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Photo: Nigel Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Beautiful lakes, with rambling, bike and bridle trails.
Haysden Country Park is a 64-hectare (160-acre) country park and Local Nature Reserve on the outskirts of Tonbridge in Kent. It is owned by Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council, the Highways Agency, Network Rail and the Environment Agency, and managed by the council.
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Features an impressive medieval manor house. One of the oldest gardens in England. Includes a 100-metre-long peony border, the Union Jack garden and many fruit trees and borders. There is a large adventure playground for children. Visit on the first Saturday of the month to tie a visit with attending the monthly farmers market to pick up some cakes, cheeses, jams, bread and other delicious treats.
From Victorian oil paintings and archaeology to historic fashions and toys. Admission free.
Once a private landscaped garden, this park is well used by locals, having been restored following a Heritage Lottery Fund award of £2.1 million. There are two car parks: a small one on Pembury Road (the access in and out is not the easiest), and a larger one on Halls Hole Road, a country lane at the bottom of the park. Both car parks fill up quickly on sunny days. If you're staying in town it's only a 15- to 20-minute walk from the main shopping area. Kids and kids-at-heart will like the boating lake, and there is also a café selling snacks, drinks and ice creams.