A small place, but staffed by friendly people who can help you find the places in the new King's…read moreCross development, and tell you about what's going on in the area. There's also a large model of the current development, overlaid on an interactive screen, so you can see how the area has changed, or find all the housing. Worth a quick stop in if you're in the area and interested in the development. They'll also give you a free guided tour - have a look at http://tours.kingscross.co.uk/ to book.

Its a free museum/tourist information/brewery/culture venue. There are some interactive exhibits…read moreabout the history of Greenwich which are both good for kids and grownups. I would say about 30-45 mins in needed depending on how fast you read/how many people are in the centre too. Well worth it as a first point on your tour around Greenwich.

Discover Greenwich is a new £6 million contemporary cultural venue at UNESCO World Heritage site,…read morethe Old Royal Naval College. Alongside an excellent opportunity to immerse oneself in Britain's past is the chance to enjoy some quality tipples at The Old Brewery, the site's very own micro-brewery. With over 500 years of history on display from Henry VIII's Tudor Palace to Wren's Royal Hospital for Seamen and the Royal Naval College Discover Greenwich has fascinating permanent and temporary exhibitions. For the kids (and the kids at heart), there are plenty of hands-on activities. Trying on a knight's helmet is a sure fire way to keep the little ones (and dorks such as yours truly) engaged for at least a little while. For architecture fiends and history lovers there are all sorts of geek-out worthy artefacts, models and resources. It's beautiful, it's FREE and it's fun. Plus, there's quality beer!

The reservoir is an excellent place to see waterfowl, and to be able to feed them. There is plenty…read moreof room in between the paths and the water, which ensures that the birds are not harassed in such a lovely habitat. There is a grassy fenced off area where you are able to feed ducks and geese - the ducks are quite shy and seem to get bullied a bit by the geese when they are trying to feed. Great place to go on a sunny day with some bird seed

This is a great place for a leisurely day out. The reservoir itself is huge and is home to many…read morespecies of waterfowl. At intervals along the pathway there are hides which enable you to look out over the water and watch the birds in their natural habitat. We didn't manage to walk around the full circumference of the reservoir, we retreated to the visitor centre where we sat on the outside decking area and had lunch while taking in the view over the water. As it was a beautiful sunny day it made the experience very enjoyable.

The Visitor Centre cafe is in a modern building, and has lots of seats (it would be rare to arrive…read moreand not find anywhere to sit) - just as well, as the place is popular with cyclists and with walkers, who can park their cars at the centre before exploring the Darenth Valley Path, or the nearby Castle or Villa. For warm days, there is also some seating outside. I cycle to the Visitors Centre several times a year, usually on a Sunday with other members of my cycling club. Lullingstone is not as popular as other cafes in the area, but is good enough, I suppose. Whereas other cafes sell tea in big mugs, at Lullingstone you get tea in a pot (with no further pot hot water to top it up and make the tea bags "go a little further"). The selection of cakes or snacks that are such a staple of club cyclists is also disappointing - mostly standard off-the-shelf choices. It is not at the cheap end of the scale when it comes to teas and coffees either.

Good food freshly cook, pleasant staff, busy wednesday lunch-time with walker and school holidays…read more This area is great for walking for all, whether you want hills or linear along the River Darent, keep an eye out for Kingfishers. A good walk around Lullingstone Park and check out the wildlife.

The Ashdown Forest Visitor Centre is located just outside Wych Cross. It has a small museum about…read morethe Forest and also an area for temporary displays. When I visited there was a display of the Forest at war from the Bronze Age up to the First World War. There is a small shop selling books and small gifts, and a large collection of leaflets and maps. Several of these give details of walks around the area. There is also an Education area, which is presumably for groups of school children and the like. There are also boards detail what the Rangers are currently doing, where the sheep are grazing and what birds can be seen. Also, and most important, there are clean tiolets! As there are no other public ones in the Forest, I suggest you make a note of their location! There are several car parks within a ten minute drive from here where you can explore the Forest at will, but I would suggest coming here first. And watch out for the deer - on the ten minute drive from here to Hartfield I must have seen a dozen cross the road in front of me. Only problem was the camera was in the boot of the car - so keep yours handy if you want to get some pictures.

