Paddlesworth

Cheriton Hill is a hill overlooking the English Channel near Folkestone in the south-east corner of Kent, England. The relatively low-lying hill (reaching only 188 metres above sea level) is covered with farmland, villages, narrow lanes, and footpaths. The highest point is on a covered reservoir next to the trig point; the highest natural point is nearby, probably close to the road to the village of Paddlesworth, near a transmitter mast, but the relatively flat summit gives no real impression of being on top of a hill. By contrast, the southern edge of the hill is a steep escarpment which carries the ancient track named Pilgrims' Way, which is believed to date from 500–450 BC, and which runs from Folkestone along the North Downs hills. At this point the escarpment overlooks the huge Cheriton Channel Tunnel terminal, with views to France across the roofs of Folkestone. The slope of this escarpment forms part of the Folkestone Downs and is the location of the Folkestone White Horse, completed in 2003. Cheriton Hill was the location of the discovery of the Late Spider orchid in the 19th century. At one point the number of known plants at Folkestone/Cheriton declined to just six, but with improved management of the chalk grassland by Eurotunnel and the White Cliffs Countryside Project, the population is now much healthier, estimated in 2008 to be 165 plants, some 30% of the UK population. Cheriton Hill is one of the Marilyns identified since the publication of The Relative Hills of Britain in 1992, and is the most easterly Marilyn.

Arpinge is a hamlet between Paddlesworth and Newington (where, at the 2011 Census, the population was included) to the west of Folkestone in Kent, England. It consists of three working farms, three now converted to residential use and a further four houses. The name probably originates from the Old English 'eorpa' (dark-skinned (person)) and 'inge' (a settlement). There is no church as it falls within the ecclesiastical parish of Newington-next-Hythe. There are no shops and the nearest pub is the 'Cat and Custard Pot' in Paddlesworth.

Folkestone to Etchinghill Escarpment is a 263.2-hectare (650-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the northern outskirts of Folkestone in Kent. It is a Special Area of Conservation. An area of 205 hectares (510 acres) is a Nature Conservation Review grassland site, Grade 2, and the 70-hectare (170-acre) Asholt Wood at its western end is a Grade 1 woodland site. The reserve has a Geological Conservation Review site.A large area of chalk grassland has three nationally rare plants, and Asholt Wood has outstanding lichen flora. The site also includes Holywell Coombe, a key geological site displaying the sequence of mollusc fossils in the late Pleistocene and Holocene.

The Folkestone White Horse is a white horse hill figure, carved into Cheriton Hill, Folkestone, Kent, South East England. It overlooks the English terminal of the Channel Tunnel and was completed in June 2003.The horse was planned as a Millennium Landmark to help regenerate the Folkestone area. The design for the horse was drawn by a local artist, Charlie Newington, inspired by a nearby Iron Age fort in an area known as Horse Hill dating from three millennia ago and also based on the White Horse of Uffington. It is the first official hill figure in the town, although an area of chalk on Summerhouse Hill is said to resemble an elephant's head and has become known as the Folkestone Elephant.Planning permission for the project was first applied for in April 1998, with an illustrative canvas mockup being erected in August 1999. The project was opposed by the Government watchdog English Nature due to the site's importance as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. In 2000 English Nature appealed to Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, although the project was said to have widespread public support by local MP and prominent politician Michael Howard. The project was supported by Folkestone & Hythe District Council, who adopted it as their corporate logo. Due to the opposition, the project went to a public enquiry in 2001. The project was given the go-ahead in March 2002 by Stephen Byers, then Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, who stated that the emotional and symbolic value of the project outweighed the possible environmental damage.Construction of the horse began in September 2002. The work to build the horse was completed entirely by hand. Directed from afar by the artist via radio, a team of volunteers staked out a second canvas template of the horse, and following this, shallow trenches were then dug into the topsoil, 12–24 inches (30–60 cm) wide. These trenches were then filled with limestone slabs. The entire figure is approximately 90 metres long, measured from the front to the rear hoof. Both the Green Party and Friends of the Earth appealed to the European Union to stop the project based on the site's protection under the European Habitats Directive. In early May 2003 the EU issued a formal notice to the UK Government declaring the work illegal, and giving the government two months to either explain the 2001 enquiry decision satisfactorily, or restore the site, by which time the turf for the horse had already been cut and transplanted.Over two weeks in May 2003 a team of volunteers including locally based Gurkha soldiers transported, cut and positioned limestone slabs in the trenches, fixing them in place with pins. The limestone laying phase of the construction, which had been delayed when the Gurkhas were needed to crew fire engines during the 2002–2003 Firemen's strike, was completed in early June 2003, with the formal notice from the EU outstanding.In June 2004 "The Friends of the Folkestone White Horse" was formed, to promote the landmark and look after the site, which requires periodic light weeding. A time capsule was buried on the site on 18 June 2004.

