Days out in Kent

Filter 384 places and 983 upcoming events by where you are, what you fancy and what the weather is doing.

Aylesford

Indoor and rainy dayAylesford

Adventure Kidz

Adventure Kidz is an indoor adventure and soft play barn on the Quarry Wood Retail Park in Aylesford, near Maidstone. Alongside the main soft play with slides, there is an indoor high ropes course, mini quad bikes and a baby and toddler area, so it works for toddlers through to older primary-age children.

Adults £4.95, under 1s £4.95, ages 1 to 3 £8.95 and ages 4 to 12 £10.95. Quad bikes cost an extra £1 a ride. Children aged 13 to 17 may be admitted at the venue's discretion at the 4 to 12 rate.Directions

Image: AirHop

AdventureTunbridge Wells

AirHop Tunbridge Wells

AirHop Tunbridge Wells is an indoor adventure and trampoline park on North Farm Road in High Brooms. Jump across wall-to-wall trampolines, giant airbags and AR trampolines, try the reaction walls, or play in the arcade. Sessions suit families with toddlers through to teens, and there are inclusive sessions for families who prefer a calmer visit.

Party packages from £22.95 per guest (Essential Party), £24.95 (Premium 60), £27.95 (Premium 90) and £34.95 (Ultimate Party). Open Jump prices are not shown in the text we could read, so check on the official site.Directions

Image: AirHop

AdventureBroadstairs

AirHop Westwood Cross

AirHop Westwood Cross is an indoor adventure and trampoline park at the Westwood Cross shopping centre. Jump across interconnecting trampolines and giant inflatables, play laser tag or try the Robokeeper and Strike Arena games. It suits families with toddlers through to teens, and a session takes one to two hours.

£10 to £25Directions

Tudeley, near Tonbridge

History and heritageTudeley, near Tonbridge

All Saints' Church, Tudeley

All Saints' at Tudeley is the only church in the world with every one of its twelve windows designed by Marc Chagall. The first, the east window, remembers Sarah d'Avigdor-Goldsmid, who drowned at 21, and Chagall was so taken with the church that he went on to design the rest.

No ticket, but a donation of £3 per person is suggested; you can pay by card in the church.Directions

Image: Amazon Adventure

East SussexIndoor and rainy dayBells Yew Green, near Tunbridge Wells

Amazon Adventure

Amazon Adventure is a jungle-themed soft play run by Drusillas Park, at Bells Yew Green about 3 miles south of Tunbridge Wells and opposite Frant station. Its multi-level play jungle is split into areas by age for children up to 12, and a café serves hot and cold food.

2-hour sessions and Open Play: child £13.25, adult £3.75. Super Saver sessions and SEN Sundays: child £10.60, adult £3. Under 1s with a full-paying child go free; one under 1 with an adult and no paying child is £7.50. Carers of paying disabled guests go free with proof.Directions

Photo of Southborough: Mertbiol, CC0

WorkshopsSouthborough

Arty Farty Retreat

Arty Farty Retreat is a community art studio on London Road in Southborough that runs one-off and short-run creative workshops for children and adults. The programme changes through the year, from holiday art days for children to painting, pottery and sketchbook sessions for grown-ups who want to try something new.

£25 to £50Directions

Image: Ashdown Forest

East SussexOutdoorsForest Row

Ashdown Forest

Open heathland and woodland that inspired the Hundred Acre Wood in the Winnie-the-Pooh stories. Big skies, long views and miles of paths make it a favourite for dog walks and family rambles, with Poohsticks Bridge an easy target for younger children.

FreeDirections

Photo of Crowborough: Hassocks5489, CC0

East SussexOutdoorsCrowborough

Ashdown Forest Riding Centre

Ashdown Forest Riding Centre runs escorted hacks straight out onto the heathland and woods of Ashdown Forest from a farm near Crowborough, with horses and ponies for complete beginners through to experienced riders. It also teaches in a large outdoor arena and holds pony parties for children.

£25 to £50Directions

Blackham

WorkshopsBlackham

Ashdown Manna Cookery School

Ashdown Manna is a small cookery school in a converted barn at Blackham, on the edge of Ashdown Forest just over the border from Tunbridge Wells. Professional chefs teach hands-on half and full-day courses, from bread and pizza to Indian, Thai and French cooking, with no more than eight to ten people in each class.

£50 and overDirections

Nutley

East SussexOutdoorsNutley

Ashdown Riding

Ashdown Riding is a riding school and hacking centre on Lower Misbourne Farm near Nutley, set in the middle of Ashdown Forest with no road riding needed to reach the heath. It teaches riders from 4 years old in its floodlit sand school and takes guided hacks out onto the forest.

£25 to £50Directions

Pembury

Animals and wildlifePembury

Aspens Animal Farm and Bluebell Café

Aspens is a disability charity whose site on Cornford Lane, just outside Pembury, has a small animal farm that anyone can visit for free, cared for by the adults the charity supports. Alongside donkeys, ponies, alpacas, pigs, goats and two emus there is a woodland walk, a playground and the Bluebell Café.

FreeDirections

Image: Assembly Hall Theatre

Arts and cultureRoyal Tunbridge Wells

Assembly Hall Theatre

The Assembly Hall is Tunbridge Wells' main theatre, bringing touring theatre, music, comedy, dance and family shows to the town centre. Its pantomime is one of the big Christmas outings in West Kent. Bars are open on show nights.

