The 10 best places to get some fresh air and wear the kids out in Kent
It’s time to get outdoors and introduce the kids to the beauty that is Kent’s countryside.
Here’s our top ten best things to do and places to go to get the little ones off their screens and into some fresh air – and to make it fun.
1. Meet trees bigger than your house
Coming face to face with trees fit for giants is an awe-inspiring experience for any outdoors-loving youngster. In fact, gazing up at the impressive collection of conifers enjoying life at the 320-acre Bedgebury National Pinetum & Forest site is a bewildering experience for anybody.
Of course, Bedgebury is the ideal spot for walking, cycling, running, riding and playing, home as it is to a huge adventure playground, as well as one of two Go Ape attractions in Kent. But a visit to this site is not complete without checking out the National Pinetum, one of the world’s finest conifer collections. A centre for international conservation, the 12,000 tree specimens include rare, endangered and historically important beauties. As you’d imagine, Autumn is a wonderful time to visit, but year-round the Pinetum affords a splendid foundation for a great family walk or picnic.
The Forestry Commission, which looks after the site, arranges seasonal trails, as well as kid-friendly exploration events (both The Gruffalo and Stick Man have made appearances in recent years) to pique the interest of young and old alike, highlighting points of interest and hidden gems among the huge collection.
Plan ahead: There’s a neat network of paths across the site. So, take your pick depending on how long you have to spare or energetic you’re feeling.
2. Master the mystery marsh adventure trail
Once you’ve negotiated the farmyard, petted the rabbits and taken the juddery ride in a trailer, there’s plenty more fun to be had further up the hill at the brilliant Rare Breeds Centre on the outskirts of Ashford.
The woodland-set Mysterious Marsh adventure trail is a great way to keep the little ones on their toes (or, more specifically, to keep them from touching the ground).
Amble your way across wooden bridges, swing from the tyres, clamber around trees, fly through the air on the ropes, tiptoe across the balancing bars – all the while keeping your cool so that you don’t hit the ground.
If little legs are not too worn out, the site also has some great woodland walks too, complete with bluebell carpets in Spring and wood sculptures dotted along the treks.
Top tip: If you don’t fancy the walk up the hill, the Big Red Trailer will give you a lift
Stay a while: Spend the day at the Rare Breeds Centre for a host of family fun.
3. Play like a pirate
Adventure playgrounds are kept to a minimum throughout this book. That’s because you’ll know where most of the best ones are locally, and you won’t necessarily want to go out of your way to visit one.
But Lower Leas Coastal Park is different and well worth a special diversion. The oldest park in the county, it was created in 1784 largely by accident after a huge landslip left a new strip of land between the beach and the cliffs in Folkestone. Today, it is a real favourite for locals and visitors alike, with a rather awesome pirate-themed adventure playground (Kent’s biggest) catering for all different age groups.
There’s towers and tube slides, net tunnels and climbing walls – enough to keep the kids energised for a good couple of hours. The park is perfect for a spot of sunbathing and picnic-ing too. And once you’re done with the park, the beach is right there for a quick splash and play in the sand. or maybe an impromptu gig at the amphitheatre.
Grab a bite: There is a small cafe on site, in case you still have room after your picnic.
Logistics: The park is open all year round and it’s free too.
4. Go rock pooling
Starfish, crabs, shrimps, whelks, mussels, limpets. You don’t need to go anywhere exotic to spot weird, wild and somewhat exotic creatures in their own habitats.
Rock pooling is a great way to spot new maritime beasts. If you’re lucky, you might even find a seahorse. So, don some jelly shoes, wait for the tide to go out, and head out to the Kent coastline which is teeming with rich marine life.
Broadstairs’ Botany Bay is ideal for fossil hunting, as is Warren Beach, near Folkestone. Also in Broadstairs, the sandy Louisa Bay is great when the tide is out, and Margate’s Joss Bay offers some shelter via steep chalk cliffs.
The more secluded and shingle Lydden Spout Beach has plenty of rock pools, as do pebbly Kingsdown Beach in Deal and Shakespeare Beach in Dover.
Also try: Reculver Beach near Herne Bay and St. Margaret's Bay in Dover.
5. Become a nature detective
The Woodland Trust is brilliant. It thankfully looks after more than 1,000 woodland sites across the UK, protecting our precious trees for our kids, and their kids. And it likes the little ones to join in too.
The charity’s Nature Detectives membership scheme is a great way to get the kids to think about nature and how we can protect it. And it encourages them to pull on a pair of wellies, grab a magnifying glass and get out there to enjoy local woodlands.
By signing up, your little ones will get their own activity packs in the post, stuffed full of ideas to help them explore the natural world. For the under-2s there are simple nature-spotter sheets to complete. Activities for the under 5s include messy mud pies and scavenger hunts. For the over 6s there is wildlife tracking, blindfold exploring and good old fashioned den building.
Nature Detective packs arrive in the post every season for a relatively small monthly fee.
6. Pick your own fruit
Have you ever noticed your kids are more likely to try new foods if they’re involved in the selecting of ingredients or the whole cooking process? Well, if you want your little ones to enjoy more fruit in their diet, getting them to pick it fresh from a field is your best bet. So, get out there and let your energetic offspring pick the very best berries, currants, plums and apples that Kent has to offer and start a new, health eating regime when you get home.
