Folkestone, Canterbury & Charming Kent

On our first excursion, we spend half a day in the city of Canterbury, with its quaint cobbled lanes, timber-framed buildings and medieval city walls. It is also the home to the oldest cathedral in England, dating back to Norman times.

Folkestone, Canterbury & Charming Kent

We visit Broadstairs, the seaside town which provided the ideal spot for Victorian author Charles Dickens to write parts of David Copperfield and Bleak House. Find pretty shops and plenty of eateries burrowed away in the town’s narrow passageways before we head to Whitstable, which features a small working harbour flanked by shingle beaches, pastel-coloured beach huts, weatherboard houses and independent shops and galleries.

Folkestone, Canterbury & Charming Kent

We explore 1066 Country on our optional excursion, calling first at Hastings. This coastal town boasts the remains of the first castle in England to be built by William the Conqueror, a lovely preserved Old Town with half-timbered houses, narrow streets and a three-mile seafront. We then head to the fortified hilltop town of Rye, a charming place of historic buildings, cobbled lanes and secret passages, once the haunt of smugglers and highwaymen.

Walk the cliff-top promenades of Broadstairs to the crescent of Viking Bay, where chalk cliffs frame sandy shores and beach huts add colour to the front. Glimpse Bleak House, linked with Charles Dickens, and browse narrow lanes where cafés and gelaterias spill onto the pavement.

Continue to Whitstable Harbour to watch fishermen unload their catch and admire pastel beach huts and weatherboard cottages. Those who wish can sample local oysters in a town long famed for them, before wandering Harbour Street’s galleries and independent shops.

Unwind each night at the Grand Burstin Hotel with light entertainment every evening in a friendly seafront setting. Settle into the lounge as the night’s programme begins, a relaxed way to meet fellow travellers after a day exploring Kent.

With the hotel beside Folkestone Harbour, the mood feels distinctly coastal; many guests pair the show with the great-value 2 for 1 bar (6pm–9pm). Expect easygoing fun rather than theatre-scale production, perfect for rounding off your seaside stay.

Discover 1066 Country on an optional excursion (additional cost, bookable on tour). In Hastings, head up to the headland for Channel views and the weathered ruins of Hastings Castle, then drift through the characterful Hastings Old Town with its black timber net huts and shingle beach.

Continue to Rye, a fortified hilltop town of half-timbered houses and cobbles. Meander along Mermaid Street and past the Ypres Tower, where stories of smugglers echo between medieval doorways and tea rooms.

Explore Canterbury’s medieval core on foot, weaving past timber-framed houses to the Cathedral Precincts. Admire the towers of Canterbury Cathedral rising above the medieval city walls, and pause for photos and reflection along the River Stour and at the imposing Westgate Towers.

Absorb stories of archbishops, pilgrims and Thomas Becket that shaped this UNESCO-listed city, with architecture spanning from Norman foundations to Perpendicular Gothic. Entry to the cathedral is optional during your time in Canterbury.