Snapshots of Kent

Credit: Visit Kent

Visit Kent is today launching a new a collection of stunning images of the county known as the Garden of England. The images will be displayed across London Underground and overground stations, as well as on a host of digital channels, and the aim is to encourage people to visit Kent. We think it’s also a great reminder of how much this country has to offer, something we may have forgotten over the last few weeks. We’ve selected six of our favourites.

Viking Bay, Broadstairs

This lovely horse shoe-shaped bay, with its cliff-top promenade and boardwalk, was a favourite of Charles Dickens. The real-life Bleak House, in which Dickens wrote much of David Copperfield, overlooks the jetty and there’s a Dickens House Museum nearby. For those who prefer action to literature, Viking Bay also has a surf school.Credit: Visit Kent

Turner Contemporary is set on Margate seafront, on the spot where the guest house in which JMW Turner often stayed once stood. The gallery showcases contemporary and historical art in ‘new and dynamic ways’. Open Tuesday-Sunday, 10am-6pm; admission free.Credit: Visit Kent

The Historic Dockyard Chatham

This image is of HM Submarine Ocelot, the last Royal Navy warship built at Chatham Dockyard. For more than 414 years, the dockyard provided the Royal Navy with over 500 ships and this submarine is just one of dozens of exhibits. Open daily, 10am-6pm; admission £22 adult/£13 child.Credit: Visit Kent

The Zetland Arms, Deal

The Zetland Arms is a quintessential English pub, right on the beach at Kingsdown. Ales and lagers, including Whistable Bay Blonde and the delightfully named Spooks Ale, are courtesy of Kent-based Shepherd Neame, Britain’s oldest brewer. Credit: Visit Kent

Dover Castle, Dover  

Dover is the largest castle in England. It overlooks the shortest sea crossing between Britain and France and has played a key role in the country’s defence for more than 900 years. Masses of things to see and do here. Open daily; admission £18 adult/£11 child.Credit: Visit Kent 

River Stour, Canterbury

It isn’t only Oxford and Cambridge that punts – Canterbury does too. Canterbury Historic River Tours offers guided trips along the Stour, starting with a tiny island where there is a 13th-century chapel  – the oldest example of Franciscan architecture in England. The tours depart from the King’s Bridge, a few minutes walk from the Cathedral. Daily, 10am-5pm; £9 adult/£5-£6 child.

BY MAGGIE O’SULLIVAN