Photo: Patrick Roper, CC BY-SA 2.0Hawkhurst is a High Weald village near the Sussex border, about 4 miles south of Cranbrook, with a heritage trail and a small cinema. Bodiam Castle, Bedgebury, Bewl Water and Sissinghurst's gardens are within easy reach.
Hawkhurst is effectively two villages. The Moor, the oldest part, is a large triangular green framed by the 13th century St Laurence Church and old houses and cottages, on the road towards Bodiam and Hastings. Highgate, the other half, has a covered colonnade of shops that is close to 200 years old. The village has three conservation areas, and its old hop gardens have given way to rolling farmland. In the early 1700s it was home to the notorious Hawkhurst Gang of smugglers, and the astronomer Sir John Herschel later lived here for many years.
A heritage trail links 20 plaques around the village, four of them recent additions, with illustrated map panels at The Moor and Highgate and an online version of the map; most of it can be walked. Kino Hawkhurst, inside the historic Victoria Hall, shows mainstream and art house films alongside opera and ballet screenings, and Hawkhurst Fish Farm combines fishing lakes with a pottery painting studio. Visit Tunbridge Wells lists Bodiam Castle, Go Ape at Bedgebury, Pashley Manor and Bewl Water nearby, and recommends Sissinghurst Castle and Gardens a few miles north and Water Lane Walled Garden just outside the village. Hawkhurst also lies on a smugglers trail that runs from Goudhurst to the Sussex coast.
Checked 30 October 2026.
Photo of Hawkhurst: Patrick Roper, CC BY-SA 2.0Kino Hawkhurst is a small independent cinema in Victoria Hall, a Victorian lecture hall in the middle of the village, with a café bar, a heated oak-framed veranda and a hidden garden. It shows new releases alongside live opera, ballet and theatre screenings, and you can take a drink into the film.
Photo of Hawkhurst: Patrick Roper, CC BY-SA 2.0Twenty heritage plaques around Hawkhurst tell the stories of local people and buildings, from a Barnardo's home for babies to a Victorian woman bank agent. An illustrated map, with panels at The Moor and Highgate, links them into a walk round the village.
Photo of Hawkhurst: Patrick Roper, CC BY-SA 2.0Water Lane is an Edwardian walled garden of nearly two acres near Hawkhurst, with its original glasshouses, a cutting garden of more than 70 beds and a border designed with Jo Thompson. It is now a working flower farm that opens to visitors for special occasions, most notably a Christmas market with dozens of independent makers and food stalls.
Photo of Hawkhurst: Patrick Roper, CC BY-SA 2.0Hawkhurst Fish Farm is a coarse and carp fishery on the Hastings Road outside Hawkhurst, with several lakes ranging from small, well-stocked junior ponds to a big-fish water holding carp and catfish. Beginners can turn up at the Junior Lakes without booking and hire a rod and bait on the spot, and the lakeside cafe makes it an easy stop for families.
Photo of Hawkhurst: Patrick Roper, CC BY-SA 2.0Slap n Dash is a paint-your-own pottery and craft studio inside the Hawkhurst Fish Farm complex. You choose a ceramic piece, decorate it with the studio's paints and leave it to be glazed and fired, and there are also decopatch, make-a-bear and keepsake sessions.
Merriments is a four-acre garden on the Hawkhurst Road at Hurst Green, just over the Sussex border, with deep borders, wildflower meadows, ponds and quiet corners for watching birds. It is run without pesticides, welcomes dogs in both the garden and the conservatory café, and makes an easy, gentle outing at any time of year.
Photo of Cranbrook: Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0Hartley Lands Fishery is a day ticket fishery off Swattenden Lane near Cranbrook, with six lakes and a pond that range from a busy coarse lake for beginners to quiet specimen waters with big carp. Swims are first come, first served once you have booked onto a lake.
Image: Bedgebury National Pinetum and ForestBedgebury 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.
Image: Go Ape BedgeburyGo Ape's Treetop Challenge at Bedgebury sends you through the forest canopy on rope crossings, five zip wires and dual Tarzan swings. It suits confident older children, teens, adults and groups after an active few hours, and pairs well with a walk or ride around the rest of Bedgebury.