Chilton Manor Farm in Sittingbourne is lush with strawberries and gooseberries from mid-June, and loganberries, raspberries and red currants later on. Downingbury Farm on the Maidstone Road at Pembury also has a good farm shop, cafe and play area.
Maynards Farm in Wadhurst and Lower Ladysden Farm in Goudhurst all offer countryside settings as gorgeous and juicy as the PYO strawberries.
Also try Felderland Farm in Deal or Garden House Orchards in Saltwood, near Hythe.
Behave: Remind the kids to tread, pick and handle carefully; the fruit fields are not a playground.
7. Explore Kent’s newest nature reserve
You probably don’t know this, but when the Eurotunnel was created back in the 1990s, the material that came out of the tunnel was disposed over at the base of a cliff just outside Folkestone. And that was for good reason. You see, dumping the spoil there, in artificial lagoons built using sheet-piled walls, was deemed to be the most environmentally friendly option.
And today, all of that spoil is the foundation for one of Kent’s most biodiverse nature reserves. The 30-hectare Samphire Hoe, at the foot of the famous Shakespeare Cliff, has something for everyone that wants to get outside and enjoy wildlife. There’s a number of walks you can do, there’s wildflowers and birds to spot, there’s picnic tables to adorn.
And the further you go from the car park, the wilder the site becomes, with 200 species of plants, 123 species of birds, 170 species of moth and 30 of butterflies having been recorded.
Time it right: At certain times of the year you’ll come across sheep and cows that graze on the meadows.
Search and seek: In Summer, look out for Adders and lizards basking in the warmth.
8. Spot lizards and grass snakes
On the other side of the ever-so-slightly-awkward-looking Sheppey bridge is the 3,200-acre Elmley Nature Reserve. A stone’s throw from the River Thames and only a short distance further from the hustle and bustle of North Kent, and yet a world away. Here, in this vast and quite spectacular wilderness is breath-taking wildlife.
You’ll need some patience, but you’ll be rewarded by the sight of lizards, hares, newts, frogs, and all manner of butterfly species. If you’re really lucky you might even spot a water vole hiding among the reeds or a grass snake basking by the pools.
It’s also a magical place for bird watching, with a huge variety flying over the soul-stirring skies which appear to be bigger than ever in this part of the county.
Camp out at one of the four hides for the best vantage points, including one at the far end of the reserve which overlooks the Swale Estuary.
Parking info: There’s a small fee to park in the site. But from the car park at Kingshill Farm, there’s a great one-mile trail to follow that will take you past the hides.
Shhhh! Silence is golden in this part of the world. The quieter the kids, the more chance of spotting something wonderful.
9. Ape around
Go Ape is a national phenomenon. The company that runs it now has more than 35 locations across the UK. Impressed by a similar adventure course they had stumbled across in France, Rebecca and Tristram Mayhew knew they were on to something. They launched Go Ape back in 2001 and have since won a string of tourist awards and braved the waters of America’s theme park attraction market.
We’re lucky to have two Go Apes in Kent, in the grounds of Leeds Castle and in the forests of Bedgebury Pinetum & Forest. They are both hugely popular (so you’ll have to book ahead) thanks to our apparent love for the thrill of zip wires, rope swings, ladders, walkways and bridges located high up in trees.
At both locations, the kids will want to try the junior adventure course for an hour of wobbly bridges (and even wobblier legs), intricate crossings (the highest point reaches 13 metres and offers a great view of Leeds Castle) and an awesome zip wire finale (stretching 250 metres long).
Oh, and the adults don’t get away with it that easy; the challenge is designed for the whole family, so be sure to get Grandad into the trees too. Those of a feint heart need not apply.
Stay safe: Go Ape’s adventure courses have a full safety system which you’ll be attached to at all times.
Height check: Like all the best theme park attractions, you can only take on the treetops challenge if you’re over one metre in height.
10. Spot Folkestone’s lively public art
As with many towns on a regenerative trajectory, Folkestone has called on the arts to lead a charge for its revival as a seaside destination with an edge. The Folkestone Triennial continues to leave a visible legacy. Today, a wander around the town is also to explore a wonderful exhibition of world-class contemporary art.
Throughout Folkestone and its harbour are a series of artworks, popping up in both scenic and surprising locations. Take the kids on the ultimate game of eye-spy (after all, who is to say what constitutes a work of art these days) as you seek out the works of Tracey Emin, Antony Gormley, Yoko Ono, Mark Wallinger and Cornelia Parker – all of whom have had their creations on public display, on the beach, at the railway station, on the high street.
Head to the Folkestone Artworks Visitor Centre in the Quarterhouse in the Creative Quarter of the town to pick up a map that will help you explore the artworks and learn more about them.
Go again: The number of public displays will continue to grow and change over the years, so it’s worth coming back if you haven’t been for a while.
Head to the harbour: Cornelia Parker’s Mermaid has been in place for many years, the majestic sculpture looking out to sea.
For more great ideas for spending better time with the kids in Kent, buy a copy of 237 Ideas for Stuff to Do and Places to Go in Kent with Kids.
