Outdoors & Nature

Ideal for a sunny day. And for a cold rainy day: "There's no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing".

Victoria: Kent and the Sussex coast by train

Kent orchards in forty minutes, Brighton in an hour and the white cliffs by lunchtime: the terminus with the most coast and country under one roof.

Day trips by trainCountrysideSeaside

The surviving brick tower and gatehouse range of Otford Palace, its diapered Tudor brickwork with stone corners, and a row of cottages built into the old range, in long grass. — Otford, the remains of the archbishops' palace under the North Downs. Half an hour. Photo by Marathon, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Rochester Cathedral's Norman west front and its slender green-blue spire seen over the ruined walls of the castle bailey, across a lawn on a bright day. — Rochester, the cathedral over the castle wall. Photo by Hugh Llewelyn from Keynsham, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Rochester's cathedral spire and the square keep of the castle among the red roofs of the town, under a dark bank of cloud, with wooded hills behind. — Rochester's castle and cathedral, from across the Medway. Photo by John K Thorne, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Wooden groynes running out across shingle and wet sand at low tide, a lone figure far out on the flats, and the white houses of the town along the shore. — Whitstable, the beach at low tide. Photo by ClemRutter, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Margate's wide sands at low tide with the stone harbour arm and its small lighthouse across the bay, under a big blue sky with streaks of cloud. — Margate sands, the harbour arm beyond. Photo by No Swan So Fine, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A long wall of white chalk cliffs above a calm sea under a sky of grey and white cloud, with a small white lighthouse on the green clifftop. — The white cliffs of Dover. Photo by Mustang Joe, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Dover Castle's square keep and curtain walls on a green hill, with grass banks and ditches in front, the sea beyond and a single sheep grazing. — Dover Castle. Photo by Richard Nevell, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Arundel Castle's round keep, gothic towers and battlemented ranges of grey stone rising above a grass bank against a blue sky with white clouds. — Arundel Castle, down the Arun valley. Photo by Egjoni98, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Arundel Castle in silhouette on its hill across flat water meadows, seen under the bare hanging branches of a willow at the edge of a still lake. — Arundel across the water meadows. Photo by Louis Mackay, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The River Arun flowing under a stone bridge, a timber-framed building on the far bank and the towers of Arundel Castle above the trees behind. — Arundel, from the bridge over the Arun. Photo by Steve Daniels, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Southeastern side runs into Kent within half an hour: hop-country villages, the North Downs at Otford, Rochester's castle and cathedral, and on along the coast to Whitstable's oysters, the sands at Margate and the cliffs at Dover. The Southern side crosses the Weald to Brighton in an hour, with Lewes and the South Downs on the way, Arundel's castle down the Arun valley, and Box Hill for a walk on the North Downs. No other London station puts so many counties and coasts on one departure board, and the board is the point: pick a name and go.

Where: Victoria Street, SW1V 1JU

Google Maps visitkent.co.uk

Trains from early morning until after midnight

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Data is compiled from public sources including OpenStreetMap, under the ODbL. Hours change often, so check before making a journey.