Romney Marsh

Sheep outnumber people by spectacular margins across these ancient reclaimed marshlands, where medieval churches rise like ships from a sea of green pasture. Romney Marsh stretches endlessly flat between Hythe and Hastings, a landscape so peculiar it feels almost otherworldly - Lawrence Durrell once called it England's fifth quarter.

This is proper countryside with bite. The wind cuts across open fields where Romney sheep have grazed for centuries, while ancient churches dot the horizon like navigation beacons. St George's Church at Ivychurch stands magnificent and isolated, its Norman tower visible for miles. Meanwhile, the Romney Marsh Wartime Collection tells fascinating stories of when this quiet corner became a frontline during both world wars.

History runs deep here. Medieval wool merchants built fortunes on Romney sheep, funding the stunning churches that still dominate tiny villages. St Nicholas Church in New Romney reveals the area's former importance as a Cinque Port, before the sea retreated and left it landlocked. The Brenzett Aeronautical Museum occupies a former wartime airfield, displaying aircraft in original hangars.

Getting here means crossing the marsh on single-track roads that seem to lead nowhere - until suddenly you're in Ashford or Canterbury, both well-connected by rail to London. The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway chugs across the marsh on its narrow gauge track, a proper steam journey through this timeless landscape.

A marsh-side holiday park provides the perfect base for exploring both the area's wartime heritage and its remarkable churches, while keeping you close to the coast at Dungeness and the medieval streets of Rye just over the Sussex border.