The surrounding picturesque villages of Otford, Eynsford and Shoreham provide the perfect place to stop for lunch. You can get to these villages by train. Visit www.nationalrail.co.uk

Lavender at The Hop Shop
Come and see the lavender in all its glory at this time of year. The Lavender Festival takes place on 5 th and 6 th July during shop opening times and there will be tours of the lavender fields, food tastings, bee keeping demonstrations etc. Entrance is free – tours are £4. Experience an unforgettable massage with lavender oil in amongst the rows of lavender during the weekend of 12th and 13th July. Advanced booking necessary on tel no 01959 523219. (£25 for 30 minute session) For further information visit www.thehopshop.co.uk

Lullingstone Country Park is set in the Darent Valley and is home to some of the oldest Oak and Beech trees in England. For those wishing to venture further, a guide to a 6.5 mile circular walk from the visitor centre passes close to Shoreham Railway Station on the line from Blackfriars to Sevenoaks, so why not plan a car free day? There is a visitors centre with a café, toilets and shop with information about the landscape, wildlife and heritage of the park. For further information visit www.kent.gov.uk

Lullingstone Castle and World Garden
Lullingstone Castle is one of England’s oldest family estates, dating back to the time of Domesday. The present Manor House and Gate House were built in 1497 and have been home to the same family ever since. Both Henry VIII and Queen Anne are known to have been regular visitors. Tom Hart Dyke’s innovative World Garden, laid out in the shape of a map of the World, pays tribute to the plant hunters of old and brings horticulture bang up to date with its daring plan to grow exotic blooms outside in the Garden of England. Visit www.lullingstonecastle.co.uk for further details.

Lullingstone Roman Villa
One of the few excavated villas fully open to visitors, Lullingstone provides a unique opportunity to trace Roman domestic life over three centuries. Begun in about AD 75, the villa was frequently altered to suit the tastes and beliefs of successive wealthy owners. Towards the end of the 1st century, they added a heated bath-suite and pagan 'cult-rooms'. These display a rare and important treasure - a painting of two water-nymphs, by far the oldest wall painting in English Heritage care. After a period of decline and more changes, a big new dining room was added in c. AD 350, this still retains outstanding mosaics, including Europa and the Bull and Bellerophon killing the Chimaera. Soon afterwards the villa-owners became Christians, creating a chapel, the painted symbols found there are among the earliest surviving evidence for Christianity in Britain. The villa was destroyed by fire soon after AD 400. Visit www.english-heritage.org.uk for further details.

Shoreham Aircraft Museum
Artefacts that tell the stories of the men who fought in the skies over Europe during World War 11.You will find documents, letters, photographs and eye-witness accounts as well as the remains of a wide range of aircraft including Spitfire and Hurricanes. The museum is open on Sundays from Easter to September from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm. Charge £3 per person, children free. Further information available at www.shoreham-aircraft-museum.co.uk.

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