. Dartford makes a most convenient overnight base for visitors looking to holiday in France and Belgium. The two Fastrack (Route A and Route B) bus service now offers frequent and direct links to both Bluewater Shopping Centre and Ebbsfleet International Station for Eurostar train bording across the Channel.

Gravesend has a rather different feel to Dartford with its close links to London. You're closer to the Medway towns of Rochester and Chatham here, with which Gravesend and the Gravesham area has close links - including the one time Thames Medway canal - parts of which survive with further restoration afoot. The Gravesham area bordered by both the Thames estuary north and the Medway south gives the area a particular waterbased heritage, notably in the passenger ferry area. Passenger ferries still operate today from Gravesend to London and across to Tilbury over the Thames estuary. A number of museums and historic sights in Gravesend dig deep into this heritage and the new Towncentric Tourist Information centre in Gravesend town centre.

The Gravesham borough, incorporating the towns of Gravesend and Northfleet, and pushing south to include Higham, Shorne and pretty villages such as historic Cobham and Luddestown came into existance in the mid 1970s, but there's evidence from the Domesday Book and elsewhere that the name of Gravesham has been around and was used much earlier.

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