Chilham

Chilham Castle is a Jacobean manor house and keep in the village of Chilham, between Ashford and Canterbury in the county of Kent, England. The keep is of Norman origin and dates to 1174; the manor house was completed in 1616 for Sir Dudley Digges. Current Owners: Tish Aletheia

Julliberrie's Grave, also known as The Giant's Grave or The Grave, is an unchambered long barrow located near to the village of Chilham in the south-eastern English county of Kent. Probably constructed in the fourth millennium BCE, during Britain's Early Neolithic period, today it survives only in a state of ruin. Archaeologists have established that the monument was built by pastoralist communities shortly after the introduction of agriculture to Britain from continental Europe. Although representing part of an architectural tradition of long barrow building that was widespread across Neolithic Europe, Julliberrie's Grave belongs to a localised regional variant of barrows produced in the vicinity of the River Stour. Of these, it lies on the eastern side of the river, alongside the Shrub's Wood Long Barrow, while the third known example in this barrow group, Jacket's Field Long Barrow, is located on the western side. Julliberrie's Grave is 44 metres (144 ft) long, 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) high, and 15 metres (49 ft) at its widest. It was originally larger, with the northern end having been destroyed. Unlike many other long barrows, no evidence for any Early Neolithic human remains have been found at the site; it is possible that its builders never placed human remains within it, or that such burials were included in the barrow's (since lost) northern end. A broken polished stone axe was included in the centre of the monument, which archaeologists believe was likely placed there as part of a ritual act of deposition. A rectangular pit was dug into the western side of the barrow shortly after its completion, likely containing a ritual deposit of organic material, before being refilled. In the Iron Age, a hearth was established in the ditch circling the barrow; in the Romano-British period, human remains and a coin hoard were buried around its perimeter. Ensuing millennia witnessed local folklore grow up around the site, associating it with the burial of either a giant or an army and their horses. The ruin attracted the interest of antiquarians in the 17th century, although was heavily damaged by chalk quarrying around the 18th. During the 18th and 19th century, antiquarians dug into the barrow at least twice, while cautious archaeological excavation took place in the 1930s. A Scheduled Ancient Monument, it is accessible to visitors all year around.

Chilham railway station is a railway station in Chilham, Kent. It is on the Ashford to Ramsgate line between Ashford International and Canterbury West. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by Southeastern.

Broadham Down is a 16-hectare (40-acre) nature reserve east of Chilham and west of Canterbury in Kent. It is managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust.This nature reserve has views over the Stour Valley. Three species of bat hibernate on the site, which has chalk grassland, woodland and scrub. Flowering plants include fragrant and common spotted orchids.There is access to the site by a track from Mystole Lane.

Down Bank is a 5.9-hectare (15-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-west of Canterbury in Kent.This sloping chalk meadow has the nationally endangered black-veined moth and twenty-eight species of butterfly, including the nationally scarce Duke of Burgundy. Grassland flora include two nationally scarce species, small bedstraw and man orchid.A public footpath goes through the site.

Godmersham is a village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, England. The village straddles the Great Stour river where it cuts through the North Downs and its land is approximately one third woodland, all in the far east and west on the escarpment of the North Downs. It is six miles north-east of Ashford on the A28 road midway between Ashford and Canterbury in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with the North Downs Way and Pilgrims' Way traversing the parish. The village is divided in two by the floodplain of the Stour. The parish civil includes Godmersham village itself, and Bilting. It shares many of its activities with the neighbouring parish of Crundale, a smaller parish to the east.

The Stour Valley Walk is a recreational walking route that follows the River Stour, through the Low Weald and Kent Downs, from its source at Lenham to its estuary at Pegwell Bay. The walk passes through some of Kent's finest landscapes, most important nature sites and most historic, unspoilt villages. The walk is signed with the logo of a heron, a bird occasionally seen in the area. The 58 miles (93 km) route is of interest for its landscape and history, and for its archaeological, historical and architectural features. Part of the Pilgrims' Way followed the river valley from Wye to Canterbury after the North Downs. The walk passes through a varied landscape of downland, woodland, orchards, hop gardens and farmland; lakes, dykes and marshland; unspoilt villages and hamlets, and historic towns.It is possible to reach the walk from Maidstone via the 12 kilometre long Len Valley Walk.

Oversland is a settlement in the Swale district of Kent, England. It is located about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the west of Selling and is situated near Selling railway station. It is in that of the civil parish of Boughton under Blean.

Park Wood is a 31.1-hectare (77-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Chilham in Kent.This wood is mainly hazel and hornbeam coppice with oak standards, and diverse shrub and ground layers. There are many breeding birds and invertebrates, including two which are rare, the wasp Crossocerus distinguendus and the soldier fly Stratiomys potamida.There is access from the A252 road.

Selling railway station is on the Dover branch of the Chatham Main Line in England, serving the village of Selling, Kent. It is 55 miles 18 chains (88.9 km) down the line from London Victoria and is situated between Faversham and Canterbury East. The station and all trains that serve the station are operated by Southeastern. The station and the line on which it is located were built by the London, Chatham & Dover Railway. Formerly an excellent example of country station architecture, it was destroyed by fire from unknown cause in the early 1990s, shortly before it was to be awarded listed building status. The signal box at the station end of the 'up' (London-bound) platform was closed and dismantled shortly afterwards. The box can today be seen in use at Eythorne railway station on the East Kent Railway. The station was a filming location in the 1944 film A Canterbury Tale, where it was called "Chillingbourne". Charles Hawtrey (of the Carry On films) played the porter. The station now has few facilities.

Bilting is a hamlet within the civil parish of Godmersham in the Ashford District of Kent, England. It stretches along the A28 at the foot of the Godmersham Downs, five miles northeast of Ashford town. At the 2011 Census, the population of the hamlet was included in the civil parish of Wye with Hinxhill Bilting Farm has been growing mushrooms since the 1930s, but now most of the farm has been converted to light industrial units and only a small number of speciality mushrooms are grown for local farmers' markets.

Perrywood is a village and a wood near the village of Selling, in the Swale District, in the English county of Kent. It is south of the town of Faversham.