Ticket prices vary by show.Directions

Image: Balfour Winery

Food and drinkStaplehurst

Balfour Winery

Balfour Winery sits on the 400-acre Hush Heath Estate near Staplehurst, in the Weald. Book a vineyard tour and tasting of its award-winning English wines, eat at the Winemakers' Kitchen or Cellar Door, and walk among vines, ancient woodland and meadows. A shuttle from Marden station means nobody has to drive.

Check the website for tour, tasting and dining prices.Directions

Photo of Royal Tunbridge Wells: Tilman2007, CC BY-SA 4.0

OutdoorsRoyal Tunbridge Wells

Barnett's Wood Nature Reserve

Barnett's Wood was the first Local Nature Reserve in Tunbridge Wells borough, a mix of ancient woodland and wildflower meadows on the northern edge of High Brooms. Families come for the natural play area and picnic spot at the Juniper Close entrance, then follow paths to the dipping pond and an old brick kiln.

FreeDirections

Image: Visit Swale

OutdoorsSheerness

Barton's Point Coastal Park

Barton's Point Coastal Park is a 40-acre park on the Isle of Sheppey built around a salt-water lake, with walking and cycle routes and big open skies. Families can ride the miniature steam railway, use the adventure playground or play pitch and putt, while others fish, sail or watch birds. It suits a relaxed half day with a stop at the lakeside café.

FreeDirections

Image: National Trust

East SussexHistory and heritageBurwash

Bateman's

Rudyard Kipling's 17th-century Jacobean home, with his study and rooms kept much as he left them. Outside there is a quiet garden, a working watermill he wrote about and 300 acres of High Weald countryside to walk.

£10 to £25Directions

Image: Battle of Britain Memorial

History and heritageCapel-le-Ferne, near Folkestone

Battle of Britain Memorial

The national memorial to the aircrew of the Battle of Britain stands on the White Cliffs at Capel-le-Ferne with wide views over the Channel. Alongside the memorial itself are the Christopher Foxley-Norris Wall, the Blade of Honour and replica Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft. Inside The Wing, the Scramble Experience tells the story of the summer of 1940.

Under £10Directions

Image: BattleKart Sittingbourne

AdventureBorden, near Sittingbourne

BattleKart Sittingbourne

Electric go-karting crossed with a video game. Drivers race on a hall floor lit up by ceiling projectors, collecting bonuses, firing virtual rockets and playing modes such as snake, football and pool, with no headset needed.

£10 to £25Directions

Image: Bayham Old Abbey

History and heritageLamberhurst

Bayham Old Abbey

Bayham Old Abbey is a romantic ruin of golden sandstone in the High Weald, right on the Kent and Sussex border near Lamberhurst. Much of the abbey church, the chapter house and a 14th-century gatehouse survive, set in a landscape shaped by Humphry Repton. It is free, peaceful and dog-friendly, and pairs well with nearby Scotney Castle or Bewl Water.

FreeDirections

Photo: Robin Webster, CC BY-SA 2.0

OutdoorsBean

Beacon Wood Country Park

Beacon Wood Country Park near Bean is a rolling woodland on old clay pits that have largely returned to nature. Follow the trails, look out over the pond and wetland from the viewing platform and stop at the shady picnic area. It suits dog walkers and families wanting an hour or two outdoors near Dartford.

FreeDirections

Image: Bedgebury National Pinetum and Forest

OutdoorsGoudhurst

Bedgebury National Pinetum and Forest

Bedgebury is Forestry England's National Pinetum, a world-leading collection of over 12,000 specimen trees set among the lakes and valleys of the High Weald near Goudhurst. Wander the pinetum on foot, cycle or mountain bike the forest trails, or let children tackle the play trail. With a cafe at the visitor centre, it can easily fill a day.

£10 to £25Directions

Image: Belmont House and Gardens

History and heritageThrowley, near Faversham

Belmont House and Gardens

Belmont is an elegant 18th-century house by Samuel Wyatt in the countryside south of Faversham, home to five generations of the Harris family. Guided tours reveal an armoury, paintings by Cazabon and a remarkable clock collection, while the award-winning gardens include a walled garden, pinetum and kitchen garden. It is a seasonal visit, closed through the winter.

Check the website for 2027 prices.Directions

Image: Betteshanger Park

OutdoorsDeal

Betteshanger Country Park and Kent Mining Museum

Betteshanger Park is a 250-acre country park on the site of Kent's last working coal mine, just outside Deal. There are cycling and walking trails, a play park and a café, and the Kent Mining Museum and Collier's Way trail tell the story of the coalfield. Dogs are clearly welcome, with dog shows and walks on the events calendar.

FreeDirections

Photo: Bewl Water

East SussexOutdoorsLamberhurst

Bewl Water

Bewl Water is the South East's largest reservoir, set in the High Weald on the Kent and Sussex border with 13 miles of shoreline. Come for a lakeside walk or bike ride, a watersports session or a summer day on the inflatable Aqua Park, then refuel at the Waterfront Café. It suits families, active groups and dog walkers, and can easily fill a day.

Under £10Directions