Kent or Cornwall

Old May 17th, 2014, 01:12 PM
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Kent or Cornwall

I have 2 open days at the end of my Europe trip in September and am thinking of either Kent or Cornwall. At this point, I will have already been in London, Edinburgh, Cotswolds, Rome and the Amalfi Coast.

My first thought was the gardens and castles of Kent but Cornwall also seems to have great gardens, castles and coastline. I'd really like to hear from folks that have been to one or both and what you enjoyed. It seems renting a car is almost a necessity in Kent. Is the same true in Cornwall coming from London. Thank you for your comments.
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Old May 17th, 2014, 02:23 PM
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Renting a car is more useful in Cornwal than in Kent which is laced by train lines, making nearly every site usually available by train and then bus at times.

Hever Castle, Seven Oaks, Canterbury, Dover (don't miss Dover Castle one of England's finest), Chartwell, etc are easily assessible by train and or bus.
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Old May 17th, 2014, 02:41 PM
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Cornwall's charm IME of driving thru it lies more in its rural areas and awesome coastlines - Kent IME of biking thru it many times offers a bucolic if not dramatic landscape but has a plethora of places easily done by public transport from a base like Canterbury or for a sweet small town with its own famous castle - Chilham, reachable by train and near Canterbury.

I think each has its own charm and no one can say one is better than the other - but if not needing to rent a car is a criteria then opt for Kent, which also means a lot cheaper trip.
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Old May 17th, 2014, 07:17 PM
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Thank you PalenQ for the responses. Hever, Dover and Bodiam Castles really interest me as does Canterbury.

I was thinking that the Cornwall rural setting and coastline would be the closest thing to Ireland since I am not able fit that into my trip. Is that a fair comparison or am I way off. Would I take a train to Bristol and rent a car there?

Thank you for the education on the term " bucolic ". Sadly, I had to google it
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Old May 17th, 2014, 07:17 PM
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Loved Cornwall-stayed a week there with 2 nights on way in Bath. How do you see Cornwall in 2 days??
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Old May 18th, 2014, 03:21 AM
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You will spend a lot of your 2 days getting to and back from Cornwall. You will have no time to explore it. It is too far for such a short time - go with Kent.
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Old May 18th, 2014, 03:28 AM
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I agree, Cornwall is too far away for two days, especially if day 3 means Heathrow.
Go to Kent. Rent a car and enjoy the countryside as well as the big sites. Maybe see it as a chilling out trip at the end of your vacation.
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Old May 18th, 2014, 05:44 AM
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You would definitely need a car for Cornwall, and the roads in and out are not highways, plan to double your driving times. Penance is fun and touristy and some great little restaurants, google and make a reservation...beautiful area for hiking too, but do plan on the trip taking time to get there and back being more than you think, we lived in Brighton and according to a map it should have taken us 4 hours Max, it took 8 /12 hours!
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Old May 18th, 2014, 07:21 AM
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the Cornish coast IME is much more rugged than that of Kent though Kent has the formidable Cliffs of Dover that you can clambor on top of by a path from Dover's Eastern Docks.

Looking at a map of Cornwall it is a tiny area really and you can and I have taken trains around it - to places like Penzance and St Ives and Newquay, etc and local buses fill in the gap so you do not need a car there a'tal.

I'd rent a car in Penzance if possible - the heart of Cornwall.

For lots of great info on English trains check out www.nationalrail.co.uk as well as www.seat61.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com - for fully flexible travel to hop on any train anytime with no restrictions check out a BritEngland Railpass - two full fare journeys out and back could be more expensive than the pass but if you want to book in stone and book weeks early try to grab the limited in number discounted tickets on www.nationalrail.co.uk or on the rail line serving Penzance or Bristol - that line's own web site.

Cornwall is not that far by train from London - well five hours that is - long to some a joy to me to see the England in between slip by from the train car windows.
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Old May 18th, 2014, 08:17 AM
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>

So, 5 (more like 5.5) hours to get to Penzance or Falmouth and you'll maybe pick up a car by 2pm. That's less than half a day left. A few hours the next morning, then 5.5 hours on the train back to London. And it's going to cost you a shed load, whether or not you book in advance or buy a pass, especially if you travel 1st class (I wouldn't do that length of journey twice in 2 days in 2nd class - and I certainly wouldn't drive it). If your main purpose is to experience a train journey, and your not short of funds, then why not - you'll see some English countryside shoot past. But it's absolutely barking if your aim is to see Cornwall.

Save your time and money, take a 30 minute train journey to Sevenoaks or Tonbridge, hire a car there, and you'll have 2 full days to potter round the great houses and gardens of Kent.
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Old May 18th, 2014, 02:03 PM
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Yes there is a cornucopia of great sites for lots of varied interests in Kent, on London's doorstep - I have biked all around Kent and to me it is well deserving of the monniker The Garden of SE England or however that goes.

Put a bigger town like Canterbury or Royal Tunbridge Wells or Rye or a cute small village like Chilham and a zillion others - many with rail service.
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Old May 18th, 2014, 03:31 PM
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Thank you all for your responses. If only I had more time. Bet that's never been said before on this site. Looks like Cornwall will have to wait for the next trip. I will focus in on Kent. Still so many options. Thank you again.
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