Route 
Illustrative photoTen Kent walks where the history comes to you
Castle keeps, Roman walls, Victorian piers and a shingle desert. Kent packs more stories per mile than almost anywhere in England. Here are ten walks to start with.
Kent has been the front door of England for two thousand years. Romans landed here, pilgrims walked here, and smugglers, fishermen and holidaymakers have all left their mark on its towns and coast. That makes it one of the best counties in the country for a walk with something to think about.
These ten walks are short enough for an afternoon, and every one of them passes places with a story behind them.
Canterbury City Walls and the Cathedral Quarter
Canterbury's walls follow the line of the Roman town, rebuilt in the Middle Ages, and more than half of the circuit still stands. Start at the Westgate, the largest surviving medieval city gate in England, and finish in the precincts of the cathedral where Thomas Becket was murdered in 1170.
The White Cliffs to South Foreland Lighthouse
The National Trust path along the top of the cliffs gives you the Channel on one side and, on a clear day, France on the horizon. South Foreland's Victorian lighthouse at the far end has its own place in history: Marconi used it for early radio experiments.
Rochester Castle, Cathedral and the Medway
The Norman keep at Rochester is one of the tallest in England, and it survived a famous siege by King John in 1215. Charles Dickens knew the town well, and the high street still looks like a page from one of his novels.
Whitstable Harbour and Tankerton Slopes
Oysters have been gathered here since Roman times. Walk from the working harbour along the beach huts to Tankerton, where at low tide a shingle spit called The Street runs straight out to sea.
Folkestone Harbour Arm and the Leas
The Leas is a grand Victorian clifftop promenade, and the Leas Lift, a funicular railway powered by water, first carried passengers up and down the cliff in 1885. Down below, the old harbour arm is now full of food stalls and sea views.
Along the Bays
Dickens spent many summers in Broadstairs, and the town still holds a Dickens festival. Follow the chalk bays south to Ramsgate, whose harbour is the only one in the country with the title Royal Harbour.
Herne Bay Seafront
A classic Victorian resort, with its long pier, bandstand and clock tower. On a clear day, look east along the coast to the twin towers of Reculver, a ruined church standing inside a Roman fort.
Faversham Creek and Oare Marshes
Faversham is packed with listed buildings, and it has been brewing beer for centuries. Out on the creek and the marshes, the birdlife is spectacular in winter.
The Crab and Winkle Way
A traffic-free path that follows the line of the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, which opened in 1830 as one of the first passenger railways in the world. Walk it or ride it, and finish with fish and chips by the sea.
Dungeness: Lighthouses and the Shingle
One of the largest shingle landscapes in Europe, with two lighthouses, fishermen's huts and the black cottage and garden made by the filmmaker Derek Jarman. It feels like nowhere else in Britain.
How to get more from a walk like this
Most of us walk past the best stories without knowing they are there: the plaque you didn't read, the name of the street, why that wall is a different colour. Reading up before you go helps. Hearing the story at the moment you reach the place is better still.
That is what Route Stories does. Each route comes with a narrator who tells you about the places as you reach them, with music in between. You keep your eyes on the view instead of a guidebook.
