Canterbury Fields Holiday Park

Congratulate yourself on coming to the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a strikingly scenic locale with hiking, hacking and biking all around. Start at Chartham Church for a five-mile circular walk along the River Stour and the Stour Valley Walk to join up with the North Downs Way. Both the Stour Valley Walk (51 miles) and the North Downs Way (156 miles) are, happily, sectioned off into afternoon and day trails for the less intrepid; Chartham to Canterbury is an easy four miles on the Stour Valley Walk and it’s ten miles from Canterbury to Shepherdswell on the North Downs Way. The Kent Downs surrounds yield some good fishing if that’s your bag – the river valleys of the Meon and Rother in the South Downs National Park are a hook for fly and trout fishers alike and there are several fisheries in the Downs and across Kent. Golfers have plenty to pick from too with a couple of courses near Canterbury and several others scattered all over the county including at Maidstone, Ashford and Sevenoaks. Into more natural pastimes? After checking out the likes of Wildwood Wildlife Park, pack a picnic and get back to nature at Kent’s nature reserves, country parks and woods. The 300 acres of Shorne Woods Country Park were originally part of the grounds of Cobham Hall Estate and these days have a visitor centre with all the info you need, miles of trails for all abilities, a couple of adventure play areas and – don’t tell the kids this in advance – several sculptures dotted around including a green man and a giant fist. More sculptures, two of which are award-winning, are at the 1500 acre Kings Wood. Traditional and community orchards abound in Kent and there are several places where you can pick your own fruit – try Allens Farm or Stonepitts Farm, both at Sevenoaks – and several farmers’ markets are in the vicinity for even easier pickings. We also feel obliged to point out that Kent has a few vineyards to try (over 50) – it's always good to support local business…