The 12 best places to take young history nerds in Kent

Treat the kids to some historical culture in this glorious county of ours.

The castles, forts and burial grounds dotted throughout Kent offer such a rich soup of inspiring stories to inspire children everywhere. Here’s our selection of the best 12 places to visit to truly inspire your kids.

1. Explore Henry VIII's most glamorous palace

As you bound down through the gardens upon entry, the landscape opens up in front of you to reveal the magnificent elegance of Leeds Castle. It is a take-your-breath-away vista that never fails to surprise and delight, no matter how many times you visit.

The 900-year-old building, billed quite right rightly as “the loveliest Castle in the world” is spectacular and begging to be explored. A tour acts as a mini history lesson, guiding you through the castle’s rich legacy as Norman stronghold, the private property of six of England’s queens, King Henry VIII’s palace, Jacobean country house, Georgian mansion and elegant early 20th century retreat.

It was Henry that transformed it from a fortified stronghold into the magnificent royal palace that can still be seen today, making major alterations during the 1500s so that he and his first wife Catherine of Aragon could stay in comfort.

For the more interested, there’s an audio guide available to bring your visit to life as you make your way through antiques, paintings and treasures of each of the many rooms.

Eyes peeled: The kids can pick up an Eye Spy sheet to keep them eagle-eyed and occupied throughout.
Stay longer: Explore the 500 acres of parkland which include a maze, huge adventure playgrounds, falconry displays, moat punting and more.
Reminder: The castle can get crowded, and some rooms are narrow, so pushchairs are not allowed inside. Free baby sling hire is available.

2 and 3. Witness Neolithic remains

Getting the kids excited about neolithic remains might seem like a long shot. But a bit of imagination and background context can go a long way. Kent has some wonderful evidence of prehistoric existence, not least Coldrum Long Barrow which sits on a small hill just outside the village of Trottiscliffe, near West Malling.

Dating back to around 4,000 BC (that’s 1,000 years older than Stonehenge), what the stones here actually represent had been debated for centuries, some believing them to be merely a Stonehenge-like monument. The bones of 22 people found here long ago suggests that Coldrum was, in fact, a communal tomb, somewhere for bodies to be laid to rest as was tradition for early communities.

If you’re closer to Chilham, outside Canterbury, the 44-metre long Julliberrie’s Grave is another good example of Kent’s neolithic ancestors (although no human remains have ever been found at the site).

Get the map out: The Coldrum stones are not that easy to find in their now-ruined state so check on an OS map for their exact location.
Get ‘em thinking: Get the kids to consider what the stones might have been like many moons ago. You might be surprised by their answers.

4. Be the king of the castle

Given the tranquil beauty of its surrounding grounds, it is hard to imagine the bloody history that Rochester Castle has endured since it was first built some 800 years ago to guard an important crossing of the River Medway. Epic sieges, rebel garrisons and numerous rebuilding has seen the Kentish ragstone construction take on a number of different guises in its time, leaving it a little worse for wear.

Today, the English Heritage-run site is well worth a visit, its near-destruction only adding to the history lesson. Aided by a scale model of the castle, you can still make out where each of the different rooms, chambers and kitchen areas would have stood. The survival of doors, fireplaces and windows, together with evidence of floors and partitions, only fuels the experience.

Those that scale the circular staircase leading up to the battlements 113 feet above can get a great view of Rochester, its Cathedral and the Medway beyond.

In the know: The castle grounds have some of the best conker trees in Kent.
Come back: The castle offers the perfect backdrop to a range of summer music events.

5. Visit the childhood home of Anne Boleyn

Hever Castle is what every kid wants a castle to be: moated, beautiful and haunted. Nestled in the countryside just outside Edenbridge on the Sussex border, the property was home to the Boleyn family. You recognise the name because one of the Boleyn daughters was Anne, second wife to royal bad boy Henry VIIII. She spent her early years here after her Dad Thomas inherited the estate in early 1500s.

Today, it is just an exquisite place to visit, the 700-year-old property stuffed to the girders with furniture, tapestries, antiques, and Tudor paintings. There’s even a couple of prayer books inscribed and signed by Anne herself.

Outside, the 125 acres of award-winning gardens are begging to be explored, regardless of the time of year you visit. There’s a fantastic playground (featuring lookout platforms, a giant sandpit, grassy mound tunnels, and plenty for the under-5s to explore), a boating lake, a couple of mazes (including a water one) and a collection of mini model houses.

Time check: Allow yourself at least half a day to make the most of the visit.
Search and find: Go find the giant topiary chess set in the gardens.
Go further: There are a couple of woodland walk trails to follow if you’re feeling energetic.

6 and 7. Check out Henry VIII’s finest artillery castle

One of a chain of coastal forts built by order of imposing King Henry VIII to ward off enemies approaching the Kent coast, Deal Castle is said to be one of the country’s finest artillery castles. Today, it is splendidly cared for by English Heritage, and remains largely unchanged since it was constructed in the mid 1500s.

While it is small (the whole place can be fully explored in a couple of hours) there’s some good displays, artefacts and kids’ activities to make it a rewarding visit.

Start in the dark passageways beneath the bastions and venture to the lofty captain’s residence on the first floor for views out to sea. Then, make your way to the historic graffiti lounge, where you can design your own motif, before exploring the various canon-lined vantage points on the perimeter to get a true taste of Henry’s paranoia in defending his realm so spectacularly.

