Getting there

By car: About 1 to 1.5 hours from London. Stop and stock up on the way - it's worth arriving with everything you need for the evening so you're not driving back out again.

By train: Canterbury West is the closest station. 54 minutes from St Pancras or about 2 hours from Victoria. From Canterbury West it's a 15-minute taxi ride to the cabin.

Download your offline maps before you leave. Signal in the Downs can be patchy and you don't want to be guessing your way down a lane in the dark.

Day 1: arrive, stock up and settle in

Stock up on the way: Tadpole Tearooms in Bishopsbourne is 3 miles from the cabin and the best place to stock up (it's a bakery and farm shop run out of the same spot as Gildas Bakery). Pick up bread, something for breakfast tomorrow, a few things for the evening. If you need a full shop, Waitrose and Aldi are both in Canterbury, 7 miles away, with free parking for 2 hours if you want to have a look around the city while you're at it. Barnham Village Store is 2 miles from the cabin if you just need a few basics, and there's a Co-op in Alyesham at 6 miles for anything else.

Settle in: The cabins sit in the Kent Downs with fields and ancient woodland around it. Get the wood burner going, sort your food, get a drink poured and spend the first couple of hours just watching what's happening outside the window.

Dinner: Head to The Mermaid Inn or The Black Robin - Both are 3 miles from the cabin and both are worth it. The Mermaid Inn in Bishopsbourne is a proper gastro pub - good food, fair prices and pub food well without overcomplicating it. The Black Robin in Kingston dates back to 1740 and does excellent sourdough pizzas alongside classic ales. Either one works for a first evening - drive over, eat well and get back to the fire pit while there's still some evening left.

Day 2: take your time, then get outside

No rush this morning: One of the things the Kent Downs does well is quiet mornings. Make coffee. Eat breakfast slowly. Go outside and look at the view before you do anything else.

Walk to The Duck Inn: When you're ready, the walk to The Duck Inn is 4.19 miles through lanes and woodland taking you through countryside with no urgency. The Duck Inn itself is a cosy gastro pub with delicious roasts and seasonal food

Or - Head to Simpsons Wine Estate: If walking isn't the plan for the day, Simpsons Wine Estate is 3 miles away in Barham and does wine tastings for their delicious rosé.

The Pig at Bridge Place: If you're celebrating or want to head somewhere a bit more considered for dinner then heres the place. You can either walk around the grounds, get a coffee and sit in the garden or if you do want to splash out, the food there is excellent.

Back at the cabin: Cook something simple, get the fire pit going and stay outside until it gets too dark. The Kent Downs is dark at night.

Day 3: pack up and head somewhere worth going

Check out is 11am, so get up and do it properly. Breakfast before you leave, fire out and cold, everything tidied up.

Canterbury is 7 minutes from the cabin and worth a morning. The Cathedral has been there since 597 and is one of the oldest Christian structures in England (even if you're not particularly interested in the history it's an impressive thing to stand in front of). There's good coffee nearby and enough independent shops to fill an hour or two.

Dover Castle and the White Cliffs are about 30 minutes away and one of the better days out in the south of England. Dover Castle is the largest in England and has been defending this stretch of coastline since the 11th century. St Margaret's Beach below the White Cliffs is quieter than most of the more obvious spots and worth the detour if you want to end the trip with sea air and chalk cliffs.

Wye Crown Chalk Figure is worth a stop on the way - a 180-foot chalk figure cut into the hillside near Wye Village in 1902 for the coronation of King Edward VII, with panoramic views across the Downs that make it worth the short walk up.

Thinking about your next stay?

The Kent Downs are ancient and quiet in a very particular way. If you want something wilder and further south, Dorset gives you the Cerne Abbas giant, Lulworth Cove and valleys that feel properly untouched. Or head to the South Downs for bigger skies, longer ridges and a 17th-century whitewashed pub you can walk to across the fields.