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Famous for its oysters, Whitstable is a fishing town on the north Kent coast that’s a strange combination of everyday high-street life and chi-chi boutique style. If you want a butcher or baker there’s the high street. If you want vintage, gifts and fashion, take a wander down Harbour Street.

Nicknamed for all the smugglers and ne’erdowells who used to operate here and got transported to the Australian penal colony, this lovely sandy beach with its stunning chalk stacks is now a wonderful coastal escape worth exploring all year round.

The cathedral and the university might dominate Canterbury, but it’s a lovely city to wander, with a blossoming arts scene. You’re close to idyllic bucolic scenes like this, along the River Stour, too.

East Kent Railway Trust at Sherpherdswell, near Dover, has a collection of lovingly preserved old engines and carriages. Originally built to serve the Kent collieries, today it’s a volunteer-run heritage line you can join for trips through pretty villages and countryside.

In a rush to look at the Royal Observatory or the National Maritime Museum, or when you’re busy browsing stalls at the market, it’s easy to forget that Greenwich has a gorgeous park, too. Stop a while and have a picnic under a majestic tree that’s probably been growing since the Tudor royals rode their horses here.

It’s still easy to see the traces of Herne Bay’s past as a major seaside resort when you’re visiting for a weekend away – its promenade and pier are still in excellent shape, for a start. But it’s also busy with arts events, and by day and by night, it enjoys that stunning estuary light that Turner loved so much.

Built in the grounds of East Cliff Lodge in 1832, this stunning glasshouse and tea garden was restored in 2005 and is a fabulous excuse to stop for cream tea while you take a relaxed wander through what is now King George VI Memorial Park.

Just on the outskirts of town you’ll find this vast parkland with two pretty lakes, and the River Dour making its course through it. There’s a tea room open all year round and plenty of space to wander and contemplate nature.

The contrast of the pretty and colourful beach huts with the bright blue (or, quite often, dramatically grey) skies is a feature loved by lots of our entrants, and for good reason. The huts add that splash of personality along a long and often pleasingly remote coast.

They like their food in Whitstable. There are bustling pubs, quiet tea rooms, artisan bread shops, fancy restaurants and plenty of places to grab locally caught oysters and eat them while you perch yourselves on the sea wall.

Charing, near Ashford in Kent, is a charming small town with a truly lovely tearoom. Rosebud Vintage are the go-to bakers and tea makers for lunch or a relaxed afternoon treat, but they also hire out their skills, so if you fancy turning your next party into a village fete…

Overlooking a rural Kent town, this magnificent parish church has roots going back to Norman times. As well as its beautiful architecture, it also holds fascinating secrets, not least in the vaulted passageway that for centuries was used as a bonehouse.

This vast, verdant wildlife reserve in the heart of rolling Kent countryside offers a chance to see animals you’d rarely catch a glimpse of outside Africa. There is also a luxurious hotel with self-catering lodges, if you want to stay over and explore more.

Ramsgate harbour is often filled with yachts and the seafront buildings have something in common with waterfront towns in France and Holland, making it feel like a real getaway on a sunny day out of London.

The annual bonfire night in Battle is a very special night that's planned through the year, so it's great to see it nominated here. Festivities begin in the morning, with fancy dress competitions and the ringing of church bells. The climax is the parade of the guy and of course, the bonfire and fireworks. And it's all free. Wonderful.