Packing a picnic and heading out on a romantic walk around a new route with your significant other is a fantastic way to spend your Valentine’s Day. With most people spending a lot of their time indoors either working or just relaxing in the house, surprisingly few people spend a significant amount of time enjoying the outdoors. However, nature and the beauty of the world around us is something that we all appreciate, and bringing your partner with you is a fantastic bonding experience. Many walks have intersections near cafes or villages where you can stop off to get a picnic lunch to enjoy later on in your walk, or you could pack a picnic at home to bring with you for a Valentine’s Day lunch in a sunny spot.
There are incredibly beautiful landscapes with a range of different ecosystems in Kent and Sussex that are perfect for Valentine’s Day, all offering unique experiences.
Bewl Water
With a 12 ½ mile route, Bewl offers a range of experiences to explore, including cycling, riding and sailing. The reservoir is home to a number of fish and other species for any keen naturalists to keep an eye out for. If you are looking for a walk that is more adventurous then Bewl Water could be the perfect choice for you. The footpath at Bewl Water is well maintained and is popular with visitors to the area and locals alike. With a wide variety of local flora and fauna, there are water birds as well as other wild species such as foxes, badgers and squirrels seen along the route all year around.
The Waterfront Café offers the perfect opportunity to look out across the reservoir while enjoying a well-deserved coffee and slice of cake. There are also numerous benches and other grassy areas for you to set up for a picnic with a view. If you are considering visiting Bewl Water for your Valentine’s Day treat, please follow this link to find out more about our gorgeous reservoir.
Blean Woods
The Blean Woods national nature reserve is a fantastic area of natural beauty with a wide range of flora and fauna to see while you traverse the woodland. Blean Woods has five separate trails for you to choose from, so the walks are accessible to those of all abilities. The longest is the 8 mile round route that takes you around the whole of the woodland, but the 0.9 mile route is far more moderate for those looking for a more leisurely stroll. Blean Woods nature reserve is located within easy driving distance of Canterbury if you would like a restaurant meal after your woodland walk during Valentine’s Day.
The romance comes from the nature trail taking any walkers through areas carpeted with wildflowers which are sometimes in full bloom during mid-February. With ancient trees and the rare fritillary butterfly, there is plenty for couples to experience.
Bodiam Castle
Set in the middle of a moat, Bodiam Castle looks like something out of a fairy-tale. Built during the 14th century, the castle is an important view into the past. With a tea room and a café with a castle view, there are plenty of options for a quick bite or perhaps a fantastic cream tea to enjoy together as a couple. The castle grounds are large and perfect for a stroll, with dogs allowed entry while on a leash.
The castle is one of the most important bat roosts in the area, with six different species of bat living inside Bodiam Castle. If you stay until late in the evening you will be able to see the bats heading out to hunt.
Batemans
Batemans Estate is set in the High Weald Area of Natural Beauty, with meadows, hedgerows and a variety of ponds that come together to create a landscape that looks like it has emerged directly from a storybook. Home to Rudyard Kipling and his family, the Estate has been kept as well preserved as possible. The author is a classic writer still known for his contributions to literature, his most loved works including ‘The Jungle Book’ and ‘If’.
The 300 acre classically maintained estate is a fantastic place to explore, and the gardens of the estate are beautifully well maintained. The estate is home to the Mulberry Tearoom which offers coffee, tea and a range of sweet treats to those visiting the estate for a romantic Valentines’ Day walk.
Camber Sands
Taking a walk on the beach is a romantic staple that will delight your partner. The beach at Camber Sands is the only sand dune system in East Sussex as many of the beaches in the area are pebble or shingle rather than sandy beaches. Looking out at the sea is an incredible view, and one that is perfect to share with someone special.
Camber is a gorgeous sandy beach that is great fun to explore. If you are considering visiting, then you can walk along the beach to Rye Nature Reserve which is home to a number of seabirds and rare plants. More than four thousand species are found in the area, many of which are rare.
South Downs
With a wide range of ecosystems, the South Downs is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. From the top of the Downs there is a view of the sea on clear days. Perfect for a picnic or a pub walk, this area has a wide range of paths to explore. The South Downs Way is one of 15 national trails in England and Wales; stretching to 160 kilometres, this is definitely too long a stretch for an easy ramble, but there are many loops and shorter connecting paths that will allow you to see a part of this fantastic stretch of countryside.
If you are planning a Valentine’s Day hike around Bewl Water, then please contact us here. Our staff and the Bewl Water Visitor Centre will be delighted to discuss any questions you may have about the route. If you need a map of the route around Bewl Water then please follow the link shown here.