Rough Guides - Rough Guide to Kent, Sussex & Surrey (Travel Guide eBook)

Introduction to Kent, Sussex & Surrey

Traditionally, the southeast corner of England was where London went on holiday. Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, everyone from royalty to illicit couples enjoyed seaside fun at Brighton a splash of saucy decadence in the bucolic county of Sussex while trainloads of Eastenders were shuttled to the hop fields of Kent for a working break from the city, and boats ferried people down the Thames to the sands at Margate. Surrey has historically had a lower tourist profile, though its woodlands and hills have long attracted outdoors-lovers.

While many of its old seaside towns floundered in the late twentieth century barring Brighton , which has always been in vogue this stretch of Englands coast is in the throes of an exciting renaissance. Its fashionable once more to enjoy the traditional resorts cheeky charms, and the more laidback appeal of the quieter seaside towns. The cliff-fringed coastline itself provides excellent walking, swimming and watersports, along with heaps of bucket-and-spade fun. Inland, ancient woodlands and sleepy villages preserve their picturesque appeal there are even pockets of comparative wilderness , perhaps surprising in a relatively populous area so close to London. Sandwiched between the lofty chalk escarpments of the North and South Downs, a vast sweep is taken up by the largely rural Weald the name comes from the Saxon wald, or forest, dating to the days when it was almost entirely covered by woodland.

This corner of the country is of huge historical significance, with the coast, just a hop away from the Continent, having served as a gateway for an array of invaders. Roman remains pepper the region most spectacularly at Bignor and Fishbourne in Sussex and Lullingstone in Kent and many roads, including the main A2 between London and Dover, follow the arrow-straight tracks laid by the legionaries. Christianity arrived in Britain on the Isle of Thanet (the northeast tip of Kent, long since rejoined to the mainland by silting and subsiding sea levels) and in 597 AD Augustine established a monastery at Canterbury , still the home of the Church of England. The last successful invasion of England, in 1066, took place in Sussex, when the Normans overran King Harolds army at Battle near Hastings and went on to leave their mark all over this corner of the kingdom, not least in a profusion of medieval castles . There are other important historic sights at every turn, from Tudor manor houses and sprawling Elizabethan and Jacobean estates to the old dockyards of Chatham , power base of the once invincible British navy.

You can also tackle some impressive long-distance walks , prime among them the glorious South Downs Way in Sussex and the gentler North Downs Way from Surrey to East Kent. Both Sussex and Kent a county historically famed for its fruit and veg are superb foodie destinations, with countless gastropubs, restaurants and farmers markets providing delicious local produce, from asparagus and wild cherries to fresh seafood and Romney Marsh lamb, as well as award-winning vineyards and breweries producing excellent wines and ales.

Where to go

On Kents north coast, the arty little fishing town of Whitstable , famed for its oysters, is a favourite getaway for weekending Londoners. Margate, gentrifying rapidly, and the charmingly retro Broadstairs make good bases on the