20 Attractions to Explore Near Bayham Old Abbey

Scotney Castle was built in c. 1378-80 by Roger Ashburnham. It was strategically sited where the road from Rye and Hastings crossed the valley of the Bewel. It is a fourteenth century moated castle with a garden that is a prime example of picturesque aesthetic ideas applied to garden design. The central feature is the ruins of a medieval, moated manor house, Scotney Old Castle, which is on an island on a small lake.

Bewl Water is the largest stretch of open water reservoir in the South East. The 800 acre site is set in an area of outstanding natural beauty, in the heart of the High Weald. Open all year, a visit to this stunning lake is fantastic family fun and great value. The reservoir was part of a project to increase supplies of water in the area. It supplies not only Southern Water’s customers in the Medway towns, Thanet and Hastings, but is also used by other water companies in the area.

Dunorlan Park was originally a 78-acre landscape garden of a grand mansion built by the Yorkshire-born merchant Henry ReedIt was a special place where everyone can enjoy a richly varied Victorian garden, meadows, and wildlife, as well as the amenities of a modern park. There’s plenty to do besides admire the grounds, however – the park has a putting green, an events field, and a welcoming cafe, and, in the summer, boating takes place on the lake. There are also so many things to see and do here.

Bedgebury National Pinetum is the most complete collection of coniferous trees anywhere in the world. It provides a beautiful setting for peaceful walks and picnics. The Bedgebury cafe also has wonderful views of the pinetum. It has miles of family cycling and mountain-biking, walking, and running trails, as well as Go Ape tree top adventure, and an adventure play trail.

Take a steam train ride through the beautiful Wealden countryside from Tunbridge Wells to High Rocks, Groombridge and Eridge. The Spa Valley Railway is a standard gauge heritage railway that runs from Tunbridge Wells West railway station in Tunbridge Wells to High Rocks, Groombridge.

Bedgebury is an award-winning visitor attraction with something for everyone. Open all year, Bedgebury is the perfect place for healthy outdoor activity. Its Forest has miles of family cycling and mountain-biking, walking, and running trails, as well as Go Ape treetop adventure, and an adventure play trail. It's National Pinetum is a world-class collection of dramatic conifers and a beautiful setting for a country walk in all seasons.

High Rocks is a 3.2-hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Tunbridge Wells in East Sussex and Kent. It is a Geological Conservation Review site. The location was formed when a melting ice sheet at the end of the last ice age uncovered hardened silt deposited when the area was part of the Wealden Lake. There are traces of Middle Stone Age and Iron Age residents, including a 1st-century A.D. fort guarding against the Roman invasion.

Pashley Manor is a house with Tudor front with 11 acres of award-winning gardens. A few hours in these immaculately maintained gardens is an ideal way to relax and reconnect with nature. There are also glimpses of beautiful sculptures which enhances this garden.

The Hop Farm Family Park is a 400-acre Country Park in Beltring, near East Peckham in Kent, England, is over 450 years old, and has the largest collection of oast houses in the world. The River Medway flows through the park – so you can arrive by canoe if you like, or stick around on site for fishing and kayaking. If you'd rather arrive by more conventional means, there's easy access from the A228 and Paddock Wood train station is a handy five minutes' drive away.

The Groombridge Place estate is a truly historic moated castle that stood on the site in the 13th century with the house standing today built-in 1662 as its replacement. As well as the moated manor house, the estate boasts more than 200 acres featuring formal gardens, a canal, vineyard, farmland, and ancient woodland. It has become a tourist attraction, noted for its formal gardens and vineyards. The manor house has an associated Dower House.

It was a simple fort of earth and timber, thrown up – like hundreds of others – by Norman invaders for self-protection soon after they arrived in 1066. The walls and magnificent gatehouse were added in the 13th century. The defences were badly damaged after the Civil War and it was further demolished in the 1730's although the lower part of the southern walls are still visible along the river. The site was purchased by the local council in 1900, who now use the mansion as offices, and who made t

Haysden Country Park is a six-time winner of the Green Flag Award, offering 64 hectares of beautiful countryside and a relaxing setting for a variety of leisure activities. With two lakes and a stretch of the River Medway running through the park, it is a popular venue for water activities and a great location for a family day out.

The Bateman's estate consists of 300 acres of beautiful High Weald Countryside. Set within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The house was built in 1634. Kipling's widow Caroline bequeathed the house to the National Trust on her death in 1939. The house is a Grade I listed building.

The Forest Way is situated in the heart of the beautiful East Sussex countryside. It is approximately 10 miles long and is used for walking, cycling, horse riding and the quiet enjoyment of the countryside. This linear Country park providing walking, cycling, horse riding and the quiet enjoyment of the countryside. It runs for around 16 km from East Grinstead to Groombridge.

Penshurst Place is an authentic stately home with 11 acres of formal gardens and a beautiful historic house. It is the ancestral home of the Sidney family, and was the birthplace of the great Elizabethan poet, courtier and soldier, Sir Philip Sidney. The original medieval house is one of the most complete surviving examples of 14th-century domestic architecture in England. Part of the house and its gardens are open for public viewing. Many TV shows and movies have been filmed at Penshurst.

Sissinghurst Castle garden was created by Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson who transformed the ruins of this Elizabethan mansion and gardens in the 1930s. It is among the most famous gardens in England and is designated Grade I on Historic England's register of historic parks and gardens. The gardens contain an internationally respected plant collection, particularly the assemblage of old garden roses. The writer Anne Scott-James considered the roses at Sissinghurst to be "one of the fi

Bodiam Castle is a 14th-century moated castle near Robertsbridge in East Sussex, England. It was built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge. It hosts one of the largest bat roosts in south-east England, and is home to five species of bats. The castle survives physically as a moated ruin within the Rother valley, but its spirit resides in its power to capture your imagination and allow you to ‘look into another world’.

hiddingstone Castle is an historic house, set in 35 acres of Kentish countryside. It features large lawns for picnics, an intimate rose garden, woodland and a beautiful fishing lake. The house features the amazing collections of the late Denys Eyre Bower, a passionate and gifted collector of art and artefacts, Japanese lacquer and Samurai armour, Ancient Egyptian treasures, Buddhist objects, Stuart paintings and Jacobite manuscripts.

Poohsticks Bridge in Ashdown Forest, East Sussex, was first built in 1907 and provides the setting for the beloved children's novels. The wooden bridge was officially declared closed on Monday after the wooden railing was ripped from the side of the bridge and the uprooted tree was left lying across the river.

Ightham Mote is one of the oldest medieval manor houses to survive in England. The core of the house dates from the 1340s, although a complicated series of alterations and additions were made in the late 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. Ightham Mote and its gardens are owned by the National Trust and are open to the public. The house is a Grade I listed building, and parts of it are a Scheduled Ancient Monument.