Sevenoaks

About

Few places in the world can match the beauty of the countryside around Sevenoaks, particularly in spring when Emmett's Garden, near Toys Hill, is crammed full of bluebells, as is the bluebell wood at Riverhill House Garden. From these hillside settings and many others nearby, you'll be able to see spectacular views over Kent in all its glory.

The stately homes and castles around Sevenoaks are a sight to behold. When you have had your fill of stepping back into an awesome and turbulent history alongside great characters such as Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Winston Churchill, General Wolfe and the Sidney family, escape into the sunshine and traverse the extensive gardens and parklands around Knole House, Penshurst Place, Hever Castle and so many more attractions and things to do in Sevenoaks.

The hidden gems, in and around Sevenoaks nestling in the villages and the verdant valleys, have to be seen to be believed. Who would have thought that the historic family mansion of Lullingstone Castle could be found rubbing shoulders with a Roman villa, a stone's throw from the village of Eynsford? Where else in the world would you be able to sit in the grounds of a castle or fishing in their lake (without being chased by the gamekeeper).

The town of Sevenoaks itself has much to offer visitors, with an excellent variety of shops and restaurants, as well as a long history which has left a wealth of heritage. Here you'll find The Vine Cricket Ground, founded in the late 1700s and one of the oldest in the country - bounded by the oaks which give the town its name. Here too, lies the estate of Knole Park with its calendar house and rich history. Famous visitors and residents of the town in the past, many of them literary, include Jane Austen, John Donne (who was rector of St Nicholas Church), Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf, Edith Nesbit and H G Wells.