Stick around and combine a visit to Walmer Castle, a quick bike ride away along the beachfront.

8. Visit Kent's very own Stonehenge

Kit’s Coty House is a long barrow that marks the burial site of a number of people that lived as farmers in the area. It was built during the Neolithic period. That’s around 6,000 years ago, making it one of Britain’s oldest surviving pre-historic monuments.

Why it lies apparently forgotten in an unmarked field alongside the A229 on Blue Bell Hill is anybody’s guess. But it’s a truly remarkable spectacle, with its three uprights and massive capstone denoting the familiar ‘H’.

Not only would Kit’s Coty have provided a burial site, but it would also have acted as an important ritual site for those living along the Medway for hundreds of years.

Two hundred yards down the road you’ll find Little Kit’s Coty House, a group of scattered stones, the remains of a burial mound. Once upon a time, some of these too would have stood upright with large stones atop, much like Stonehenge.

Another Neolithic gem, the Coffin Stone, sits in a vineyard about 400 yards down the road, further north.

What a view: There’s some great views across the North Downs and Medway Valley from here. Take a picnic to Bluebell Hill.

9. Discover what life was really like as a sailor

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is one of Kent’s most popular visitor attractions, and it’s not hard to see why. Much like with trains and buses, many children become fascinated by boats – not only as objects that enable us to move across water, but as vessels to visit far off lands, house pirates and to take in the bath.

Well, this place is perfect, not only in sating the appetite of the boat-loving community, but in giving us all a fascinating, fun-filled day out. For it was here that mighty ships that mastered the world’s oceans were built.

It’s a vast site, dominated by three historic warships. There’s a Victorian sloop, built in 1878 to patrol the world’s oceans. There’s a Second World War Destroyer, built as an emergency vessel and described as “the fastest ship in the fleet”. And there's a Cold War submarine, the last Royal Navy warship to be built in Chatham.

Whatever you choose to jump aboard first, you won’t be disappointed. Walking the decks, manning the guns, and heading into private quarters will give the kids a chance to witness British maritime innovation, design and engineering at its finest – and get an idea of how tough life was for a sailor heading to war.

Go further: There are a range of tours and talks available throughout the day, all included in the price of your ticket. Just book a tour when you arrive.

10. Get up close to enormous tanks

You get to see the stars of the show at Kent’s largest military museum before you even enter the building. The Centurion AVRE 165, modelled on the tanks that took part in the Second World War, is among the machines dominating the grounds at Chatham’s Royal Engineers Museum, a great place to while away a couple of hours on a Saturday morning (and discover the story of the Royal Engineers and how they have helped the British Army live, move and fight for more than 300 years).

Once you’ve poured over the huge tanks outside, head in for war memorabilia, medals, gas masks, weapons, torpedoes, battle axes, shields and rockets. A range of interactive exhibits, puzzles, brass rubbing and touchscreens will keep everybody engaged.

Oh, and don’t forget to seek out Snob the dog (not a real one, merely a taxidermy) Snob was found next to the body of a Russian soldier, killed during the Crimean War. He was adopted by a drop of Royal Engineers who brought him back to England where he was presented with a war medal. Originally called ‘Alma’, Snob got his nickname because he preferred to hang out in the Officers’ Mess at Chatham than the Guardroom.

11. Get your hands on a 200,000-year-old axe

Apart from being one of the finest 17th-century buildings in the county, the Guildhall Museum has plenty to keep the kids entertained on a trip to the culturally rich town of Rochester.

Built in 1687, it houses a vast collection of trinkets, ornaments and curios that help to tell the story of the Medway, including a full-size reconstruction of part of a Medway prison hulk, a bunch of Roman artefacts from the nearby villa discovered in Darenth, and what the museum says is “the most complete set of 18th-century cabinet maker’s tools in the world”. Okay, so that might not be that exciting, but the little ones will love the scale model of Rochester Castle under siege.

And the real star of the show is the axe. It’s 200,000 years old (yes, really) and visitors are encouraged to get their hands on it.

Eye spy: Outside, look up. Mounted on the roof is an impressive weather vane in the shape of an 18th-century warship. It’s been up there for more than 250 years.
Grown-ups, take note: The Guildhall Chamber is said to feature in Charles Dickens’ novel Great Expectations. There’s a room inside the museum dedicated to Medway’s very own master author.

12. See Dover’s brilliant Bronze Age boat

It’s a simple, plank-built boat made from oak and held together with the branches of a yew tree. It’s also one of the most important and spectacular pre-historic wooden objects ever found in Europe. The Dover Bronze Age Boat, carefully looked after by Dover Museum, was discovered six metres below the streets of the town back in 1992 by construction workers busy building an extension to the A20.

It’s old. Really old. To give you (and the kids) some idea of just how old, the boat was chugging across the English Channel at a time when Stonehenge was still being used, and long before Tutankhamun had become Egypt’s Pharaoh. It’s 3,500 years old. The fact that it has survived, virtually intact, is mind-boggling. Not that the youngsters will appreciate that. What they will appreciate is a trip to the surprisingly good museum. The three-storey building is stuffed full of curiosities and artefacts to trace the history of the town, from its Roman forts to its Saxon development.

The top floor is best: As well as the boat you’ll find six intricate scale models illustrating the expanding town and port of Dover since medieval times.