Walmer Castle & Gardens in Deal, 30 minutes from Goodnesone Park, is a coastal castle with eight acres of award-winning gardens.
Open daily from 10am-5pm,. To find out more, call 0370 333 1181 or visit their website below.
Just 20 minutes from Goodnestone Park, the historic Dover Castle is teeming with history and offers some great views across the English Channel.
Open daily 10am-5pm, To find out more, call 0370 333 1181 or visit their website below.
Visit Canterbury’s world-famous cathedral, the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury and home to the shrine of Thomas Becket.
Just 20 minutes from Goodnestone Park, the cathedral is open for visits Monday-Saturday 10am-4pm and Sundays 12.30-4pm.
Enjoy a tour along the River Stour in Canterbury, and see the sights of the historic city from a different angle.
Lasting 45 minutes and running daily 10am-5pm. To find out more contact 01227 379600 or info@canterburyrivertours.co.uk.
Available with private tours happening daily 10am-8pm.
To find out more, contact 01227 464797 or ashley@canterburypunting.co.uk.
There are plenty of places to eat out near Goodnestone Park. A few recommendations, all within 30 minutes of Goodnestone Park, include The Pig at Bridge Place near Canterbury, The Corner House in Canterbury and Rocksalt in Folkestone.
The Fordwich Arms in the picturesque town of Fordwich. The Sportsman in Seasalter and the Whitstable Oyster Company in Whitstable are also well renowned.
For shopping near Goodnestone Park, the Ashford Outlet is 40 minutes away, and has 85 stores and 14 restaurants, offering plenty to do.
Closer to Goodnestone Park, the Whitefriars shopping area in Canterbury offers an alternative. There are also several markets of interest nearby, with farmers market The Goods Shed situated by Canterbury West train station, Macknade Food Hall in Faversham and the Saturday Market in Deal.
For those interested in visiting galleries and museums, there are many to choose from.
Perhaps most renowned is the Turner Contemporary in Margate (35 minutes from Goodnestone Park), one of the UK’s leading art galleries, which is free entry for all. Others include the Hornby Hobbies Visitor Centre in Margate, the Roman Museum and the Beaney House of Art and Knowledge in Canterbury.
Kent is home to many beautiful beaches. From the sandy dunes of Broadstairs with Joss Bay and Botany Bay (35 minutes from Goodnestone Park), to the pebbly beaches of Whitstable and Tankerton (20 minutes away), the ideal place to watch a sunset.
Other beautiful coastal locations to visit include Minnis Bay, Deal Beach and St Margaret’s Bay in Dover.
For horse riding, the local Bekesbourne Stables or Bursted Manor offer a number of possibilities. They can organise a hack or lesson for guests of all abilities, with Bursted Manor even offering beach rides.
Bekesbourne Stables: 01227 830910
Bursted Manor: 01227 830568 or email@burstedmanor.co.uk.
Howletts Wild Animal Park is just outside of Canterbury, 15 minutes from Goodnestone Park, and is home to the largest herd of African elephants in the UK, among many other species.
It is open daily 9.30am-5pm.
Port Lympne is in Hythe, 35 minutes away, and is Kent’s largest wild animal park.
It is open daily 9.30am-5.30pm.
For guests at Goodnestone Park interested in golf, there are a number of courses nearby, such as the Royal St George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, just 15 minutes away.
Leeds Castle Golf Club has a 9 hole pay and play course, on Weekdays and £19 at Weekends and Bank Holidays.
Chartham Vineyard is a family-owned vineyard combining traditional farming values with a modern sustainable approach. They produce award-winning white, red and sparkling wines with free tastings in the Vineyard shop. The Vineyard offer guided tours and tastings on Saturdays which can be booked in advance on the website or by calling 01233813719.
Visitors can also enjoy free entrance to exhibitions in the Vineyard Gallery and explore the rich built heritage of our farmyard, located next to Chartham railway station, one stop from Canterbury West.
Terlingham Vineyard is located just outside of the town of Folkestone, Kent just 25 minutes from Goodnestone Park. Over the spring and summer months, the Estate is open for guests to explore the Vineyards and taste their award winning wines. With a number of tastings and tours on offer, visit their website below or call 01303 892452.
Discount codes are available for all Goodnestone Park guests, please contact the House Manager for the code.
Miles Irving is an internationally renowned wild foods expert, author and public speaker. For guests staying in the Mansion, Miles can create bespoke workshops tailored to the clients needs. This can include a full foraging day with Miles ending with a 5 course meal. Miles is able to offer bespoke events for guests staying in the house, including an all day Foraging experience. Miles’s events include a range of activities dependent on the time of the year.
