The 10 prettiest villages in Kent
Affectionately known as the Garden of England for its hop fields, fruit orchards and vineyards, Kent is ringed on three sides by the coast, with more than a quarter of the lush county lying in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. As the closest county to the Continent, Kent has been the landing point for many a marauding tribe, lending it a long and rich history. You don’t have to be a boffin to appreciate Kent’s ancient brewing traditions, flourishing wine scene and architectural legacy, with many villages featuring a charming mix of oast houses, clapboard cottages and beamed Tudor coaching inns.
Ranking Kent’s prettiest villages presents a delightful dilemma. As a maid of Kent rather than a Kentish maid (the county has been divided into east and west Kent since it was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom), my natural allegiance lies in the east of the county. Yet the charms of west Kent’s villages are impossible to deny… So here you find my entirely subjective top 10, which I appreciate will cause hefty outrage and debate, hopefully carried out in some of the excellent pubs named below, if not in the comments section.
10. Biddenden
As you arrive in Biddenden, perhaps having passed Sissinghurst Castle en route, take a moment to look at the wrought iron sign on the tiny village green. Erected in the 1920s, it depicts conjoined twins allegedly born here in 1100. The Biddenden Maids, as they came to be known, started a tradition of perpetual charity that is still honoured today. Images of the benevolent sisters dot the village, whose dainty High Street is lined on the south side by a series of 17th-century lattice-windowed Flemish weavers’ cottages.
Biddenden Bakehouse sits on the north side, with its wonky bay window, and sustains the village with all-day breakfasts as well as local wines and cider. For posher grub, the West House restaurant is just a few doors down in a 16th-century wattle-and-daub cottage and has had a Michelin star for several years. Stock up on local wine and cider direct from the source at Kent’s oldest commercial winery, Biddenden Vineyards, established in 1969.
For a pint
The Red Lion is the only pub in the village, a historic coaching inn which is flourishing under new owners, with wood-fired pizzas and a pretty little garden.
Stay here
Foodies should combine dinner at the West House (thewesthouserestaurant.co.uk) with an overnight stay in one of the property’s four bedrooms (from £380 per night, including dinner for two and a breakfast hamper). Alternatively, the Three Chimneys pub (thethreechimneys.co.uk) stands just outside the parish boundary and has four smart bedrooms in a converted nuttery overlooking fields towards Sissinghurst (from £190 per night).
Did you know?
Biddenden’s oldest house is Vane Court, which is believed to date to 1419. The Grade II listed Wealden house became a royal residence in 1939, when King Rama VII of Thailand (then Siam) bought it after his abdication. The king and his wife, Queen Rambai Barni, were often spotted out and about on their bicycles and at village fêtes.
9. Eynsford
Despite its incongruous framing in a triangle of motorways just south of Dartford, Eynsford is a charming village on the banks of the river Darent. There’s a picturesque hump-back bridge by an old ford, where heavy vehicles are encouraged to take the low road through the river and families join ducks paddling about. (Buy fishing nets at Bridgehouse Newsagents, just before the bridge.)
First documented in 864, Eynsford packs a serious historical punch, with a number of local attractions making it a great option for a day out. The 11th-century Eynsford Castle, one of England’s most complete Norman castles, lies a five-minute stroll from the bridge, while the Lullingstone Estate is five minutes’ drive away, where you’ll find the remarkably well preserved eponymous Roman villa and Lullingstone Castle and its World Garden.
For a pint
The traditional Five Bells sits at the centre of Eynsford, paces from the castle and clustered on the High Street with Norman’s Butchers, Rafferty’s convenience store and the Castle Hotel. The cosy Malt Shovel is closer to the ford and will serve your drinks in plastic cups if you want to watch the ducks in the river.
Stay here
Castle Hotel (castlehotelkent.com) is bang in the heart of town and has seven attractive bedrooms, some with views of Eynsford Castle (from £110, including breakfast). Opt for the generous cooked breakfast to sample the sausages and bacon from Norman’s Butchers.
Did you know?
Sir William Hart-Dyke of Lullingstone Castle and friends including King Edward VII first played lawn tennis in the castle gardens in 1873, using a ladder supported on two barrels for a net, and played a key role in establishing the rules of tennis.
8. Plaxtol
Set in rolling countryside roughly five miles north of Tonbridge and five miles east of Sevenoaks, Plaxtol is a tiny and delightful spot. It’s essentially a cluster of homes with names such as Rorty Crankle and Apple Blossom that runs downhill from the sprawling Fairlawne Estate to the verdant banks of the river Bourne.