Free museum! Alpacas and goats and bunnies!…read morePicnic areas! Gardens! Crazy collections by Victorian natural history buff! Amazing collection of instruments in the basement! (Don't miss the surfboards that let you sample sounds) Exhibits suitable for the whole family! All this and a secret nature trail to explore next door- London's oldest! Full of urban Greenspans glory!

This fascinating little museum is a great day out trip from central London. They have just about…read moreany taxidermied animal that you could want on display, plus an interesting exhibit about cultures across the globe - all for free! There's also an aquarium, a butterfly house, and an extra exhibit (currently Lego sculptures) that you can pay to visit. The museum grounds are a great place to walk around. There are some really stunning views of the city center, plus a small farm, and lots of walking trails. This place was absolutely teeming with children, so it would be a great place to bring your little ones to run around. The grounds seem like a perfect place for a picnic - bring your own food or pick up something from the museum cafe.

Do not use this ferry company! They are disgusting and have awful business practices. In March…read more2020, we had ferry tickets to go to Ireland. The global pandemic broke as we were in the UK and we were required to return to the US as flights were shutting down. Every hotel and reservation we had refunded us without penalty - even nonrefundable things - EXCEPT P&O Ferries. They gave us a credit and refused to refund. Now we're at the credit expiration date, still in a pandemic, and they are refusing to refund the money. This company is STEALING from people who were put in peril to make a profit from the global pandemic. I will never use this company nor recommend them to others. Avoid traveling with them - you have other options that actually care about good business practices and their customers!

I've been using these ferries for motorcycle trips abroad for over a decade, and still find them…read morebest overall for value, service and convenience. The secret to good value is to book ahead: if you have a group booking, (often the case with motorcycles) this is best done over the phone as the website doesn't allow multiple bookings. Booked in January, a return crossing in July cost me just £46 per bike + passengers. (This is only £10 more than the price as a foot passenger!) Booking ahead applies to cars, too. The staff are helpful and usually quick at loading bikes: they go on first, and deck-hands help secure them down. Newer ships (of both Seafrance and P&O) sometimes have special cradles for holding bikes, but when it's busy there aren't enough to go around, and so a traditional webbing brace is used, secured to floor anchors. I've never had a problem with this, even in very rough weather (but remember to put your alarm onto 'ferry' or 'service' modes, unless you want to irritate other passengers and flatten your battery). The only problem I've encountered is that the decks do get slippery in wet weather, but that affects all ferries, and I've not dropped the bike yet... The timetable varies, but in high summer sailings leave roughly hourly, or better. The crossing takes about 90 minutes overall, but with the shops, bars and cafes, there's plenty to keep you occupied. For teenagers there's also a video-games room. But I prefer to be on deck: the Channel is the world's busiest shipping lane, so there's always something to see, if only the odd passing seagull! Note: the UK smoking ban means that smoking is now only allowed in designated outdoor deck areas. Note also that passport control is undertaken at the port of departure - so UK passport control is at Calais. Allow at least 30 extra minutes for this when leaving France for the UK, as the UK checks are stringent, and therefore can be very slow in high season. Checks leaving the UK for France are rather quicker. Overall, I'd advise arriving 45 minutes ahead, just in case. Also worth knowing is that, if you arrive earlier than your booked ferry, and there's room, they will let you travel on an earlier crossing at no extra cost. We returned recently over an hour earlier, and were waved straight onto the boat. You could, of course, take a deep breath and pay to go via the Chunnel, which takes about 40 minutes (plus queuing time). But apart from losing the view, and the adventure, you'll pay at least double for an equivalent crossing. *************************** NB: address and map are for the HQ office. The ferry port is clearly signposted at both Calais and Dover.