Kent County Garden of England Overview

With so much poured into this county, it’s not surprising perhaps that this county is full of confrontations. In its western fringes it is suburban, beyond the tidal Medway and its clutter of boats,
east of the county is surprisingly rural and undiscovered, even if it has long been the highway between Continental Europe and London, and then there are the archetypal seaside towns such as Herne bay, Margate and the Botany Bay beach.

The Medway in fact forms a neat dividing line between west and east, and even distinguishes the people of Kent; that is, the natives who live west of the Medway are known as Kentish, (probably of Anglo-Saxon origin) and those who live east are called the people of Kent (of Jutish ancestry).

The border with Sussex has many villages and is studded with crowded commuter towns, such as Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells, Paddock Wood and Tonbridge. At the top of Sevenoaks is an 18th century enclave and the entrance to Knole, on of the great country houses of England, a mansion reputed to have 365 rooms, seven courtyards and dozens of staircases.

It’s surrounded by a large park with deer, always open and maintained by the National Trust.


As I said, a visit to Kent couldn’t be easier. Situated in the southeast corner of England, Kent is an easy place to get to whether you're travelling by road, rail or air. London is just half an hour away, and as the closest point to mainland Europe, and is well placed for visitors travelling from the Continent. Once you are here you'll find an excellent road network and efficient local rail and bus services.

For more information about traveling around the county, please click here.

Chatham Founded by Henry V111 and a base for the Royal navy until 1984: the Dockyard is now an 80 acre tourist attraction.

Dover Complete with castle this ancient Cinque port and its legendary White cliffs are the epitome of English patriotism. Dover has a premier cross-channel terminal with international cruise liners and passenger facilities.

Folkestone started as a fishing village and later became a Georgian resort but now gateway to the Chunnel and the Channel Tunnel Experience.

Greenwich is the home of the 0◦ longitude, the Observatory, and the Cutty Sark ship and the National Maritime Museum and Millennium Celebrations.

Ramsgate is an up-beat resort town with an operational port and with a hint of Victorian architecture and a touch of class too.

Rochester Is the birthplace to Charles Dickens. Most of his last book, the unfinished Edwin Drood, was set in Rochester.

Sevenoaks became one-oak thanks to the great storm of 1987. Luckily, the Royal Oak Hotel in the High Street refers to only a single oak in its name.

Tunbridge Wells is a prosperous Regency spa town known for its Royal and Famous Pantiles have a colonnaded promenade.

Whitstable in the north of the county is known for its silt and salty waters made it famed for its oysters from Roman times, but pollution ended this culinary connection. Today it is still a very pleasant north Kent coast resort.

Some other towns include: Bromley, Blackheath, Catford, Charlton, Dartford, Deptford, Eltham, Erith, Gillingham, Gravesend, Hythe, Lewisham, Margate, Northfleet, Orpington, Plumstead, Sidcup, Sittingbourne, Edenbridge, Sydenham, Woolwich and Maidstone being the County Town. The counties bustling major agriculture, commercial and administrative center has the almost fairy-tale like Leeds Castle close by.

Click here to leave Kent for London & Beyond