Plaxtol was once home to a trio of watermills, including a paper mill that gave rise to the village pub’s name: the Papermakers Arms. The pub’s French chef brings authentic moules frites and ham hock terrine to rural Kent, making it an excellent lunch stop while taking a scenic circular walk between the nearby National Trust properties of Ightham Mote and Old Soar Manor.
For a pint
Sample authentic French flavours washed down with local Chapel Down wines at the cosy Papermakers Arms. The Kentish Rifleman (a two-minute drive from Plaxtol in the hamlet of Dunk’s Green) is an atmospheric pub with excellent food that includes a “proper” pie of the day.
Stay here
The Nut Plat Retreat (nutplatretreat.co.uk) offers off-grid glamping in two vintage shepherd’s huts and a timber cabin (from £90 per night).
Did you know?
The Fairlawne Estate, bought by the Cazalet family in 1871, was the home of Major Peter Cazalet, trainer of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother’s racehorses. Cazalet stabled the royal thoroughbreds at the estate for over 20 years and the Queen Mother visited frequently.
7. Sissinghurst
Numbering just 748 residents, Sissinghurst is among the smallest of these villages, but it’s also the most famous. Set in the lush Weald of Kent, it’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it line of whitewashed, old brick and clapboard houses with a post office, a pub, a church and a village chippy. It’s very pretty, but what really makes Sissinghurst is, the eponymous castle and gardens created by Vita Sackville-West.
The inimitable Sackville-West came to Sissinghurst in 1930, buying the Elizabethan ruin that had once been owned by her ancestors after she was excluded from inheriting nearby Knole House. Together with her husband, Harold Nicolson, she transformed the house and adjoining farmstead into one of the world’s most influential gardens. Victims of their own beauty, the gardens get desperately busy, so if you’re keen to appreciate them without Chelsea Flower Show-esque jostling, arrive first thing in the morning or stay in the adjoining Priest’s House (see below).
For a pint
Options are limited to one pub but, happily, it’s an excellent one. The 16th-century Milk House is a proper village boozer, albeit one that serves classic pub grub, local ales and wood-fired pizzas as well as refined British cuisine in the Dining Room.
Stay here
The Milk House (themilkhouse.co.uk) offers four charming bedrooms (from £160, including breakfast). Green-fingered types should push the wheelbarrow out and stay in the Priest’s House (nationaltrust.org.uk/holidays/kent-surrey-sussex/priests-house), a glorious three-bedroom property believed to be part of the Elizabethan mansion that made up Sissinghurst Castle. The self-catered pad sits on the edge of Sackville’s beloved White Garden and comes with invaluable out-of-hours access to the gardens.
Did you know?
Sissinghurst was called Milkhouse Street, or Mylkehouse, until 1851. It’s believed that the decision to rename it after the Sissinghurst Castle Estate was part of a mission to rid the village of negative associations with the smuggling activities of the Hawkhurst Gang (see Goudhurst, below, for more detail on this unruly bunch).
6. Kingsdown
Kent’s coastal towns tend to have that peculiarly British kiss-me-quick seaside charm, but Kingsdown has a different vibe, channelling a more West Country feel. Set on the South Foreland Heritage Coast, at the northern end of the White Cliffs of Dover, the village tumbles downhill to a shingle beach that extends all the way north to Deal.
Arriving by car, you squeeze down narrow Upper Street, lined with pretty flint and whitewashed cottages peeking out from behind rambling roses. Passing the King’s Head and Del’s Village Shop, you meet Cliffe Road, from where tarmac gives way to rough tracks leading down to the shingle beach. An even better way to arrive is on foot, having followed the scenic White Cliffs coastal hiking trail from pretty St Margaret’s Bay (one hour) or Dover (3 hours), earning a cold drink at the beachfront Zetland Arms.
For a pint
I challenge you to beat the Zetland Arms for location – its pub tables sit on the shingle beach with views of the brightly painted Kingsdown beach huts to your left and a curving bay and soaring White Cliffs to your right. Recently taken over by the owners of the excellent Rose restaurant and hotel in nearby Deal, the pub serves local ales and wines and a fish-led menu. The more traditional Rising Sun, an attractive clapboard inn dating to 1692, is just a few minutes’ walk inland.
