Tunbridge Wells
Also famously known as Royal Tunbridge Wells, this attractive and historic spa town in Kent has welcomed visitors for over 400 years. The town has a great mixture of chic independent shops of the colonnaded Pantiles and high street favourites. It also has many good cafe's bars and restaurants to investigate. The town even has a Michelin-starred restaurant.
Situated in the heart of the beautiful High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Tunbridge Wells is surrounded by gorgeous countryside. The High Weald has many picturesque towns and villages amid the rolling hills, ancient woods and open heaths. Also catch an old steam train on the Spa Valley Railway to see more of the countryside up close. Other places of interest are the Union Mill at Cranbrook, Scotney Castle and Sissinghurst Castle. For children there is the enchanting Groombridge Place. If you like a climb, check out Go Ape at Bedgebury Pinetum and National Forest, or if watersports is your ‘thing’ check out Bewl Water.
There is a pass to get discounts on entrance fees to attractions in the area called the Seven Wonders of The Weald pass.
Tunbridge Wells
All the places are within easy reach of Tunbridge Wells.
The seven wonders pass includes: Scotney Castle, Biddenden Vineyards, Groombridge Place, Kent & East Sussex Railway, Chiddingstone Castle & Gardens, Hole Park Gardens and Royal Tunbridge Wells itself.
The colonnaded Pantiles were once visited by royalty who came to enjoy the Chalybeate spa waters. These days there are full of cafes and drinking establishments. Frequent music festivals take place in Tunbridge Wells throughout the calendar year. Tunbridge Wells has some lovely parks, woods and commons namely Dunorlan Park which has a boating lake and Calverly Grounds that hosts an outdoor ice rink around the Christmas period. Other places of historic interest are Tunbridge Wells Museum & Art Gallery that tells the story of the town since spa waters were discovered there in 1606. If you fancy catching some live entertainment, check out the programme of events. If you like movies, the Trinity Theatre presents an interesting line-up.
“Tunbridge Wells is the hub of the High Weald AONB, the countryside is strikingly beautiful here…”
For long-distance walkers the Tunbridge Wells Circular Walk, formerly named the High Weald Walk, explores the variety of countryside around Royal Tunbridge Wells at the borders of Kent and East Sussex. It falls within the High Weald AONB. The trail passes through a rolling landscape of ridges and valleys, farm fields, hedges and broadleaved woodland. Seen along the route is Groombridge Place, High Rocks, Eridge Rocks and Harrison's Rocks, all sandstone outcrops popular with climbers, and Eridge Park, a remarkably unpopulated area of the south east.