Folkestone White Horse

You'll spot this white horse carved into the chalk cliffs above Folkestone long before you reach it - a brilliant beacon visible across the Channel on clear days. The figure cuts a bold silhouette against the red sandstone, around 100 feet tall, and it's become something of a local icon since its creation in 2003.

Getting up there means a proper walk, mind. The path isn't exactly a Sunday stroll, but walkers will find it worthwhile. You get sweeping views across the coastline, and on a decent day you can see France. The chalk face itself is dramatic - this section of coast is geologically fascinating if you're into that sort of thing. History buffs might find it less compelling than, say, the medieval castle nearby, but the white horse sits in interesting company with the clifftop fortifications dotting this stretch of Kent.

It's free to view, obviously - you're just looking at it from the clifftops rather than paying for access. Allow an hour or so for the walk and taking in the view. Summer's best for visibility, though winter storms lend the cliffs a moody appeal if you're prepared for wet boots.

If you're basing yourself at Black Horse Farm Caravan Site or Hawthorne Trench just down the road, this makes a natural half-day expedition. Families with older kids will manage it fine; younger ones might find the walk tedious. It's the sort of thing that photographs far better than it impresses in person, if I'm honest.