Back Roads Great Britain (Eyewitness Travel Back Roads)

DRIVE 9: The Garden of England 103

5 Hythe
Kent; TN27 OQS
One of the Cinque Ports, a group of
towns formed in 1155 to provide ships
for the Crown in return for a beneficial
tax status, Hythe is now a breezy, open
resort. The old town is set back from
the sea and topped by St Leonard’s
Church, dating as far back as 1090.
Don’t miss the fascinating ossuary,
with the bones of around 2,000
people. The town fills up on Tuesdays
when there is a big market in St John’s
Street Car Park (open 8am–4pm).

Eat and Drink: inexpensive, under £25; moderate, £25–£50; expensive, over £50

Below Windsurfers in Hythe, taking advantage of the open breezy beach

Kentish Hops

The flowering part of the hop plant

used as a flavouring for beer, hops

have given Kent its distinctive red-

brick oast houses – kilns used to dry

fresh hops. Half a century ago, East

Londoners would flock to Kent to

spend their summers picking hops.

Now only a handful of hop gardens

remain. The Hop Farm Country Park

(www.thehopfarm.co.uk), Beltring –

between Yalding and Paddock

Wood, explains all things hoppy,

holds a hop festival in autumn and

has attractions for kids, too.

Above left Apple orchards are dense around

Pluckley Above right The medieval Twyford

Bridge at Yalding

based on the stories of HE Bates
(1905–74) who lived in nearby Little
Chart. A booklet on sale in the Post
Office and the Black Horse pub
outlines a tour of the village’s dozen
supposedly haunted sites, one of
them being the pub itself.
ª Turn right to Bethersden, past
Pluckley station, right on Kiln Lane,
then left onto the A28, then first right
to Woodchurch. Turn left here onto the
B2067 towards Lympne to Hythe. Use
town car parks.

EAT AND DRINK

ASHDOWN FOREST

Piglit’s Tea Room inexpensive

Have a little something in the tearoom

that adjoins the Pooh Corner shop.

High Street, Hartfield, TN7 4AE; 01892

770 456; http://www.poohcountry.co.uk;

open in daytime only

PENSHURST

Fir Tree Tea Rooms inexpensive

Enjoy cream teas and great home-

made cakes in an atmospheric

building dating from the 16th century.

Penshurst, TN11 8DB; 01892 870 382;

open Wed–Sun pm

AROUND PENSHURST

George and Dragon moderate

Medieval oak-beamed inn that exudes

character – local produce includes

lobster, smoked eel and Larkin Bitter.

Speldhurst Hill, Speldhurst,

TN3 0NN (off the B2176, 4.3 km/2.7

miles south of Penshurst); 01892 863

125; http://www.speldhurst.com

YALDING

Tea Pot Island inexpensive

Have a cream tea, a coffee or snack at

this riverside setting, filled with teapots.

Children can paint their own mugs.

Hampstead Lane, ME18 6HG; 01622

814 541; http://www.teapotisland.com; open

in daytime only; Oct–Mar: call for

opening times

HYTHE

Hythe Bay Seafood medium

On the seafront, this large family-run

restaurant is good for seafood. The

menu runs from simple fish soup to a

Hythe Bay shellfish platter and lobster.

Marine Parade, CT21 6AW; 01303 233

844; http://www.thehythebay.co.uk

Between the town and the sea, the 45-

km (28-mile) Royal Military Canal has

rowing boats for hire, and every two

years holds a lavish Venetian Fête in

August. Hythe is also the terminus for

the 22-km (14-mile) Romney–Hythe–

Dungeness miniature railway (open

Easter–Sep: daily; http://www.rhdr.org.uk).

Popular with windsurfers, the long

sandy beach is safe and family friendly.

ª Take the A259, signed to Hastings, to

New Romney. Park behind the High

Street in pay-and-display car park.