The spring and autumn Kent Garden Shows take place at the dedicated Kent Showground in Detling, surrounded by the hat-shaped oast houses characteristic of the Kentish countryside. Over 300 exhibitors display everything for the garden, from plants to outdoor furniture.
Heralded by resounding fanfares and the thunder of galloping hooves, knights stage dramatic battles on horseback twice daily. Daredevil stunts, falls and fights are all part of the spectacular Jousting Tournament held in the grounds of Leeds Castle.
The Hop Farm Festival brings the best British and international bands to perform at the Hop Farm in Paddock Wood, Kent. Performances are spread across three stages while further attractions include funfair rides and celebrity five-a-side football.
Tonbridge welcomes the summer with its annual float procession through the town centre, from Brook Street to the castle. The afternoon is given over to a fair on the castle lawns, with games, stalls and plenty of family-friendly entertainment.
The Broadstairs Dickens Festival turns Kent back into a Victorian holiday destination. This heritage event features a dramatic adaptation of a Dickens novel performed in the Dickens House Museum, a Victorian cricket match, talks and walking tours of the town.
The Kent Show, held on Kent Showground in Detling, features livestock classes, judging competitions, agricultural presentations, a flower show and arena demonstrations. The six-acre Forestry Area is the setting for exhibits on wildlife, conservation, country crafts and the environment.
Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag, as the wartime song goes, and get down to The Hop Farm's War and Peace Show. Military vehicles, battle re-enactments and even a fashion show make it a feast of military nostalgia.
Kent is the home of Britain's hops production and the Kent Beer Festival at Merton Farm is the second-oldest in England. Try brews from the county's independent breweries, including Shepherd Neame, Goachers, Hopdeamon and Whitstable.
The Whitstable Oyster Festival celebrates Kent's marine heritage, and particularly those tasty morsels, the oyster. Highlights include delicious molluscs and the costumed Oyster Parade, as well as spectacular entertainments on Whitstable Beaches and Tankerton Slopes.
Henry VIII and novelist Vita Sackville-West have both been residents of the National Trust house, Knole. Surrounded by a 1000-acre deer park, its early 17th-century state rooms contain an important collection of tapestries, and paintings by Van Dyck and Gainsborough.
Jump aboard the Allington Belle, a Mississippi-style paddle boat which runs along the River Medway from Allington to Maidstone town centre. The boat travels through Maidstone Millennium River Park, and can be boarded at the Archbishop's Palace or Allington.
The Tonbridge Theatre and Arts Club at the Oast Theatre puts on ten monthly shows a year, each running for eight nights. Three more plays are staged by the associated youth theatre, and the Art Group organises twice yearly exhibitions.
Rescued from dereliction by antiquary Denys Bower in 1955, 15th-century Chiddingstone Castle is home to Bower's impressive collection of Japanese, Egyptian and Buddhist artefacts, including Edo period weaponry. Finish the day with a walk around the National Trust village.
The Chantry Heritage Centre is a small museum housed within a 14th-century chapel. Inside there is an ornate Jacobean staircase and displays on Gravesend's local industries and Roman history, including Roman coins excavated from nearby Springhead.
Join a guided tour of the Jacobean Godinton House mansion and explore the stunning medieval hall and beautifully restored labyrinth of rooms. The house is surrounded by 12 acres of beautiful landscaped grounds including a rose garden.
Delve into Ashford's history at the Ashford Borough Museum, which houses local archaeological and geological artefacts. There's also a fascinating range of black-and-white photography featuring old Ashford, and a special exhibition entitled Ashford at War.
Discover the history and process of gunpowder production at the restored 18th-century Chart Gunpowder Mills in Faversham. One of Britain's first gunpowder factories, the mills supplied powder for the battles of Trafalgar and Waterloo.
Kids love watching the resident miller grind corn at Willesborough Windmill near Ashford, a Grade II-listed landmark which has been restored to full working order. Tours of the 19th-century structure run at weekends and on Wednesday during the summer.
Mighty Upnor Castle was built to protect warships moored at Chatham dockyards. This rare example of an Elizabethan artillery fort is a treat to explore and the peaceful riverside grounds are also open to the public.
Touch ancient Roman objects like coins and pottery, excavated at Crofton Roman Villa in Orpington. Evidence of underfloor heating within the ten rooms of this former farming estate reveals the sophistication of Roman life.
Jump aboard your own 5- or 7-seater rowing boat and glide peacefully around Tonbridge Racecourse Sports Ground's 14 acre island. Enjoy views of 13th century Tonbridge Castle and look out for kingfisher and heron.
Belmont House is an 18th-century Georgian manor house designed by architect Samuel Wyatt, surrounded by beautiful landscaped gardens and classical English country parkland. Visitors can tour the house and garden.
Scientist and botanist John Rodgers, a friend and contemporary of Charles Darwin, started planting the south-facing Riverhill Gardens in 1842. Spring and early summer sees an explosion of colour from rhododendrons and azaleas within the three-acre Wood Garden.
Step into Charles Darwin's slippers and explore Down House, in which he wrote and researched his revolutionary On The Origin of Species series. Watch bees building their honeycomb or pace his Sandwalk path and come up with your own theories.
Imagine Henry VIII warming his hands at the octagonal hearth when he came to stay in the 13th-century Penshurst Place and Gardens. Kids love the ancient suits of armour in the Baron's Hall. Visit in June to admire the Rose Garden.
A 13th-century haven founded by Henry III, which served as a Royal Lodge, pilgrims' hostel, hospital and almshouses for retired royal retainers, Maison Dieu is now a museum. Beautifully restored, it houses Roman and medieval objects excavated from nearby sites.
Climb aboard the MV Princess Pocahontas for a guided tour along the Thames. Cruise upstream as far as London or to Greenwich, where you can visit the Maritime Museum and Cutty Sark. Sail downstream to enjoy Southend's traditional seaside amusements.