Activities can include a seasonal foraging day, which will range from spring blossoms, wild garlic, and spring greens in the spring; wild teas, summer succulent stems, flowers and aromatics in the summer; wild salads, wild spices, fungi, fruit and nuts in the autumn and winter salads, late fruit and fungi in the winter.
Miles can also offer a day of harvesting and processing birch sap for syrup, using it as a fresh spring drink and as an ingredient for cocktails and cooking and also how to ferment birch sap and use the finished result this can either be just a walk lasting 2- 4 hours or else it can involve different degrees of processing and cooking/ sitting down to eat.
If you would like to book Miles for an event during your stay please make an enquiry on enquiries@goodnestone.com.
Natural Pathways Bushcraft was started by Hannah Nicholls in 2002 and offers a variety of outdoor courses. For guests staying in the Mansion, Hannah can create a bespoke events including Bushcraft Courses, Mindfulness Walks, and Natural Awareness Courses.
If you would like to book Hannah for an event during your stay please make an enquiry on enquiries@goodnestone.com.
The Orangery at Goodnestone Park is a semipermanent timber framed marquee available for hire in conjunction with the mansion. The marquee comes fully equipped with a sound limiter speaker system, tables and chairs, generator, lighting and toilet facilities suitable for your event.
The Orangery is multi-functional and has internal partitions allowing it to be adapted for any type of event whether it’s a dinner party or large wedding/party with the maximum capacity being 120 people.
Please follow this link below for more information the Orangery or make an enquiry on enquiries@goodnestone.com.
Wild Classroom bring you unmissable outdoor experiences, teaching campfire cooking for both adults and children in Kent.
Wild Classroom looks to combine ancient cooking techniques with a modern understanding, cooking fresh food in the wild, Scott and his team can provide Educational Workshops, Children’s Parties, Adult Parties and Corporate Team Building.
Scott is able to offer bespoke events for guests staying in the house. If you would like to book Scott for an event during your stay please make an enquiry on enquiries@goodnestone.com.
The wider estate is farmed sustainably by award winning Nonington Farms. Headed up by James and Emma Loder-Symonds, a dynamic husband and wife team, who put the environment at the forefront of their farming operations.
Nonington Farms has been a LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) Demonstration Farm since 2020 and it is the only LEAF Demonstration Farm in the south-east. Emma and James are experts in their field “excuse the pun” and run a comprehensive educational programme for all ages, including a multitude of events held on the Estate over the year.
Emma and James can arrange bespoke tours, activities and educational classes for you and your guests during your stay. Please get in touch with a member of our team on enquiries@goodnestone.com.
There are 15 acres of gardens at Goodnestone Park which includes the walled garden, the greenhouse, parterre, terrace and woodland garden.
Our Head Gardener Paul Bagshaw is available for prebooked tours of the garden including the history of the garden, the “no-dig” method and hints and tips on anything garden related! Garden Tours & Workshops with Paul are £20 per person and can be pre-booked with our House Manager Ronnie, please email house@goodnestone.com.
The Old Dairy café is located at the entrance and serves a range of snacks, drinks and lunches.
The Café is open Wednesday to Sunday 10am—4pm. A Goodnestone Park Afternoon Tea includes freshly made finger sandwiches, scones, cake and tea and coffee. Prices per person are £22.95 and can be pre-booked with our House Manager Ronnie, please email house@goodnestone.com.
Annas Country Flowers is located near by to Chilham just outside of the town of Faversham, Kent just 25 minutes from Goodnestone Park. Anna’s Country Flowers is a seasonal flower farm growing a wide selection of beautiful scented blooms. Anna can create bespoke arrangements for all occasions, including weddings, parties and any other celebration. Anna also conducts a range of floral workshops throughout the year at her farm. Anna can also create bespoke workshops for guests staying at Goodnestone Park.
Anna is able to offer bespoke workshops for guests staying in the house. If you would like to book Anna during your stay please get in touch with a member of our team on enquiries@goodnestone.com.
Our House Manager Ronnie is a trained mixologist and is available for Cocktail masterclasses for all guests staying in the house.
We like to add a Goodnestone twist to our cocktails and make Jane Austen themed cocktails, including the Gin Austen and Sherringham’s Austen Old Fashioned.
If you would like to book a masterclass it needs to be pre-booked with our House Manager Ronnie, please email house@goodnestone.com.
Ronald our house manager and his partner Judith are our in-house caterers and can provide breakfast, lunch and supper They can provide traditional Peruvian meals as well as any home made classics for up to 30 people.
Any in-house catering needs to be pre-booked with our House Manager Ronnie, please email house@goodnestone.com.
For larger events in the Orangery we have a list of external caterers who are all carefully selected and have worked with us for a number of years.
