20 Attractions to Explore Near St. Stephen's P.E. Church

Maidstone Museum is a beautiful and elegant regional museum housed in the gorgeous Chillington Manor, an Elizabethan manor house. It is home to a wide range of collections including especially Ethnography, Japanese Decorative Arts, Ancient Egypt, Archaeology and Costume. The museum is one of three operated by Maidstone Borough Council. The building is Grade II* listed.

A huge park that has 450 acres pf area and dates back to the 13th Century. During the late 1700s, the grounds were considerably improved, and the mansion that still stands overlooking the lake was built. Its wide variety of facilities, attractions, and scenery make it an excellent place to go for a day out – and its location means that it’s easily accessible from Maidstone town center.

Kent Life is a fun destination with a host of attractions on its 28-acre site, including a collection of fascinating buildings relocated from the Kent countryside and so more. Whether you want to learn about Kent history, get up close with farm animals, or simply burn off some steam, this is a great place to be.

A beautiful country park, standing on the site of the old Maidstone Zoo, the park features a themed play area, along with a sculpture trail, plenty of space for picnics, and a cafe. It has since been planted with over 600 different species of trees and shrubs. An array of exotic plants can be found in the Arboretum, or Parkland Garden, which lies on the eastern side of the park.

Kit's Coty House and its neighbor, Little Kit's Coty House, are the remains of two megalithic 'dolmen' burial chambers. Kit's Coty is the larger of the two monuments, with three uprights and a massive capstone, while the smaller, Little Kit's Coty, is now a jumble of sarsens. Archaeologists have established that the monument was built by pastoralist communities shortly after the introduction of agriculture to Britain from continental Europe.

Leeds Castle is a castle in Kent, England. It is the ideal venue for hospitality during the 149th Open at Royal St. George's, Kent in 2021. It is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds. The castle and its grounds are a major leisure destination with a maze that is exited through a shell grotto, a golf course and what may be the world's only museum of dog collars. There are two castle-themed children's adventure play areas targeted at the under-sev

Buckmore Park is the home of British karting and the career starting point for many famous racing drivers including Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. The karts used are the 80mph 390cc 4 Stroke SODI RT8 Karts, which are high tech and capture live data such as speed, lap times, and splits. It was owned by John Surtees, the only person to have won world Grand Prix championships in both Formula One car racing and Grand Prix motorcycle racing.

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 Big Cat Sanctuary is the UK's largest specialist Big Cat Breeding and Conservation Centre. It was founded in 2000 and is a UK registered conservation charity which is home to over 50 wild cats. A 32 acre site hidden in the peaceful Kent countryside began by default as a refuge for rescued cats. Now recognised as a centre of excellence and one of Europe's biggest wild cat centres making global partnership and supporting conservation initiatives.

Shorne Wood Country Park is located between Strood and Gravesend, in the English county of Kent. It was once part of a large estate and then later passed to the county council to be used as a country park. This park was once part of the large Cobham Hall Estate. The main entrance to the Hall, leads through the park with various other carriage rides around the estate. It has large areas of ancient woodland and heathland meadows.

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.

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

Jeskyns community woodland was opened in 2007 and covers 360 acres of grassland, orchards, meadows and woodland which is owned and maintained by the forestry commission. There are signposted trails, a dog activity area, an enclosed dog training area, childrens play areas, picnic benches and dog bins located all round the country park.

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.

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.

Biddenden Vineyards is Kent’s original commercial vineyard; a family run vineyard with the second and third generation of the Barnes family managing the estate. Here at Biddenden 11 different grape varieties are planted across 23 acres of gentle south facing slopes, on sandy loam over clay situated in a shallow sheltered valley.

Brands Hatch is a circuit in Kent, southeast of London, near the village of West Kingsdown. Between 1964 and 1986 it hosted the British Grand Prix twelve times, and the European Grand Prix twice more. Since then, the local council allowed housing to be built within 100 meters of the track, and the new residents have imposed restrictions on the track, which will prevent Formula One from returning.

One of the impressive English heritage property which makes a fascinating day out on the Kent Sussex border. The impressive ruins, built from golden local sandstone, include much of the 13th to the 15th-century church, the chapter house, and a picturesque 14th-century gatehouse. The ruins were partially modified in the late 18th century, to provide a better landscape feature during landscaping of the new Bayham Abbey mansion park, and were donated to the state in 1961.

Riverhill Himalayan Gardens, near Sevenoaks, Kent is an i9conic attraction in this area. There are over 12 acres of historic gardens to explore, punctuated with contemporary sculpture, as well as woodland paths, breathtaking views and plenty of benches for quiet moments. Home to the Rogers family since 1840, these family-run gardens offer visitors space to explore, gardens to admire and excuses to celebrate.