Things to do in Ashford: 11 days out, 5 of them free

Ashford borough is bigger than most people who drive through it realise. It runs from the town out to the chalk escarpment above Wye, down to the edge of Romney Marsh, and across to Tenterden in the Weald, and the best days out are spread across all of it. Every price, opening day and closure below was checked against the venue’s own website on 9 August 2026. Where a venue’s price is not published online we have said so rather than guessed.

Free days out

Victoria Park, Ashford

The town’s Victorian park has just come through a rebuild of more than £5 million, funded by Ashford Borough Council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. It now has a large new play area with a climbing frame, swings, trampolines and a zip-wire, a pump track designed with the London 2012 Olympic BMX team, a sensory garden, a resurfaced multi-use games area, a community building with a café, and Changing Places accessible toilets. A new seasonal wetland lets the Great Stour spread out where it used to be channelled. Entry is free (Ashford Borough Council).

Conningbrook Lakes Country Park

A former quarry next to the Julie Rose Stadium, turned into lakes and grassland with walking and cycling trails and views north to the downs. Free, open seven days a week from early morning to early evening. Fishing is run by Mid Kent Fisheries and the water sports go through clubs rather than casual hire. Two honest warnings from the council’s own page: there is no circular walk yet because of the housing development alongside, the unsurfaced paths get very muddy in winter, and blue-green algae notices go up in warm weather. Dogs on leads, and no dogs in the water. Vehicle access through the stadium is for blue badge holders only (Ashford Borough Council).

Hothfield Heathlands

Eighty-six hectares of open heath and Kent’s last four valley bogs, three or four miles from the town centre on the A20. Free and open at all times, with a car park that has a 2-metre height barrier, and four waymarked trails, one of which, the Triangle Trail, is a 500-metre all-weather accessible route. Look for round-leaved sundew, bog asphodel, cotton grass and heath spotted orchids. Cattle, ponies and sheep graze the site and Kent Wildlife Trust asks visitors to keep 10 metres away; the Highland cattle were temporarily removed in March 2026 because of visitor pressure (Kent Wildlife Trust).

Wye National Nature Reserve and the Devil’s Kneading Trough

The best view in the borough, about two kilometres south east of Wye. The Devil’s Kneading Trough is a steep dry valley cut into the North Downs, and from the Millstone at the top you can see Romney Marsh, Dungeness and, on a clear day, the coast around Hastings. There is a circular nature trail and several public footpaths. Open all hours, with two car parks where charges are voluntary and paid through RingGo. The slopes are genuinely steep and there is grazing livestock, so mind your footing and your dog (Explore Kent).

Ashford Designer Outlet

Free to walk into, and the borough’s single biggest visitor draw. It is on Kimberley Way, TN24 0SD, a short walk from the station, and opens 10am to 9pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 9pm on Saturday and 10am to 6pm on Sunday (McArthurGlen). Sunday trading rules mean the larger stores keep shorter Sunday hours than the centre does, so check a specific shop before making a special trip.

Paid days out

Kent and East Sussex Railway, Tenterden

The heritage line runs from Tenterden Town through Rolvenden, Wittersham Road and Northiam to Bodiam, and a day rover is the way to do it. Adults £30 booked online in advance or £33 bought at the station; over-60s £26.50 online or £30 at the station. Between 21 July and 31 August 2026 up to three children travel free with each fare-paying adult or senior. A platform ticket is £1 and a first class supplement, where the train has it, is £4 a single journey for adults with no charge for children. Parking is free at Tenterden Town and Northiam.

One thing to check before you book: services are being worked by heritage diesels until further notice because of fire risk, with steam returning when it is safe, so do not promise a small child a steam engine without looking at the railway’s own homepage first (Kent and East Sussex Railway).

Biddenden Vineyards

England’s original vineyard, planted in 1969, on Gribble Bridge Lane, TN27 8DF. The open tour is £30 a head with a minimum of two guests, runs about an hour and a half, and takes you through the Ortega vines and the winery before a tutored tasting of six wines. The self-guided tour is £15, with a 20-minute or 40-minute waymarked route and a flight of three wines, six for £5 more, and £5 of it comes back to you against any purchase over £20 in the shop (Biddenden Vineyards).

