It’s the Garden of England

Who wouldn’t want to go camping in Kent – the county that’s dubbed the Garden of England? It was the county’s landscape of Kentish fruit farms and hop fields that led to the claim that it was the nation’s garden. Somewhere Londoners used to flock to for working holidays: camping out in the fields and helping with the harvest. But with now bustling towns, two motorways and high-speed rail links making access from London and further afield easier, is the name still justified? We think so. Kent remains a green and pleasant land for the most part with around 70 per cent of the land still used for farming. There’s still more fruit grown here than many other parts of the country and a renaissance in English wines has made vineyards a more common feature of the landscape too.

You’ll have some of the best weather in the UK*

Everyone knows that the weather can make or break a camping holiday. This is Great Britain which unfortunately means great weather is never guaranteed but choose camping in Kent and you’ve improved your chances for sunny days. The weather boffs at the MET Office say that places in the south and east tend to be warmer, sunnier and less windy than those in the north and west so it follows that Kent, in the far south-east corner, is in prime position. In fact, Kent holds the record for the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK – a whopping 38.5 degrees Celsius back in 2003. That’s a little too hot for camping in our opinion – but thankfully Kent has a few places for you to cool off too…
*fingers crossed

You’re never too far from the beach

Whether you choose a pitch with sea views or a place in the country, when you’re camping in Kent you’re never too far from the coast. There are 350 miles of Kent coast so a trip to the seaside during a holiday here is almost obligatory. Kent’s coast offers huge variety too so you should find a stretch of coast to suit you. There are sandy beaches that are perfect for paddling like the golden sands at Margate, Broadstairs or Dymchurch. There are shingle expanses where fishing boats land at Deal, Hythe and Dungeness and there are harbours at Folkestone and Whitstable. There’s also Kent’s most-famous stretch of coast: the white cliffs around Dover; home to historical monuments, great walking, wildlife watching and views.

You won’t be short of things to do

There are plenty of places to visit on days out from your campsite… from historic castles at Dover, Leeds and Hever to wild animal parks like the Aspinall Foundation’s Port Lympne and Howletts. There are five heritage railways in Kent too which provide a fantastic way to see more of the county while enjoying a day out. The small trains of the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway cross Romney Marsh while the Kent and East Sussex Railway steams through beautiful countryside. You can hire a rowing boat to paddle on the Royal Military Canal at Hythe, jump on a stand-up paddle board at Folkestone or step aboard a punt for a tour of historic Canterbury.

You can enjoy Kent produce and PYO

Farm-fresh eggs, Kentish strawberries, Whitstable oysters, Romney Marsh lamb… need we go on? Kent has some fine local produce which is perfect for picnic lunches and barbecue dinners. You can pick up fresh fish on the beach and seek out the county’s farm shops for fruit, veg and meat that’s been grown in the garden of England. You can even make a day trip out of it and visit a pick-your-own orchard or farm; this is Darling Buds of May-country after all. It’s a mindful activity (without even trying) and a great way to teach the kids about where food comes from not to mention that the strawberries, raspberries and plums seem to taste sweeter when you’ve picked them yourself!

It’s a great place for a walk

If you love camping and the great outdoors, you’ll probably appreciate a good walk too. There are a number of long-distance footpaths through Kent that offer easy-to-follow routes whether you want to join a section on a stroll to the pub or tackle the whole thing on a multi-day hike, stopping off and camping along the way. The North Downs Way is a national trail which starts in Farnham, Surrey and cuts right across the county to Canterbury with a loop down to Dover and the sea. It mostly follows the route of the ancient Pilgrims Way, along the Downs, and is 153 miles in total. There’s also the Greensand Way, which offers scenic views of rolling countryside in Kent’s west, the Saxon Shore Way and a long section of the England Coast Path. You can find out about all of them on the Explore Kent site.

You can take a day trip to France

Kent is the closest the UK gets to France which makes day-trips to our continental neighbour a real and easy possibility. As days out during a camping holiday go, Channel-hopping to another country is a pretty exciting one. The Channel is just 20 miles across near Dover and the frequent ferry crossings take just an hour-and-a-half. If you fancy hopping across on a passenger or vehicle train via the Channel Tunnel, you can halve that crossing time. Once on French soil, you can explore the French coastline, discover charming French towns and villages and enjoy a delicious meal in a French bistro. Alternatively, you could just hit the shops to pick up a few French classics: du pain, du vin du Boursin – and maybe a couple of steak haché burgers to chuck on the barbecue to make your campsite neighbours jealous when you get back to your Kentish campsite!

There are some great campsites

We may be a little biased but we think there are some great campsites in Kent. Of course there’s Pete’s Field pop-up campsite but there are plenty of others too. We’re proud to be recommended by Cool Camping and there are other campsites in Kent recommended there as well: some with high-end glamping options where everything you need is included and some which just offer a great location for pitching a tent. There are plenty of sites in Kent where you can park up in a campervan, caravan or motorhome too. There are campsites in the countryside, campsites near the coast and campsites in woodlands too.

There are so many reasons to love camping in Kent that we think once you get here you’ll be reluctant to leave.