The Kent Battle of Britain Museum is an aviation museum located in Hawkinge, Kent, focused on the Battle of Britain. The Spirit of the Few Monument is in the grounds of the museum.

Royal Air Force Hawkinge or more simply RAF Hawkinge is a former Royal Air Force station located 13.23 miles (21.29 km) east of Ashford, 2.2 miles (3.5 km) north of Folkestone, Kent and 7.1 miles (11.4 km) west of Dover, Kent, England. The airfield was used by both the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force during its lifetime and was involved during the Battle of Britain, as well as other important aerial battles during the Second World War and the early stages of aerial usage in war in the First World War.

The Spirit of the Few Monument is a memorial at the Kent Battle of Britain Museum at Hawkinge which commemorates the 2,938 aircrew of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm who took part in the Battle of Britain during the Second World War. The monument, unveiled on 29 July 2022, is in the form of bronze sculptures of seven pilots of the RAF. It replicates a well-known photograph taken on 29 July 1940 of pilots of No. 32 Squadron, which flew from Hawkinge airfield during the Battle of Britain.

The Eurotunnel Folkestone Terminal (also known as the Victor Hugo Terminal) is a railway terminal built for the transport of road-going vehicles on specially constructed trains through the Channel Tunnel. The terminal is one of two, with the Eurotunnel Calais Terminal located at Coquelles, near Calais.

The Folkestone Downs are an area of chalk downland above Folkestone, where the eastern end of the North Downs escarpment meets the English Channel. Part of the Downs is the Folkestone to Etchinghill Escarpment Site of Special Scientific Interest, designated for its geological and biological interest.

Danton Pinch was a small hamlet in Kent, England situated north-west of Folkestone. Its location is now within the confines of the Channel Tunnel development. The village itself was demolished and the land regenerated during the period of 1988–1994. The only remaining evidence of its original existence is a small tree-lined lane known as Danton Lane which lies to the north of the Channel Tunnel site. A fortified house was built in Danton Pinch during the second world war however as with the village, it no longer exists. The barn at the Danton Farm was partially relocated and now forms part of the Elham Valley Railway Museum.

Acrise Place is a mainly 18th-century house located about 6 miles (9.6 km) north of Folkestone in the village of Acrise, Kent, England. It is a Grade II* listed building.It is a brick-built house dating from the 16th century, with modifications in 1671 and 1691, and which was restored in the 1950s and 1987. There are two parallel ranges, a 16th-century north-facing range and a 17th-century south-facing range. It was originally built by the Hamon family in the 16th century, but acquired in 1666 by Jane and Thomas Papillon for about £6,000. Jane managed this property and their town house. Her letter from 1667 and 1668 are extant. The house and estate were passed down in that family for several generations. Two of the Papillon owners were Philip and David Papillon, father and son, who were both MPs for nearby Dover. In 1850 the Papillons sold Acrise to William Mackinnon MP after whose death it was sold in 1908 to the Walney family, who occupied it until 1936. After standing empty for a time the house was used by the Army during the war and repurchased by the Papillons in 1946. On 29 July 1944, Flight Sgt Anthony Drew of 56 Squadron RAF, while pursuing a V1 Flying Bomb in a Hawker Tempest, became disoriented in cloud and crashed into the ground, narrowly missing the house. Drew's remains and some wreckage of his Hawker Tempest were recovered the next day. Drew had previously shot down 3 V-1s. The Folkestone Building Company purchased the property in 1986 and undertook a major programme of restoration of the main house. They also converted the 18th century stable blocks and ancillary buildings to exclusive residential units. The main house is now divided into two separate properties, Acrise Place and Acrise Court.The 18th-century stable block is a separately listed Grade II listed building.

St Martin's Church is an Anglican church in the village and parish of Acrise in Kent, England. The church dates back to the Norman era, and was designated a Grade I listed building in 1966.