County guide · The Castle Rolls
Best castles in Kent
15 castles across Kent, from Dover's clifftop fortress guarding the Channel to Leeds Castle's lake-bound royal retreat inland.
15Castles listed here
Map
Every castle on this list — 15 in total, 2 free to enter, 4 you can stay overnight in
| Castle | Access | Rating | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dover Castle | Ticketed | 4.7 (17,448) | The Secret Wartime Tunnels - the operations room that coordinated Dunkirk, included in… |
| Hever Castle | Ticketed | 4.8 (13,800) | The gardens - Italian, rose, and lakeside, added by the Astors and consistently the thing… |
| Leeds Castle | Ticketed | 4.7 (13,646) | The maze and its underground grotto exit - reviewers with children rate this as the… |
| Rochester Castle | Ticketed | 4.6 (9,222) | The keep interior and the audio guide - reviewers consistently say it's what turns bare… |
| Scotney Castle | Ticketed | 4.7 (6,963) | The view down from the mansion terrace to the moated ruin below - the whole point of how… |
| Sissinghurst Castle Garden | Ticketed | 4.6 (6,295) | Climbing the tower - 78 steps - for the view over the garden's famous white borders and… |
| Walmer Castle and Gardens | Ticketed | 4.7 (4,686) | The gardens - reviewers rate them above the castle interior, with room to picnic and sea… |
| Deal Castle | Ticketed | 4.4 (3,293) | The lower levels and gun rooms - reviewers say this is where the castle's artillery… |
| Tonbridge Castle | Ticketed | 4.4 (2,043) | The gatehouse interior and its recreated medieval rooms - the one part of the site you… |
| Upnor Castle | Ticketed | 4.3 (1,273) | The story of the 1667 Dutch raid - reviewers say it's what makes an otherwise small fort… |
| Lullingstone Castle | Ticketed | 4.5 (1,129) | The World Garden - a planted map of the globe, laid out by an owner who is often on-site… |
| Eynsford Castle | Free | 4.3 (633) | The curtain wall itself - one of the earliest and most complete examples of this… |
| Sutton Valence Castle | Free | 4.3 (192) | The view over the Weald from the ruins - reviewers repeatedly call it the highlight,… |
| St Leonard's Tower | Grounds only | 3.9 (85) | The tower's sheer solidity - even without access inside, reviewers call it sturdy and… |
| Chiddingstone Castle | Ticketed | — | The Denys Eyre Bower collections - the reason the trust exists and the building is open… |