Past day trips
2026 day trips - summary
26th March 2026 - Chatham Dockyard
Whilst at the Dockyard there are several exhibitions to visit including the RNLI exhibition, Women in the Dockyard, Ocean Photographer of the Year Exhibition, the Ropery and the submarine HMS Ocelot. Free tours of the Ropery and the submarine are given by volunteers. The Ropey is a particularly fascinating building, standing a quarter of a mile long and being a Grade 1 listed building. Rope is still made there today and sold around the world.
8th April 2026 – RHDR 'little train' from Hythe to Dungeness, fish and chip lunch
Boarding the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch ‘little train’ at Hythe to Dungeness, the trip takes just over an hour. In Dungeness we will have a fish n chip lunch (or similar, included in price) in the End of the Line Café. There will then be free time to visit the beach, the nearby Lighthouse or pub. We will briefly visit the garden of Derek Jarman (filmmaker and artist) and if time allows, the RSPB reserve
12th May 2026 - Sissinghurst
The gardens were originally created by Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson in the early 1930s. Designed in a series of 'rooms' with summer highlights including the Rose Garden and the White Garden. You can also visit the Big Room (Library) and the Tower, home to Vita's Writing Room. Vast panoramic views of the formal garden, working farm and 450-acre wider estate can be seen from the very top.
28th June & 2nd July 2026 - Beaver boat trip
Up until recently, beavers had been an extinct species in the UK – driven to extinction by hunting in the 16th century. However, beaver are now an established species in the river Stour and there could be up to 60 individuals currently in Kent, with sightings all the way from Sandwich to Ashford’s Conningbrook Lakes. The boat will also have an ecologist on board who will be able to give us information about beavers and other wildlife.
21st July 2026 - Great Dixter
Great Dixter was the family home of gardener and gardening writer Christopher Lloyd, now under the stewardship the Great Dixter Charitable Trust, it is an historic house, a garden, a centre of education, and a place of pilgrimage for horticulturists from across the world. The original house was built in the mid-15th century and is a Grade 1 listed building. The medieval part of the house (Great Hall, Parlor, and Solar) is open to visitors and a guide is on hand in each room to explain the house’s history and answer questions.
The gardens are Grade 1 listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens and there are many different areas to visit including the Topiary Lawn, the Sunk Garden and the Long Border.
11 August - Hall Place & Gardens and Butterfly House
Hall Place is a Grade I listed country house built in 1537. A rare example of its type, many of the original features remain today. These include the distinctive checkerboard style of masonry crafted from flint and rubble, the beautiful 17th century redbrick courtyard and the spectacular plaster ceiling in the Great Chamber added around the same time. In the afternoon we will visit the amazing Butterfly House in the grounds. You are allowed to wander around the hot house where hundreds of tropical butterflies and plants are kept (it is very warm!). Some butterflies may land on you or just flutter past
15tth Sept - Penshurst Place
Penshurst Place is an historical gem in the Weald of Kent countryside and houses one of the few surviving medieval Baronial Halls in England. Home to the Sidney family since 1552 making it one of the oldest family-owned estates in England. The stately home and gardens were also once used as a hunting lodge for King Henry VIII, and now feature beautiful staterooms and grounds that are frequently showcased in popular TV and film productions. Among the staterooms, visitors to this historic family home will find The Solar, Queen Elizabeth Room and Long Gallery, which contain a collection of family portraits from across the centuries, antique furniture and skilfully crafted tapestries. There are also 11 acres of formal walled Gardens, a Toy Museum, Coffee shop and gift shop.