Hemsted Park is the public arts venue at Benenden School, with an 800-seat concert hall and a 300-seat theatre set in the school's parkland outside Cranbrook. Its programme mixes orchestras and jazz with comedy, touring plays, family ballet and free lunchtime concerts.
Image: National TrustA moated 14th-century castle in the Rother valley that looks exactly like a child's drawing of a castle. Inside the walls it is an open ruin, so you can climb the towers and explore the courtyard, then walk the grounds and parkland around the moat.
Photo of Cranbrook: Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0Built in 1814 and still kept in working order, the Union Mill is the tallest surviving smock mill in the British Isles and towers over the rooftops of Cranbrook. Volunteers open it on summer afternoons, when you can climb through the machinery and buy flour ground on site.
Photo of Cranbrook: Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0A self-guided walk of ten stops round the old cloth town of Cranbrook, from the Vestry Hall and St Dunstan's Church to the Union Windmill on the hill. Green plaques mark points of interest on the way, and the free map tells the stories behind them.
Photo of Cranbrook: Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0Known as the Cathedral of the Weald, St Dunstan's is far bigger than a small market town needs, built on the wealth of Cranbrook's medieval cloth trade. Its golden sandstone stands out among the white weatherboarding of the town, and it is usually open for visitors to look round.
Photo of Cranbrook: Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0Cranbrook's volunteer-run museum fills three floors of a late 15th-century timber-framed house with around 6,000 objects on the town's past, from its cloth-making wealth to the Cranbrook Colony of Victorian painters. Entry is free, and it pairs well with the Union Windmill a short walk away.
Photo of Cranbrook: Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0This roughly 300-seat theatre inside the Cranbrook School grounds began life as a cinema in 1913 and now runs plays, musicals, gigs, comedy and film nights. It is the town's main stage, with a programme that runs from local productions to touring tribute bands and a Christmas show.
Image: Pashley Manor GardensPashley Manor Gardens covers 11 acres on the Sussex and Kent border near Ticehurst, laid out around a Grade I listed house. Expect deep herbaceous borders, a walled garden, a kitchen garden, a rose walk and seasonal displays of tulips, roses and dahlias, with sculpture and art shown through the summer. The café terrace looks over the garden.
The Hawkhurst Gang Bonfire Society's bonfire night on the playing field at The Moor, run in the Sussex bonfire style. Expect a short torchlit procession, a large bonfire, fireworks, food and a funfair.
Image: Benenden Bonfire SocietyBenenden Bonfire Society's annual village bonfire and fireworks, held on the field by Benenden School's main entrance. Profits go to projects in the parish.
Image: Forestry EnglandBedgebury's Room on the Broom trail gains a Halloween twist in October, with cauldrons to find and a crossword to solve for a sticker. It is an easy, low-cost outing in the pinetum while the autumn colour is at its best.
Image: Go Ape BedgeburyGo Ape Sundown Adventures are evening adventure sessions at Go Ape Bedgebury near Goudhurst, held on selected dates between 16 October and 8 November 2026. Tickets must be bought in advance. The sessions suit families, teenagers and groups.
Image: Bedgebury National Pinetum and ForestForestry England runs a programme of guided walks at Bedgebury National Pinetum and Forest near Goudhurst, running from 16 October to 8 November 2026. Options include drop-in Discovery tours, Wellbeing walks on Wednesdays and Walk, Talk, Explore sessions on Thursdays, each lasting between one and one and a half hours. The walks suit everyone and are free, with booking recommended except for the Discovery tour.
Photo of Cranbrook: Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0A seasonal Halloween trail at Go Ape Bedgebury near Cranbrook, running from 10am on Friday 30 October, Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November. Visitors combine high ropes crossings and zip wires with a themed trail in which a Woodland Wizard needs help finding potion ingredients. It suits families looking for an outdoor Halloween activity, and booking is recommended.
Image: Forestry EnglandA family day at the end of half-term to hear the brand-new Gruffalo story by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. The Gruffalo himself is due to make an appearance.
