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Travel for 15 minutes in any direction from Canterbury's city centre and you'll find yourself in the heart of East Kent's countryside, complete with its historic villages, secret places, wild open spaces and seascapes. There's too much to see and do in just one day - what better way then than to make a break of it - visiting the countryside, coast and city that make up the whole of Canterbury.

Much of the countryside around Canterbury is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty best seen on a cross-country walk or cycle ride. On the eastern side of Herne Bay, you will discover Reculver Towers, the site of a Roman Fort built to guard the Wantsum Channel that one divided Thanet from the rest of Kent. The contrast of the nearby rugged countryside and open seascape makes for a bracing walk along the sea defence wall that's certain to blow the cobwebs away.

Take a stroll around Chilham, famed for its village square, a delightfully haphazard mix of half-timbered houses, shops and inns dating from the late middle ages, often used as a film set for period dramas. Or Goodnestone (pronounced Gunstone), home of the Fitzwalter family; it is their 15-acre of parks and gardens that were once enjoyed by Jane Austen.

Only a mile or two away in Bekesbourne you'll find Howlett's Wild Animal Park - a great place to take the young, and young at heart, and get close to the late John Aspinall's collection of gorillas, chimpanzees, African elephants and tigers.