Few things are guaranteed to keep smiles on faces as much as mini-rollercoasters, caterpillars, Dumbo rides and penny falls. So head to Dymchurch Amusements to swallow up a few hours. Or how about Folkestone Sports Centre for foot golf and skywalk climbing?
Have a rowing-boat adventure along Hythe Canal, and watch out for ducks and snakes. Get up close to all sorts of marine life at Blue Reef Aquarium Hastings, from sharks and stingrays to seahorses and clownfish. Or visit Folkestone Museum to follow the town’s journey from its humble coastal origins to its heyday as a fashionable resort.
Take a journey back in time at Smugglers’ Adventure and be introduced by notorious smuggler Hairy Jack to underground caverns, covert passages and unknown tunnels. Have your eyes opened to the blood-thirsty smuggling lifestyle by 70 life-sized smuggler characters.
Catch music, pantomime and dance at Marlowe Theatre, or a flick at Folkestone Cinema. Meet 900 rare and endangered animals at Port Lympne Reserve, see free-roaming giraffes, Kent’s only spectacled bears and the UK’s largest dinosaur collection. Or just pack your bucket and spade and pop over the sea wall to Dymchurch beach.
Fill a few holes at Sene Valley Golf Club with a view over the bay on England’s best downland course. Rent two wheels from the Electric Bike Hire Company and ride the seafront with minimal effort. Or stretch your legs along the royal Military Canal Path, along the northern edge of Romney Marsh.
Bring your bait and simply cross the road for sea-fishing on the beach. Fill your lungs with fresh sea air then re-energise at Spa Hythe Imperial, featuring a range of treatments from expert Caudalie facials to hot stone massage. Or shop big brand names at Bouverie Place.
Enjoy a day out 1400 years in the making at glorious Canterbury Cathedral: take a tour and get the inside track on the re-establishment of Christianity in England and the murder of Thomas Becket. Come back to walk the Leas promenade towards Sandgate, reckoned to be one of the world’s best marine proms.
Head down to Folkestone Harbour Arm for pop-up food stalls, a champagne bar and Nathan’s rather good nosh at That Burger. Catch a show at Leas Cliff Hall. Potter fascinating independents at Folkestone Creative Quarter with a Banksy on the bottom of the high street. Or pop over to Paris for the day on Eurotunnel le Shuttle.
