Dymchurch

Dymchurch is a traditional family seaside village strung out along the low-lying coast of Romney Marsh in Kent. Famous for its long, flat sandy beach, it has been a favourite spot for bucket-and-spade holidays since the late 19th century and remains popular with day-trippers from Folkestone, Ashford and beyond. At low tide the sands stretch for what seems like miles, ideal for sandcastles, kite-flying and paddling in the gentle shallows.

The village is closely associated with the writer Russell Thorndike, whose Doctor Syn novels imagined Dymchurch as the centre of a smuggling ring under its eccentric vicar. That heritage is celebrated every other summer at the Day of Syn festival. Just behind the seawall stands Dymchurch Martello Tower, one of a chain of squat round forts built to repel a feared Napoleonic invasion and now cared for by English Heritage, with its original 24-pounder gun still mounted on the roof.

For many visitors the highlight is the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway, the one-third-scale miniature steam line that has stopped in the village since 1927 on its run between Hythe and Dungeness. The seafront also offers a small funfair, amusement arcades and traditional fish-and-chip shops, with the wide skies of the marsh stretching inland behind.