Image: Bedgebury National Pinetum and ForestA guided walk through the National Pinetum at Bedgebury, led by a member of the expert tree team. The 1.5 hour walk covers 2.4 kilometres and explores the collection, recent conservation successes and work to protect threatened tree species. It suits visitors aged 12 and over, with adult supervision.
Image: Forestry EnglandAn evening light trail beneath the giant conifers of the national pinetum, reworked for 2026 with new installations. Look out for the Christmas Cathedral, a new Laser Garden and the tall trees lit against the night sky, plus a possible glimpse of Father Christmas. Food stalls sell hot drinks and treats, and you can toast marshmallows over fire pits.
Photo of Hawkhurst: Patrick Roper, CC BY-SA 2.0Kino Hawkhurst is a small independent cinema in Victoria Hall, a Victorian lecture hall in the middle of the village, with a café bar, a heated oak-framed veranda and a hidden garden. It shows new releases alongside live opera, ballet and theatre screenings, and you can take a drink into the film.
Photo of Hawkhurst: Patrick Roper, CC BY-SA 2.0Slap n Dash is a paint-your-own pottery and craft studio inside the Hawkhurst Fish Farm complex. You choose a ceramic piece, decorate it with the studio's paints and leave it to be glazed and fired, and there are also decopatch, make-a-bear and keepsake sessions.
Hemsted Park is the public arts venue at Benenden School, with an 800-seat concert hall and a 300-seat theatre set in the school's parkland outside Cranbrook. Its programme mixes orchestras and jazz with comedy, touring plays, family ballet and free lunchtime concerts.
Photo of Cranbrook: Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0Built in 1814 and still kept in working order, the Union Mill is the tallest surviving smock mill in the British Isles and towers over the rooftops of Cranbrook. Volunteers open it on summer afternoons, when you can climb through the machinery and buy flour ground on site.
Photo of Cranbrook: Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0Known as the Cathedral of the Weald, St Dunstan's is far bigger than a small market town needs, built on the wealth of Cranbrook's medieval cloth trade. Its golden sandstone stands out among the white weatherboarding of the town, and it is usually open for visitors to look round.
Photo of Cranbrook: Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0Cranbrook's volunteer-run museum fills three floors of a late 15th-century timber-framed house with around 6,000 objects on the town's past, from its cloth-making wealth to the Cranbrook Colony of Victorian painters. Entry is free, and it pairs well with the Union Windmill a short walk away.
Photo of Hawkhurst: Patrick Roper, CC BY-SA 2.0Twenty heritage plaques around Hawkhurst tell the stories of local people and buildings, from a Barnardo's home for babies to a Victorian woman bank agent. An illustrated map, with panels at The Moor and Highgate, links them into a walk round the village.
Photo of Cranbrook: Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0Built in 1814 and still kept in working order, the Union Mill is the tallest surviving smock mill in the British Isles and towers over the rooftops of Cranbrook. Volunteers open it on summer afternoons, when you can climb through the machinery and buy flour ground on site.
Photo of Cranbrook: Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0A self-guided walk of ten stops round the old cloth town of Cranbrook, from the Vestry Hall and St Dunstan's Church to the Union Windmill on the hill. Green plaques mark points of interest on the way, and the free map tells the stories behind them.
Photo of Cranbrook: Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0Known as the Cathedral of the Weald, St Dunstan's is far bigger than a small market town needs, built on the wealth of Cranbrook's medieval cloth trade. Its golden sandstone stands out among the white weatherboarding of the town, and it is usually open for visitors to look round.
Photo of Cranbrook: Des Blenkinsopp, CC BY-SA 2.0Cranbrook's volunteer-run museum fills three floors of a late 15th-century timber-framed house with around 6,000 objects on the town's past, from its cloth-making wealth to the Cranbrook Colony of Victorian painters. Entry is free, and it pairs well with the Union Windmill a short walk away.
Image: Great DixterA medieval timber-framed house near Northiam surrounded by a bold, experimental garden with a long season. The nursery, started by Christopher Lloyd in 1954, sells plants raised from the garden.
Image: National TrustRudyard 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.
