Doddington

Doddington itself has no hotels, being a small village of around 550 people, but its position just off the A2 between Sittingbourne and Faversham makes it a convenient base for staying nearby while exploring the Kent Downs. Faversham, a short drive away, has the most character of the local towns, with guesthouses and small hotels set among its medieval streets, creekside pubs and independent shops, and it makes a good base for visiting both Doddington and the wider Swale countryside. Sittingbourne, slightly closer, offers a more practical spread of hotels aimed at travellers using the A2, M2 and the town's railway station, useful if you want fast links to London or the Kent coast. Beyond the two towns, the surrounding villages of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty have a scattering of farm B&Bs and self-catering cottages, many set among the same orchards and hop gardens that define Doddington itself, offering a quieter alternative to a town-centre hotel. Wherever you base yourself, Doddington Place Gardens, the Chequers Inn and the surrounding downland walks are all within easy reach, and the area's good road and rail links mean Leeds Castle, Canterbury and the Kent coast are realistic day trips. Booking ahead is worth doing between May and September, when the gardens are open and the orchards are at their best, as accommodation in the smaller villages is limited and popular with walkers following the Augustine Camino route through the Downs.

Doddington is small, but it punches above its weight for a village of its size, and it sits within easy reach of some of Kent's best-known attractions.

• Doddington Place Gardens — Ten acres of landscaped Victorian and Edwardian gardens surrounding a Victorian mansion built in 1870 for the Croft sherry family, with a woodland garden full of rhododendrons and azaleas, a large rock garden with pools, a formal sunk garden and a flint-and-brick folly. The gardens have opened for the National Gardens Scheme for more than fifty years.
• Sharsted Court — A striking medieval Wealden hall house dating from at least 1080, set in its own parkland on the edge of the parish; not routinely open to the public, but a notable landmark on walks around Doddington.
• The Kent Downs AONB and Syndale Valley — The chalk downland and orchard-covered slopes around Doddington offer some of the best walking in the South East, including a stretch of the Augustine Camino pilgrimage route, with wide views over the Swale countryside.
• Doughty's Butcher — An award-winning butcher's shop in the village that has traded continuously since 1919, on a site used for butchering since 1789, and a good stop for genuinely local Kentish produce.
• Faversham — A handsome market town a short drive away, with a medieval street plan, a bustling Saturday market, Shepherd Neame's historic brewery (Britain's oldest) and a creek lined with sailing barges.
• Sittingbourne — The nearest town, with a full range of shops and services plus the Swale Heritage Trail and the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway, a narrow-gauge steam line built for the local paper mills.
• Leeds Castle — Often called the world's most beautiful castle, set on two islands in a lake near Maidstone, within easy reach of Doddington by car.

The heart of village life is the Chequers Inn, a listed 14th-century coaching inn on The Street with oak timbers, an inglenook fireplace and hop bines strung from the ceiling. It serves home-cooked, locally sourced food alongside ales from Shepherd Neame, Britain's oldest brewer, and has a beer garden and family garden with a children's play area at the rear; it was named Best Village Pub for London and the Home Counties in 2005. For provisions, Doughty's Butcher on the same street has been trading since 1919 and is well regarded for its Kentish meat. A short drive away, Faversham offers a much wider choice, including pubs tied to the Shepherd Neame brewery itself, independent cafes around the market place, and restaurants making the most of Kent's orchard fruit, hops and coastal seafood.

Doddington sits within the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, surrounded by cherry and apple orchards on the slopes above the Syndale Valley, and the countryside here has a gentle, farmed character rather than dramatic wilderness. As in the rest of England, wild camping is not legal without the landowner's permission, so campers should stick to established sites rather than pitching in the orchards or on the downland itself, however inviting they look. Fortunately, the village has its own long-standing option in Palace Farm Campsite, a small, family-run site set in a working cherry orchard on the slopes of the Kent Downs, offering pitches for your own tent alongside pre-erected bell tents for those who want glamping without the packing. The site keeps things simple, with hot showers, flushing toilets and a washing-up area, and welcomes dogs and campfires, making it a genuinely relaxed rural base. The camping season generally runs from early May to late September, with glamping available from mid-May, so it is very much a spring-to-early-autumn destination rather than a year-round one; the ground can be exposed to Downs weather outside those months, and many facilities close over winter. May and June bring the best of the orchard blossom and the woodland gardens at nearby Doddington Place, while late summer sees the cherries and apples ripening in the surrounding farmland, giving campers a genuine sense of the fruit-growing landscape that shapes this part of Kent. The Kent Downs above the village offer excellent walking and cycling directly from the campsite, including a stretch of the Augustine Camino pilgrimage route, and birdwatchers are well served by the mix of woodland and farmland nearby. For those who prefer a fixed roof, glamping options in the wider Kent Downs AONB include bell tents, shepherd's huts and safari-style tents, giving a flavour of camping without needing your own kit. Given the area's popularity with walkers and weekend visitors in summer, booking ahead is strongly advised, particularly around the Doddington Place Gardens open season and school holidays.