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Lying at the heart of one of the most scenic stretches of countryside in England and surrounded by the unspoilt beauty of the Weald, Royal Tunbridge Wells is the ideal location for a short break or leisurely tour of the Kentish countryside. In the 18th and 19th centuries, royalty and the gentry left city life behind to relax in the peaceful, country atmosphere of “the Wells”. Today, you will find many traces of these by-gone times, particularly on the famous colonnaded shopping street known as the Pantiles.
Standing amidst the elegant shops, tea rooms and antique traders are the original Chalybeate Spring, discovered around 1606, and the Music Gallery. In the Pantiles Arcade, the former site of the Corn Exchange, “A Day at the Wells” provides a fascinating look at life in Georgian times.
The Tunbridge Wells Museum & Arts Gallery offers a richly varied display of exhibits, including locally made “Tunbridge ware” maquerty, toys and rural crafts. Royal Tunbridge Wells has several parks and sports areas, a golf course and a wide variety of independent shops and stores. The town’s theatres, cinema, arts centre and lively pubs offer evening entertainment to suit every taste.
Take to the countryside where you will discover an unbelievable wealth of stately homes, formal gardens and castles: Scotney Castle Garden, Sissinghurst, Penhurst Place, Leeds and Hever are among the most celebrated. Equally impressive are the ancient abbeys and village churches, steam railways, rural museums and craft centres.
Along every route, picturesque Wealden villages like Goldhurst, Lamberhurst and Hawkhurst provide reminders of the iron-making and cloth-making past. At Cranbrook, the bustling centre of the region’s medieval cloth industry and known as the Capital of the Weald, the working windmill stands proudly overlooking the town.
Vineyards, fruit orchards and hop farms mingle with the gently wooded landscape of this part of Kent and Sussex. So in Spring and Autumn this corner of the Garden of England is awash with colourful tints of blossom and the ochre and russet hues of harvest time. Whatever the season, you’ll find Tunbridge Wells town and countryside a richly rewarding choice.
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