Godinton House and Gardens

A Jacobean house on the edge of the town with formal gardens, a wild garden and a walled kitchen garden. The gardens are open Tuesday to Sunday and bank holiday Mondays, 12.30pm to 5.30pm with last entry at 4.30pm, from 17 March to 18 October 2026. The house opens Fridays and Saturdays only, 3 April to 26 September, by guided tour at 1pm, 1.30pm, 2pm, 2.30pm, 3pm and 3.30pm.

House and garden is £17.50 for adults, gardens only £11.00, with children aged 11 to 16 at £2.50 and under-11s free. A joint garden season ticket is £45. Between 25 June and 1 September 2026 tickets are 12.5% cheaper under the Great British Summer Savings scheme (Godinton House).

South of England Rare Breeds Centre, Woodchurch

A 100-acre working farm at Highlands Farm, TN26 3RJ, run by the charity Canterbury Oast Trust, with more than 400 animals, indoor soft play, adventure play and a butterfly tunnel. Open 10am to 5pm daily from 1 April to 31 October, then 10am to 4.30pm Wednesday to Sunday through the winter, with Mondays and Tuesdays added in school holidays.

Under the Summer Savings scheme running to 1 September 2026, day tickets are £16.50 for adults, £14.00 for children aged 2 to 15, £14.00 for over-60s and £50.75 for a family of four, plus a £1.50 booking fee per order. The butterfly tunnel is closed from October to May and is not included in a winter ticket (Rare Breeds Centre).

Willesborough Windmill

A restored and working smock mill on Mill Lane, TN24 0QG, with tours lasting 45 minutes to an hour and tea and cake in Mrs Cobbs’ Kitchen. Open Saturdays, Sundays and bank holiday Mondays 2pm to 5pm from 4 April to 31 October, and Wednesday afternoons 2pm to 5pm through July and August. Last entry for mill tours is 4pm.

Two things the mill’s own page is clear about and a listings site will not tell you. It closes to visitors on wedding Saturdays, and the remaining 2026 dates are 15 August and 5 September. And the small car park in Mill Lane is for disabled visitors only; everyone else parks in Cornes Close, TN24 0LG. Admission is not published online, so ring 01233 733416 before you go if the price matters (Willesborough Windmill).

Chapel Down, Small Hythe

England’s best-known winery sits on Small Hythe Road just outside Tenterden, TN30 7NG. The winery shop is open every day, 10am to 5pm, and there are guided vineyard and winery tours with a tutored tasting, self-guided vineyard walks and wine flights at the tasting bar. The Swan restaurant on site is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Tour prices are not listed on the visit page, so book through the tours section or ring 01580 766111 (Chapel Down).

Planning a day, by who you are with

• Small children, tight budget. Victoria Park in the morning for the new play area and pump track, then Conningbrook Lakes. Both free, both within the town, and both have somewhere to sit down.
• Small children, proper day out. The Rare Breeds Centre, and go before 1 September while the Summer Savings prices hold. Take the soft play as your rain plan; it is indoors and included in a day ticket.
• A day with visitors. The Kent and East Sussex Railway to Bodiam, with children free until 31 August, then the walk up to the castle.
• Walking. Wye National Nature Reserve for the view, Hothfield Heathlands for the bogs and the ponies. Both free, both need boots.
• A grown-up afternoon. Godinton’s gardens at £11, or a Biddenden self-guided tour at £15 with £5 of it redeemable in the shop.

Getting there

The town sites are all walkable from Ashford International, which has step-free access to all platforms and 616 parking spaces. For the rural venues you will need a car, and it is worth checking current roadworks and the M20 contraflow before setting off, particularly if you are heading north through junction 9.

Sources

Each venue was checked against its own website on 9 August 2026: Victoria Park, Conningbrook Lakes Country Park, Hothfield Heathlands, Wye National Nature Reserve, Ashford Designer Outlet, Kent and East Sussex Railway, Biddenden Vineyards, Godinton House and Gardens, South of England Rare Breeds Centre, Willesborough Windmill, Chapel Down.

Opening times and prices change, and several of the prices above are summer promotions that end on 1 September 2026. Confirm with the venue before travelling.