Hythe

The High Speed 1 line whisks you from London to this Romney Marsh gateway in just over an hour, dropping you into a town that feels properly seaside without the bucket-and-spade chaos of Margate. Hythe stretches along the coast with a working fishing beach and a lovely seafront walk, while inland you'll find yourself on the edge of proper wilderness.

Port Lympne Safari Park dominates the area - and rightly so. This isn't your average zoo but a proper conservation park where giraffes roam free and you can sleep among the animals. The Dinosaur Forest here gets the kids properly excited, though grown-ups will find themselves just as caught up in spotting rhinos from the safari truck.

Westenhanger Castle ruins sit quietly in the countryside, a 14th-century fortress that most visitors miss entirely. St Leonard's Church in town has one of the finest collections of medieval bones in Britain - sounds grim but it's actually rather fascinating.

The Royal Military Canal runs west towards Rye, a Napoleonic-era waterway that's now a cracking cycle route through some of Kent's emptiest countryside. Sandling station serves the area well if you're coming by train, while the M20 drops you practically at the door.

Staying at one of the holiday parks around here makes perfect sense. You're close enough to nip into Folkestone for dinner but far enough out to wake up to proper countryside views. Romney Marsh spreads endlessly in all directions - flat, atmospheric, and surprisingly wild for somewhere so close to the Channel Tunnel.