Stay here
Oldestairs House is a beautifully restored turn-of-the-century house overlooking Kingsdown beach and the bay after which it’s named. Just a short stroll from the sea, the five-bedroom house also benefits from a secluded garden (from £2,487 per week, self-catered; keeperscottages.co.uk).
Did you know?
It is believed (particularly by locals) that Kingsdown is the setting for Ian Fleming’s 1955 novel Moonraker. As Bond fans will recall, Sir Hugo Drax’s atomic research HQ was set “on the edge of the cliffs between Dover and Deal”, making it a plausible bet.
5. Ightham
Much like Sissinghurst, Ightham is best known for the posh house on its outskirts – the beautiful moated medieval manor house of Ightham Mote. Believed to date to 1320, the house is undoubtedly one of the greatest draws for visitors to the village.
But there is more to Ightham, a delightful tangle of medieval timber-framed houses that’s home to three pubs, a popular Italian restaurant and pretty church. Recently named one of the poshest villages in Britain by The Telegraph, the average property price in Ightham is more than £995,000, so there’s no shortage of pretty houses to admire.
For a pint
The obvious choice is the George & Dragon, a thriving, timber-beamed pub festooned with hanging baskets that’s rumoured to be the spot where Guy Fawkes hatched his Gunpowder Plot. Old-school ale drinkers should make a pilgrimage to the Old House, a Grade II-listed cottage sequestered down the narrow Redwell Lane, just outside the village. Barely distinguishable as a pub, the deeply traditional drinking establishment features local bitters, ales, dark beers and ciders, many in wooden casks.
Stay here
There’s nothing in Ightham itself, so head east to the chic market town of West Malling and stay in one of the four stylish bedrooms at the Farm House (elitepubs.com/venue/the-farm-house). The foodie pub is set in an Elizabethan coach house and encompasses a restaurant, pizza shack and a tapas bar in restored stables (from £90 room only).
Did you know?
Legend has it that Cromwell’s soldiers were sent to Kent during the Civil War to loot Ightham Mote but got lost in the twisty country lanes and gave up. As Vita Sackville-West’s son, Nigel Nicolson, wrote: “It is one of the oldest and loveliest medieval manor houses to survive in England. It has stood here for over 650 years, immune to fire, tempest, war and riot.”
4. Goudhurst
Set atop a densely wooded hill, Goudhurst commands sweeping views over the surrounding Weald of Kent. The village church, historically known as “the chapel on the hill”, dates to 1170 and affords such expansive views that its tower was used as a surveying point in the 18th century to measure the distance between the Royal Greenwich Observatory and Paris Observatory. Locals hold that you can spy 50 church spires – and France – from the tower on a clear day.
While not spotting church spires, locals like to sit outside the Star & Eagle Hotel and watch out-of-towners navigate the busy, narrow S-bend lined on one side by the church’s unforgiving stone walls. From here, the High Street spills downhill to a duck-dotted pond on a leafy green outside the village hall.
For a pint
The Star & Eagle is a 14th-century pub reputed to have been a monastery before it became the HQ for the notorious Hawkshurst Gang (see below). It’s now a restaurant rather than a pub, so if you’re after a pint with good food and a pretty garden, head towards Cranbrook for the Goudhurst Inn, owned by the local Balfour Winery.
Stay here
Be at the heart of the Goudhurst action and stay at the Star & Eagle (starandeaglehotel.com), which has rather old-fashioned rooms (from £100, including breakfast). For something more tranquil, a 10-minute drive away, the National Trust offers the two-bedroom Scotney West Lodge house (nationaltrust.org.uk) at the entrance to the moated Scotney Castle estate (from £650 for three nights).
Did you know?
The Hawkhurst Gang was a notorious criminal group involved in smuggling throughout southeast England from 1735 until 1749. Named after their Kentish base, 10 minutes’ drive south of Goudhurst, they carried out such violent raids that some Goudhurst farmers formed a small militia and defeated the gang in an audacious gun battle outside St Mary’s Church in 1747.
3. Ickham
Ickham is the tiniest of these villages, claiming a population of just 449 residents together with the neighbouring hamlet of Bramling. You can walk the length of the Street in five minutes, passing charming gabled and clapboard cottages, some beautiful listed houses and the 13th-century church of St John the Evangelist. The church is set back from the road on the small village green, which is flanked on one side by thatched barns and sits opposite the smart Duke William pub.
