Best Places to Visit Near Canterbury
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best places to visit near Canterbury are Seasalter Beach, Hampton Beach, Kings Wood Sculpture Trail, Reculver Towers and Roman Fort, Folkestone White Horse, Hothfield Waterfall, Madeira Walk Waterfall and Walpole Tidal Pool.
Canterbury sits inland in east Kent, its cathedral city streets within easy reach of the north coast, the downs and the seaside towns of Thanet. Head north and the Kent shore offers two quiet beaches, Seasalter with its saltmarsh and birdlife just west of Whitstable, and Hampton Beach at the western end of Herne Bay.
Between them, on the low cliffs, the twin towers of Reculver rise from the walls of a Roman fort. Turn southwest onto the North Downs for the woodland paths and lingering sculptures of King's Wood near Challock, or the little roadside cascade at Hothfield near Ashford.
To the south, the modern Folkestone White Horse looks out over the Channel from Cheriton Hill. East and northeast lie two more coastal finds: the ornamental Madeira Walk Waterfall at Ramsgate and the seawater Walpole Bay Tidal Pool at Margate.
Beaches, follies, waterfalls, woodland and wild swimming all sit within reach. Here are eight places to visit near Canterbury.
Seasalter Beach
Photo: Gordon Griffiths via Geograph.org.uk
Seasalter Beach This is a place for solitude and big estuary skies rather than deckchairs and crowds. West of Whitstable on the north Kent coast, a steep bank of shingle held in place by timber groynes gives way to flat sand and mud once the tide falls.
Behind it stretch saltmarsh and mudflats, part of a nature reserve alive with wading birds and wildfowl, with the Saxon Shore Way tracing the shoreline. The area has fished for oysters for centuries and keeps a celebrated pub nearby.
Come for the quiet, the walking and the birdwatching, well away from the resort bustle down the coast.
Hampton Beach
Photo: Stephen Craven via Geograph.org.uk
Visit Hampton Beach A little further along, Hampton Beach sits at the western end of Herne Bay on the site of a small village long since lost to the sea. It is a mostly shingle beach beside the short remnant of Hampton Pier, with beach huts, a promenade and rock pools revealed at low tide.
Timber groynes and banks of rock hold the shore against the waves. Away from the main Herne Bay front, it is a quiet stretch of coast, easy to reach from Canterbury and pleasant for a slow wander with a paddle and a look in the pools.
Kings Wood Sculpture Trail
Photo: Danny P Robinson via Geograph.org.uk
Wander Kings Wood Sculpture Trail Southwest of Canterbury on the North Downs near Challock, King's Wood is a large forest that was once home to a trail of outdoor sculptures set among the trees. The art project that made and cared for the works closed in 2015, and because many were built of natural materials meant to decay, some have crumbled back into the wood while others still stand.
Waymarked paths lead through the forest past the survivors and the ghosts of others, and fallow deer live among the trees. It is open to walk and cycle, a peaceful spot for an unhurried woodland ramble.
Reculver Towers and Roman Fort
Photo: Chris Whippet via Geograph.org.uk
Explore Reculver Towers and Roman Fort Out on the low cliffs near Herne Bay, Reculver is a pair of tall medieval church towers standing within the walls of a Roman fort. The Romans built the fort in the third century to guard a channel that then ran behind the Isle of Thanet, and later a Saxon monastery and then a church rose inside its walls.
The church was abandoned as the sea ate away the land and mostly pulled down in the early nineteenth century, but its twin towers were kept as a landmark for ships. It is a free English Heritage site, with flint walls and earthworks around it.
Folkestone White Horse
Photo: Helmut Zozmann via Geograph.org.uk
See the Folkestone White Horse South towards the coast at Folkestone, a large figure of a standing horse marks the chalk slope of Cheriton Hill. Unlike the ancient hill figures of southern England, it was made in 2003, designed by a local artist and formed of pale blocks set into the hillside rather than cut into the bare chalk.
About ninety metres long, it looks down over the Channel Tunnel terminal and greets travellers arriving in Britain. It is a curious modern landmark on the open down, and a good excuse for a breezy walk with far-reaching views out across the Channel.
Hothfield Waterfall
Photo: Robin Webster via Geograph.org.uk
Find Hothfield Waterfall Over near Ashford, at the village of Hothfield, a small man-made cascade makes an easy roadside stop. It was created in the 1850s by damming springs to feed a lake on the old Hothfield estate, and the water drops beside a road bridge on Waterfall Road.
It lies apart from the nearby Hothfield Heathlands, a reserve of heath and bog worth a look while you are in the area. This is a modest, little-known feature rather than a natural fall, but it is a pleasant curiosity to pair with a wander on the neighbouring common.
Madeira Walk Waterfall
Photo: Alan Murray-Rust via Geograph.org.uk
Discover Madeira Walk Waterfall East along the coast at Ramsgate, the Madeira Walk Waterfall is an ornamental cascade set into the rockwork lining the curving road that climbs from the seafront into the town. The rockwork is Pulhamite, a Victorian artificial stone moulded to look like natural rock, complete with grottoes, arches and tunnels, and the water runs down through it beneath a stone bridge.
Built in the 1890s as part of the seafront scheme, it is a listed structure that has recently been restored. This is a townscape feature you pass on the walk rather than a countryside fall, but a charming one all the same.
Walpole Tidal Pool
Photo: Nigel Cox via Geograph.org.uk
Swim at Walpole Tidal Pool A day-trip northeast to Cliftonville, on the eastern edge of Margate, brings you to Walpole Bay Tidal Pool, a large open-air seawater swimming pool built onto the chalk foreshore. Three concrete walls enclose part of the beach, with the chalk itself forming the floor, and every high tide floods and refreshes the water.
It covers around four acres and is free to use, with no lifeguards or admission charge. It opened in 1937 and is now a listed structure, still used daily by local sea swimmers.
Bring your costume for a bracing dip well worth the run out from Canterbury.
FAQs
Where can you swim near Canterbury?
Walpole Bay Tidal Pool at Margate is a large, free seawater pool northeast of Canterbury, refreshed by every high tide and used daily by local sea swimmers.
Which beaches are closest to Canterbury?
Seasalter, west of Whitstable, and Hampton Beach at Herne Bay are the nearest, both quiet shingle stretches on the north Kent coast within about six miles of Canterbury.
Is Reculver worth visiting?
Yes. Reculver's twin medieval towers and Roman fort walls stand free to explore on the coast near Herne Bay, an easy and atmospheric trip from Canterbury.
Conclusion
With the north Kent coast, the downs and the seaside towns of Thanet all close at hand, Canterbury makes a fine base for exploring. Quiet beaches at Seasalter and Hampton suit a slow day by the water, while the Roman fort and towers of Reculver bring a heavy dose of history to the shore.
Inland, the wooded paths of King's Wood and the little cascade at Hothfield offer gentler wanders, and the Folkestone White Horse rewards a climb with wide Channel views. Over east, Ramsgate's ornamental waterfall and Margate's seawater tidal pool round out a varied list.
Beaches, follies, waterfalls, woodland and wild swimming: these are the places to visit near Canterbury.
