A week in Kent

We spent a week exploring and working in Kent

By Michael Wilson

We're both lucky to be able to work from home and now more than ever we're thankful for that. Wanting to take advantage of that ability, we booked an Airbnb in Kent for a week. This would give us the chance to work during the week and use weekends and evenings to explore the beautiful surrounding areas.

Canterbury

Our first place to explore was Canterbury, which was about 20 minute drive from the cottage. The first thing you notice about Canterbury is just how old the place is. It's like being in a medieval film set at times.

There are a lot of lovely streets to wander and a very pretty canal where you can enjoy a punt ride or just walk beside.

After working up an appetite, we took afternoon tea at Tiny Tim's Tearoom, which we'd highly recommend. It felt like a special treat and we left with a doggy bag as there was so much! 🍰🥪☕️

Dover to Deal

We'd planned a long hike along the coast for our second day. We drove to Dover station and left our car in the car park. Our plan was to walk 10 miles to Deal and catch a train back to Dover. 🥾

Walking through Dover, we realised quickly we were glad we weren't spending the day there. However, we headed to Dover castle to start our hike and were quickly greeted to some famous views of the white cliffs. I didn't realise that we'd be allowed to get so close to the edge. It's exhilarating to know you're standing at the very edge of the country.

After a quick pit stop to take in the South Foreland Lighthouse and top up on food and drink we carried on our trek along the coast. It was a beautiful September day, which meant we were able to top up our tan along the way 🌞.

After 6 hours, including a nice long pub lunch and a few stops to take in the beautiful scenery, we made it to Deal. We had enough time to treat ourselves to an ice cream on the beach and a celebratory drink before jumping on the train back to Dover.

Abbots Cliff

The forecast for the beginning of our week in Kent was brilliant, so we wanted to make the most of it. After our first day at work we jumped back in the car to watch sunset between Folkstone and Dover at a place called Abbots Cliff. It wasn't long before we were treated to some breathtaking sights.

Other than a couple of groups of cyclists we were alone on the edge of the cliffs enjoying a stunning view of sunset. I took the drone for a flight to try and catch it all from the skies. The light was perfect so we just sat and took it all in until the sun disappeared 🌅.

Leeds castle

The rest of the week was spent working and eating dinner at some lovely country pubs. However, on the drive back we decided to stop off at Leeds castle 🏰 for the day. I've seen posters advertising it in London, but I didn't know quite how much there was on offer.

The grounds are enormous, you could spend an entire day just exploring the gardens. There's also a golf course, plenty of cafes and restaurants, a bird sanctuary, a maze with a grotto, play parks and of course the castle, which you can get a self-guided tour of.