Bradt Slow Travel Guide: Kent

Folkestone resident and prolific travel writer Simon Richmond turns the spotlight on his home county in the new, thoroughly updated second edition of Bradt's Kent (Slow Travel), which is part of Bradt's distinctive, award-winning series of 'Slow' travel guides to UK regions and remains the only standalone guidebook to Kent. Walkers, cyclists, families, foodies, art lovers and wildlife enthusiasts are all catered for, with intimate detail and insider tips about a wide range of attractions, as well as all the practical information needed to enjoy England's delightful southeasternmost corner. The diversity of Kent is striking and this in-depth guide covers many lesser-known locations as well as all the most popular places. Embraced by the English Channel, North Sea and Thames Estuary, the county's 200 km of coastline includes some of Britain's finest seaside resorts and maritime walks. British history is writ large across Kent. Roman ruins include Richborough fort and Lullingstone villa. Keep an eye out for invaders along the ramparts of Dover Castle or from one of the Napoleonic Martello Towers that guard Kent's southern coast. Imagine the lives of historical figures as diverse as Anne Boleyn, Charles Darwin and Vita Sackville-West in the castles and grand country houses in which they once lived, or visit the Historic Dockyard Chatham, where Lord Nelson's flagship HMS Victory was built. Explore Dover and spend time at its iconic White Cliffs, saunter through Vita Sackville-West's gorgeous gardens at the National Trust's Sissinghurst estate, visit the grave of Pocahontas in Gravesend, and contemplate thought-provoking public art in the revitalised seaside town of Folkestone. Canterbury Cathedral, part of a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site, forms the seat of the Church of England, while Dungeness comprises an extraordinary beach of vegetated shingle that is home to artist and film-maker Derek Jarman's Prospect Cottage. There are oddities too, such as St Leonard's Church in Hythe, which houses the UK's largest and best-preserved collection of ancient human skulls and bones, and Europe's only crab museum (in Margate). From castles and water sports to beaches and wildlife (including reintroduced European bison!), discover Kent with Bradt's unique Slow Travel guide. AUTHOR: Simon Richmond (simonrichmond.com; Instagram: @slowtravelkent) is an award-winning travel writer and photographer who also edits Folkestone Foghorn, an award-winning local magazine. In a journalism career spanning nearly 40 years, he has written and researched well over 150 guidebooks and non-fiction titles. Having lived overseas for nearly two decades, Simon first visited Folkestone in 2014 and was so taken by the seaside town that, three weeks later, he bought a flat and started relocating from London. In his research for Bradt's Kent (Slow Travel) guidebook he has explored throughout the county, revisiting favourite haunts such as Canterbury, Ramsgate, Margate and Dungeness but also venturing to more remote but beautiful locations like the Isles of Grain and Harty, and tracking down Kent's horticultural treasures, particularly lesser-known gems such as Pines Gardens in St Margaret's Bay and the gardens attached to Restoration House in Rochester. 104 colour photos, 16 maps