Holidays 2025
Departs: Sunday 10th August 2025 | 5 Days
Kentish Men & Coastal Gems
Tour Price: £559.00 per person
Your Holiday Centre
Discover the captivating essence of the Garden of England wending along lanes past lavender fields, orchards, vineyards and oast houses. Be enriched by England's oldest county, alive with its exciting past.
This southeast home county has worked hard to earn its nickname 'Garden of England'. Whether you're a history or nature lover, Kent will not disappoint you.
The Downs and High Weald are Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There are three RSPB reserves at Dungeness, Cliffe Pools and Elmley Marshes.
Bedgebury National Pinetum and Forest is home to the world's finest conifer collection and there are more castles, stately homes and historical sites you can fit into one holiday.
History lessons come to life in ancient Canterbury where the Romans built walls, Chaucer wrote medieval tales, Marlowe penned Elizabethan plays and the towering cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Tour Inclusions
- All coach travel
- Porterage
- 4 nights half board
- Excursions
- Train ride
- Entrance to Leeds Castle
- Entrance to Chatham Docks
- Use of leisure facilities
- Services of courier
Special Notes
- Insurance.
- Please inform us of any special dietary needs (diabetic, gluten free, vegetarian, etc).
- Special requests are put forward to the hotel, and they will do their utmost to accommodate your needs.
Tour Price
- Price Per Person
- £559.00
Single Room Supplement: £120.00 (Double/twin for sole occupancy)
Your Accommodation
Ashford International Hotel
Simone Weil Avenue, Ashford, Kent, TN24 8UX.
Tel: 01233 219988.
Arguably the most exciting and stylish hotel development in Kent. Exceptional business and leisure facilities.
The 4 star Ashford International Hotel has 179 modern large bedrooms all with en-suite, free toiletries, hairdryer, TV, telephone, ironing facilities, radio, WiFi and tea/coffee making facilities.
The Horizon Restaurant & Bar offer a brasserie style menu with a relaxing atmosphere, including a 70 seater terrace area. Their Quench Bar offers Costa coffee by day & a sports bar by night.
The fitness and spa centre has a wealth of amenities including a 20-metre indoor pool, a spa area and an extensive gym, There is also a rock sauna, steam room and 6 beauty rooms offering a wide variety of spa treatments.
Tour Itinerary
Day 1: Depart Local Area
After boarding your luxury coach, we make our way south to Kent and the historical Chatham Docks. Here you shall have free time to explore the docks. The historic Dockyard Chatham is home to the largest concentration of iconic buildings, historic ships, museum galleries and attractions in the UK. It's a fantastic day out for all ages whatever the weather. The knowledgeable and friendly staff are on hand to help you learn the ropes, quite literally. The Victorian Ropery Tour is fascinating. You get the chance to make your own piece of rope, and it culminates with the amazing view of the 1/4 mile rope walk. There is a chance to get on board three historic war ships including a Cold War submarine, Oselot, 2WW destroyer HMS Cavalier and the Victorian slupe HMS Gannett. History and adventure all in one place. From here you make your way to the Ashford International Hotel, home for the next 4 nights, with dinner bed & breakfast.
Day 2: RH & DR Railway & Rye
There's nothing quite like a ride on The Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway. A journey on one of the small trains of this heritage railway is a unique experience combining years of steam railway heritage with some of Kent's most picturesque countryside. The starting place for the RH&DR is at its station in the historic and pretty town of Hythe. It's one of six along the track, which stretches 13.5 miles across the picturesque Romney Marsh to Dungeness, one of the largest expanses of shingle in the world. It is a place of other-worldly beauty and a designated National Nature Reserve. The RH&DR opened in 1927 and now operates the most complete collection of one-third full-sized steam locomotives in the world. These small but perfectly-formed trains take just over an hour to complete the full journey from Hythe to Dungeness. Reboarding the coach, your journey continues to the beautiful town of Rye with its cobbled lanes like Mermaid Street, which is lined with medieval half-timbered houses, and past links to smuggling.
Day 3: Leeds Castle
After breakfast we take a visit to 'The Loveliest Castle in the World' Set in 500 acres of beautiful parkland, Leeds Castle is the perfect backdrop to your day out. The historic castle, glorious gardens, attractions and programme of events awaits visitors. Listed in the Doomsday Book as a Saxon manor, Leeds Castle has played many roles in the intervening centuries. It has been a Norman stronghold, the private property of six of England's medieval queens, a palace used by Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon, a Jacobean country house, a Georgian mansion, an elegant early 20th-century retreat for the influential and famous and, in the 21st century, it has become one of the most visited historic buildings in Britain.
Day 4: Margate & Broadstairs
Today you head to the fascinating Isle of Thanet, home to 16 beautiful bays and beaches, with a scenic drive to Margate; a setting for many famous film locations like Only Fools & Horses, Empire of Light, Last Orders and more. Time for a short visit then off to Broadstairs which is brim-full of nostalgic, old-world, seaside charm. The town has a wealth of inviting cafes, restaurants, bars and two 1950's ice-cream parlours, Morelli's and Chiappini's, provide flavourful scoops of nostalgia. In the High Street historic red-brick and flint-fronted buildings are dotted between a rich stock of independent shops. Time here before you have to leave to return back to the hotel.
Day 5: Return Home
After breakfast and the cases have been loaded onto the coach, we say farewell to our hosts at the Ashford International Hotel and head for home. We will make stops en-route. We should arrive home late afternoon.