Tillingham

Worth getting out of bed for

Wine tours and tastings run daily, at a cost of £35 a person, and includes four glasses of the estate’s biodynamic wine, a guided look around the vineyard and insight into the ancient methods Tillingham employs in its winemaking. Guests can easily spend an hour or two peeking around the hotel’s walled garden, where the kitchen grows the majority of their herbs and vegetables. There are weekly yoga sessions to join (or one-to-one sessions, which can be booked with advance notice) and a host of other estate-based events that run throughout the year, from foraging and wellness days to craft courses and seminars. Outside of the estate, the ancient citadel of Rye sits 10 minutes to the south, with a picturesque marina, romantic cobblestone streets, mediaeval half-timbered houses, crafty boutiques and stay-all-day cafès. Keep an eye out (and your Kodak ready) for Mermaid Street, a historic walkway lined with charming, ivy-strewn houses with a rep as the most photographed spot in the city. For the hiking-inclined, there's a 90-minute walk from Tillingham to Rye along a public footpath through the valley. A little further south, Camber Sands is suitable for swimming, watersports, kitesurfing – and on sunnier days – picnics, although locals like to go to Pett level beach, which is more rugged but much quieter, even in the peak of summer.

Local restaurants

Over the Kent border, Kilnsdown favourite the Small Holding pleases with a hyper-seasonal menu of regional delicacies like agnolotti filled with Kentish cuttlefish; Cornish brown crab bisque with homegrown lemongrass and fermented chilli; and spiced courgette fritters, topped with Hinxden yoghurt and garden herbs. Closer to home, The Union Rye is a best-of-British restaurant housed in a quaint 15th-century building serving contemporary cuisine and cocktails.

Local cafés

Independent haunt the Fig in Rye describes itself as a ‘restcafè’. That’s somewhere between a restaurant and cafè, for the uninitiated, where folks can linger over good-for-you brunches, globally-inspired small plates, photo-worthy cocktails and ethically-sourced Monmouth coffee. Water Lane near Hawkhurst is also worth a visit; an ancient walled garden with a vinery, Victorian glasshouses, restaurant and shop.

Local bars

Housed in an old, timber-framed building, The Standard Inn has been welcoming parched pilgrims since the 14th century, when it was a favourite watering hole for Rye’s seafaring visitors. Today, you’ll find walkers, writers, farmers and travellers occupying the inn’s characterful rooms – full of wooden beams and crackling fireplaces – all with a pint of local ale in hand. Another rustic charmer is Ypres Castle Inn, where the focus is on craft beer and cider, as well as low-intervention wines. Interiors, though traditional, are uplifted by the works of local artists, but it’s outside in the big, green beer garden where the real action takes place.