Lady’s Kent Travel Guide

Today I want to share my Kent travel guide with you. There’s a lot to see and do in the Garden of England, and it’s worth spending some time exploring this southern English county to the east of London.

Kent Travel Guide

It’s been a while since I last did a post-by-numbers, so here’s a numerical recap of my weekend in Kent. I hope it helps you discover all the great things to do in the area.

Places to Go in Kent

6: Number of towns in Kent that my friend and I visited over the weekend. We started in Whitstable, which is known for its excellent oysters and beautiful coastal location. There’s even an annual oyster festival there each year.

We then moved on to Folkestone, where we stayed at a great hotel called The Relish and enjoyed pretty views over the English Channel. This is one of the best places on the seaside near London.

Next came Hythe, which had an amazing seafood restaurant and a long rocky beach. It was followed by Romney Marsh, which was full of adorable woolly sheep.

Cranbrook featured a pretty high street and a beautiful church, and Royal Tunbridge Wells, a historic spa town with great boutiques and colorful parks, rounded out our trip to Kent.

Where to Eat in Kent

24: Number of oysters eaten over the weekend. Eating good oysters was the primary objective of our travels in Kent, and they lived up to their reputation.

We consumed 12 at the Whitstable Oyster Company, a great seafood restaurant right on the water in Whitstable. They were followed by local lobster, a plate of calamari, and fresh berries with cream.

The rest of the oysters were slurped at the Hythe Bay Seafood Restaurant, another good place for fish and shellfish in Kent.

These oysters were accompanied by a big steaming bowl of moules marinieres, huge rings of calamari, and sticky toffee pudding.

My only complaint was that the pudding was scalding hot and the first bite burned my entire mouth. Of course that didn’t stop me from eating the second one way too soon after. It burned too.

Newfoundlands in Kent

9: Number of giant Newfoundland dogs we watched participate in a search-and-rescue demonstration on the beach in Whitstable.

Some were more excited to get in the icy cold water than others, but they were all excited to spray the crowds when they shook themselves dry afterwards. Adorable.

Folkestone Fossils

A whole bunch: Number of random fossils and ammonites we saw on the beaches in Kent. The region is known for its preserved remains of shells and other ancient flora and fauna, and the coast was teeming with them.

Manor Houses

1: Number of stately homes-turned-hotels we visited for dinner. Gravetye Manor in West Sussex was not only one of the culinary highlights of the trip, but also one of the scenic ones.

The house, which dates back to the 16th century, was surrounded by gorgeous gardens and vast landscapes right out of a Jane Austen novel.

The interior of Gravetye Manor, with massive fireplaces and cozy sofas, was just the right blend of modern and historic.

We went with the tasting menu for dinner, the highlights of which were a spiced Devon crab with avocado sorbet and a roast loin of south coast monkfish with marsh samphire, lemon beurre blanc, and flying fish roe.

Yes, I took a menu home with me. It was that good. The wine pairing was top notch as well.

How Long to Spend in Kent

2: Number of days too few to have spent in Kent. There was so much to see in the Garden of England, and we wish we could have stayed longer and seen more of the best places to visit in Kent.

It’s only a handful of miles from London, though, so I’m sure we’ll be back in a number of months. If you get a chance to go, I hope you enjoy it and that my Kent travel guide helps you plan your perfect trip.

Find this post helpful? Buy me a coffee!

New here? Join thousands of others and subscribe to the A Lady in London blog via email.

Some of the links in this blog post are affiliate links. At no cost to you, I earn a small commission when you click on them and make a purchase. It doesn’t affect the way you shop, and it’s a great way to support the A Lady in London blog.

Pin it!