Kent and East Sussex Border
This is the perfect base for a group to explore and experience the Garden of England and the East Sussex coast.
By day, you can go on spectacular walks, see wonderful wildlife as well as visiting the many beautiful towns in the area, including both Tenterden and Rye, both just five miles away. At night, there so little light pollution that on a clear night you can identify the stars with ease and in spring you can hear nightingales in the nearby woods.
The Vineyard House is situated in quiet surroundings on the outskirts of the picturesque village of Wittersham in an area laden with history. The barn itself is next to Budds House where the writer Henry James used to pop in for afternoon tea and where we are told Winston Churchill visited his Lord Chancellor during the war.
Five miles away, Rye, perched on a hill, with its picturesque Elizabethan houses, is one of the most beautiful towns in the country and is still the home of poets, artists and writers following in the tradition of Henry James and others such as the playwright John Fletcher, authors Radcliffe Hall and E F Benson, and artists Paul Nash and Edward Burra who all made their homes here. Captain Pugwash is also set in Rye! Now it has a wonderful array of cool boutique shops, cafes, restaurants and a High Street untarnished by chain stores.
Slightly further afield is Dungeness where filmmaker Derek Jarman set up home, attracted by its barren unearthly landscape.
Tenterden is another very attractive town famous for antique shops. Kent is well known for its gardens and the most famous of all is Sissinghurst, just nine miles away, once the home of the writer Vita Sackville West. Great Dixter, was made famous by the Country Life garden writer Christopher Lloyd, is just four miles away.
In addition to history, there's a huge expanse of Blue Flag sandy beach at Camber Sands just eight miles away - the light is so gorgeous it is regularly used for photo shoots and filming. The area has excellent cycling - Romney Marsh is famed for its long flat roads. There's a steam railway in Tenterden - you can even take a boat back from the medieval and dramatic Bodiam Castle. Local wines, made from the grapes grown outside the barn, can be sampled at Smallhythe Vineyards. The South of England Rare Breeds Centre is at Woodchurch offering farm animals and a play area, ideal for the children, whilst slightly further afield, in the summer a day trip to Le Touquet can be made from Lydd airport, 12 miles (passports will be needed) or you can have a dinner flight along the South Coast. The sea resort of Hastings with its Edwardian charm is just 15 miles away.