Surrounded by fields and water meadows criss-crossed by the Little Stour and Wingham chalk streams, Ickham feels delightfully lost in the mists of time, despite being only 10 minutes’ drive from Canterbury. Ramblers will love the scenic circular trail linking Ickham with neighbouring Wickhambreux and Wingham.
For a pint
The Duke William is a comfortable modern pub, attracting Canterbury folk combining a country ramble with a fire-warmed lunch. You’ll also find dyed-in-the-wool locals nursing a pint at the bar with labradors by their feet, extended families playing in the garden and couples cosying up by the fire on romantic weekends away.
Stay here
The Duke William has four snug but stylish bedrooms with the option to take breakfast in the pub dining room or have a hamper delivered to your room (from £157, including breakfast).
Did you know?
Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and their children once stayed in Ickham, with Pitt reportedly popping into the Duke William for a pint after long days spent on the set of World War Z.
2. Elham
Hunkered in the rolling Elham Valley in the heart of the North Downs, locals argue that Elham boasts the perfect location, being 20 minutes from both a city (Canterbury) and the beach (Folkestone). Indeed, many visitors to the picturesque chalk valley arrive on foot, following the 22½-mile Elham Valley Way, which starts in Hythe and finishes at Canterbury Cathedral.
The village is home to no fewer than 43 listed buildings, including the medieval Church of St Mary the Virgin, several rose-bestrewn timber-framed Tudor houses and two 15th-century pubs. It all feels cared-for but not twee. The tastefully refurbished Kings Arms bags prime spot on the little square in front of the church. The self-described gastropub was scooping awards within months of opening.
For a pint
For a small village, Elham spoils for choice. In addition to the Kings Arms, the more traditional Rose & Crown is a few doors down, with the Abbot’s Fireside opposite. The cosy Rose & Crown does a great Sunday roast while the Abbot’s, set in a beautifully preserved 15th-century freehouse packed with period features and antique pieces, serves local beers and wines.
Stay here
The Rose & Crown (roseandcrownelham.co.uk) and Abbot’s Fireside (theabbotsfireside.com) offer five and six bedrooms, respectively, for comfortable accommodation in the heart of the village. Alternatively, immerse yourself in the verdant beauty of Elham Valley and rent a six-bedroom Tudor cottage set in 10 acres of gardens, complete with a private woodland, ponds and a wood-fired hot tub just five minutes’ drive from Elham.
Did you know?
Famous Elham residents include the actress Audrey Hepburn (when she was a child), cricketer Leslie Ames and former prime minister Anthony Eden. The latter lived in the 15th-century Park Gate, a timbered house in lovely gardens, where he entertained Winston Churchill. The house is currently available to buy, for those looking for a piece of leafy Kent to call their own (jackson-stops.co.uk/properties/18641810/sales/sevenoaks).
And the winnner is...
1. Chilham
Chilham is the Hollywood vision of an English village. There’s a medieval square lined with immaculately maintained timber-frame houses, the geranium-festooned White Horse Inn and historic St Mary’s Church to one side and a superb Jacobean mansion and Norman castle to the other. The square sits at the top of the village (population just 823) with narrow streets lined by more attractive listed homes descending from all four corners.
One leads to the village’s second pub, the Woolpack Inn, another passes the popular Church Mouse tearooms on its way to a large (free) car park, while another passes the primary school. The last affords glimpses of the Capability-Brown-designed Chilham Castle gardens, which spill down from the house to a lake amid horse-dotted pastures. The current owners maintain the tradition of opening the gardens to the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays (May-September) and reinventing the castle as an ultra-luxury wellbeing retreat (chilham-castle.co.uk).
For a pint
Grab a wooden table outside the White Horse Inn to watch the Chilham world go by or escape the camera-toting tourists in the Woolpack’s secluded garden or cosy inglenook fire.
Stay here
The Woolpack (woolpackchilham.co.uk) offers 14 bedrooms, dotted across the 600-year-old inn and outbuildings, and including two suites with freestanding copper baths. It’s a welcoming and comfortable spot that combines old-world charm with smart bedrooms and excellent locally sourced food (from £110, including breakfast).
Did you know?
Jane Austen often visited her brother, who lived in nearby Godmersham Park House. A letter written by Austen to her sister mentions that she had been for “a walk to see Mr Wildman’s elephants at Chilham”. It’s believed that the then owners of Chilham Castle had brought an elephant from India to assist with logging on the estate and that Elephant House, located on School Hill, served as its home.
