Your family is the centre of your world, right? So centre your holiday around family fun in a fantastic UK staycation destination, bursting with exciting activities and experiences for the whole family to enjoy. For an amazing holiday with young tots or big kids, White Cliffs Country – Deal, Dover and Sandwich, Kent – offers you a great opportunity to build your own family bundle of excitement this summer - tapping into just what you want to do, and when you want to do it.
Create-Your-Own Bundle of Family Fun in White Cliffs Country
Perhaps you’ll go hacking through beautiful countryside in the stunning Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty? Find out about horseriding experiences to book in the idyllic village of St Margaret’s Bay, at Braeside Equestrian Centre or at Owl House Riding Centre, and in the picturesque rural village of Sutton By Dover at Cornilo Riding.
© Cornilo Riding
For action-packed adventures outdoors, book archery, orienteering, geocaching and Forest School experiences at Betteshanger Park near Deal, a wonderful outdoor space and activity centre on the site of a former colliery. You can either bring your own bike on holiday to White Cliffs Country or you can hire a bike here and enjoy dozens of trails, including off-track for the more daredevil cyclists in the family! Or for cycling nearer the seaside, visit Mike’s Bikes in Deal and explore the coastal cycling routes around Deal, Dover and Sandwich.
Adventure on water with fun family activities including sailing, sea kayaking and pedalo hire at Dover Sea Sports Centre. From within the sheltered waters of Dover Harbour, you can enjoy an incredible experience on water, with the opportunity to book onto RYA sailing courses during your trip. Why not get a bit closer to the waters of White Cliffs Country and go paddling or swimming in the sea? Explore nature by the coast, hunting in the rockpools of St Margaret’s Bay for fossils, or enjoy a ranger talk at Samphire Hoe about the birds, butterflies, flora and fauna of the rare chalk grassland habitat.
Dover Sea Sports Centre
Do your children love to cook? Don’t miss Chequers Kitchen Cookery School in its beautiful venue near the golf course and the seaside, between Deal and Sandwich. Here you can book children’s cookery classes, or family cookery sessions, and learn how to make mouthwatering dishes from sushi to takeaway favourites to pastries and home baked bread – in a fabulous kitchen and a wonderful and friendly environment.
If you’ve never tried clay pigeon shooting before, give it a go in White Cliffs Country. At Martin Gorse Wood Clay Pigeon Club near Dover you can book private lessons, for any range of ability and any level of experience. Or visit Deal and Sandwich Shooting School on one of their Open Shoot Days - a clay shoot located on a 15-acre site on the beautiful East Kent coast, between the historic towns of Deal and Sandwich.
Of course if you fancy a day off from all that action and adventure, you might want to slow the pace a bit and have a chilled out day where you catch a movie. You can go to the cinema in White Cliffs Country at Dover's multi screen complex at Cineworld, or for a retro cinema experience, visit an original art deco picture house from the golden age of Hollywood at the Empire Cinema in Sandwich! Dover's charming independent cinema, Silver Screen Cinema, is just off Market Square in Dover. Dover Museum with its famous Bronze Age Boat – the world’s oldest surviving seagoing vessel - is just a few yards away! Grown ups might want to relax after all the excitement, so perhaps book a yoga session with Bright Skies, or indulge in a treatment at one of the many spas in White Cliffs Country, such as Brooklyn Greenspa in Deal or Tranquility in Dover.
© Chequers Kitchen Cookery School
Discover Kent’s largest variety of animal species on a great family day out Wingham Wildlife Park, or for a fantastic day out that's also great value, visit the heritage railway line and trains at East Kent Railway. You’ll uncover centuries of history at medieval Dover Castle – one of White Cliffs Country’s three coastal castles – and learn about the secret wartime operations that were run from the tunnels beneath the famous White Cliffs on which the castle sits. Of course, a walk along the world-famous White Cliffs of Dover is a must-do!
For a unique wildlife experience, take a trip to see White Cliffs Country’s colony of seals on Captain Colin’s Riverbus and enjoy a relaxing boat trip along the River Stour. Then chill out in the countryside with a tractor ride at Solley’s Farm followed by homemade dairy ice cream at Solley's Ice Cream Parlour.
When it comes to choosing a place to stay – what floats your boat? White Cliffs Country has fantastic self-catering cottages by the sea and in the countryside (including pet-friendly options of course). Or perhaps you’d rather have a family adventure where you go camping or glamping? Of course we have plenty of hotels and guesthouses as well!
However you decide to enjoy your family staycation adventure in White Cliffs Country, rest assured you’ll make magical memories that will make you want to come back here, again and again. Don't forget to send a postcard!