Warden Springs Holiday Park

All the Swale is a National Nature Reserve, Special Protection Area and Site of Special Scientific Interest; so as you might deduce, rich sightings abound around here for naturalists and birdwatchers, like rare butterflies and moths, unusual flora, and flocks of wading birds such as avocets, oystercatchers and the country’s biggest collection of marsh harriers. One of the best spots to spy the bird population on Sheppey is from the viewing platform at Capel Fleet, part of the RSPB reserve at Elmley Marshes. Beachwise, both Leysdown and Sheppey’s main beach at Sheerness are popular with families and both have received Blue Flag awards. The seaside port of Sheerness has quite a bit to do off the sand, such as checking out the history of the area at the both the Blue Town and Sheerness heritage centres, telling the tale of the days when Sheerness was a busy port and a base for the Royal Navy. Minster Abbey, along the coast to the west, has been an essential Sheppey site since the seventh century and has a varied collection of artefacts from the ages, such as the famous de Northwode brasses and armour dating from the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries. Going into Kent itself, the ‘garden of England’ is blossoming with piles more stuff to see and do: visit the open-air Museum of Kent Life in Maidstone for a refreshing day with the kids, keep them sweet with the jam-making ingredients at Brogdale Farm, or dive into the area’s maritime history at historic Chatham Dockyard (Dickens World is at the dockyard too for those who like to leaf through Kent’s literary heritage). Twelfth century Rochester Castle and absolutely fabulous Leeds Castle with its 500 acres of parkland and formal gardens are popular Kent pulls for visitors, as are the gardens at Sissinghurst Castle, former home of Vita Sackville-West. The fishing – and oyster – town of Whitstable is about three miles over the Swale and well worth a visit to sample its most famous produce; from here, it’s a short drive to the seaside and watersports of Herne Bay or the spectacular sights of historic Canterbury. The Canterbury Heritage Museum, in a twelfth century former hospital in Stour Street, still has its medieval beamed roofs alongside troves of local treasure starting from Anglo-Saxon times. Speaking of which, childish occupations are also plentiful in Kent: the 450 acres of country park at The Hop Farm have funfair rides, magic castle and giant pillows to bounce around on, and all ages should dig getting down and dirty at Diggerland, where kids and adults can take a turn driving full-size construction machinery – but do let the offspring have their turn too…