This guide helps you choose between eight places around Hythe, Lydd and New Romney: a military canal, two churches, a wild animal reserve, a shingle nature reserve, Derek Jarman’s cottage, a miniature railway and a dune reserve with a cafe. The cards below link to each place’s InKent page. InKent lists Port Lympne under Hythe and the Dungeness sights under Lydd. Dates are as listed on 29 October 2026.
Royal Military Canal
The Royal Military Canal was dug as a Napoleonic-era defence. Folkestone and Hythe District Council manages it as a wildlife and recreation corridor and says it has held a Green Flag award every year since 2010. The council describes the 3m-wide Royal Military Road on the north side, from Seabrook to Aldergate Lane, as suitable for walkers, riders, cyclists and disabled users. There is a small car park at West Hythe and a pay and display car park at the Seabrook end. The council lists rowing boats from the Boat Hut on Ladies Walk in Hythe at £25 a boat for an hour, April to September, so not in winter. No entry charge is listed.
St Leonard’s Church and Ossuary, Hythe
St Leonard’s is the parish church of Hythe, on Oak Walk. The church’s own listing says it is normally open from about 8am to just after 5pm, seven days a week. Its ossuary holds a collection of medieval skulls and bones. The church says the ossuary is open most days from Easter to the end of September and is generally closed in winter, so check before you go. We found no ossuary price.
Port Lympne Reserve
Port Lympne is a 600-acre wild animal reserve near Hythe, run in partnership with the Aspinall Foundation, a conservation charity. Its own site says it has over 900 animals across 75 species, a 45-minute truck safari included in the day ticket. Its 2026 booking page lists adult day tickets from £32.73 to £40.00 and child tickets from £26.36 to £32.50, depending on whether you book online or at the gate and whether you pay the standard or donation price, plus a £2.40 online booking fee. The site publishes no opening hours, and its booking page still carries a closure notice for 27 November 2025, so check dates before you travel. Its page describes an after-dark festive event, Port Lympne Illuminated, which a ticket seller lists from 27 November 2026 to 2 January 2027, and we could not confirm whether day visits continue on those dates. The reserve lists wheelchair routes, an accessible safari truck and wheelchairs to hire, and warns that the site is hilly with a steep entrance ramp.
All Saints Church, Lydd
All Saints is a medieval church in the centre of Lydd. The Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust describes a 15th-century tower of 132ft and the remains of a 4th or 5th century Romano-British basilica built into the north-west corner. It lists the church as open 9am to 3.30pm in winter and 9am to 5.30pm in summer, but the National Churches Trust lists no regular opening times, so call ahead before a long journey.
RSPB Dungeness
RSPB Dungeness is a shingle nature reserve at Boulderwall Farm on Dungeness Road, with hides, trails and a visitor centre. The RSPB says the visitor centre is usually open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm, while the car park, toilets and trails are open seven days a week. Non-members pay to park, but the RSPB page does not list the amount. Hides have wheelchair spaces, paths are hard-packed shingle or gravel, and a free mobility scooter and tramper can be booked at least three days ahead. Assistance dogs are welcome; other dogs are not allowed on the main trails or in hides.
Prospect Cottage, Dungeness
Prospect Cottage was the home of the artist and film-maker Derek Jarman and is cared for by Creative Folkestone. Cottage visits are by timed ticket on set dates, with pre-booking essential and a maximum of four visitors a slot. On 29 October 2026 the page listed 28 to 31 October, 1 November, 4 to 8 November and 2 to 6 December, and no 2027 dates. The standard ticket is £22. Creative Folkestone says the garden can be visited without a ticket, and that the cottage has narrow doorways and hallways, small steps and a shingle surface.
Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway
The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway is a 13.5-mile miniature railway between Hythe and Dungeness, with its main station and Model Railway Exhibition at New Romney. Trains run to seasonal timetables on selected days, so check the timetable for your date; the railway ran its Yellow timetable from 19 to 30 October 2026 because of a technical issue with a diesel engine. A Romney Rover day ticket is £30 for adults and £20 for children aged 3 to 17 when bought online. The railway warns that the Model Railway Exhibition may be closed on some days, so call first. It lists adapted wheelchair coaches on any train by prior arrangement, and wheelchair toilets at Hythe, Dymchurch, New Romney and Dungeness stations.
Romney Warren and The Nest
Romney Warren is an 11-hectare nature reserve of fixed dune grassland and seasonal ponds off Dymchurch Road in New Romney. The Romney Marsh Countryside Partnership manages it with support from Folkestone and Hythe District Council. The former Romney Marsh Visitor Centre reopened in August 2025 as The Nest, a cafe and community space. The partnership lists the cafe as open 9am to 4.30pm seven days a week and the car park as closing at 5pm, with parking outside prioritised for visitors with mobility issues. No parking charge is stated.
Choosing between them
- Walking and nature: the Royal Military Canal, RSPB Dungeness and Romney Warren.
- History: St Leonard’s, All Saints and Prospect Cottage.
- With children: Port Lympne and the railway.
- Needs booking: Prospect Cottage, and Port Lympne tickets, which are cheaper online than at the gate.
Planning the day
Book the places with set dates first, because Prospect Cottage opens on set dates only and Port Lympne tickets are cheaper online than at the gate. Several sights are seasonal: the ossuary is generally closed in winter, canal boats run April to September and the railway runs on selected days. We have no distances between the places.
Getting there
The canal has a small car park at West Hythe and a pay and display car park at Seabrook, and RSPB Dungeness and Romney Warren list their own car parks. Use the operators’ journey planners for current train and bus services.
Frequently asked questions
Can I see Prospect Cottage without a ticket?
Creative Folkestone says the garden can be visited without a ticket. Visits to the cottage itself are by timed ticket on set dates, with pre-booking essential.
Is the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway running now?
Trains run on selected days. The railway ran its Yellow timetable from 19 to 30 October 2026 because of a technical issue with a diesel engine, and winter running dates were not on the pages we checked, so use its timetable for your date.