As a way to leave the confines of our London flat, Husband and I rented a car for a day to drive as far as we could and return in a day during COVID lockdown. This was back in June 2020, which is when the UK national government had a rule where individuals could finally travel away from their home, but must spend every night in their own home. This meant you could take day trips, but you couldn’t book/stay at any hotels, camping sites, or even sleeping on the side of the road.

So we planned 2 day trips to learn and see more of England.

Day 1 (this post): Margate, Dover, Kent, South Downs, and Sussex county

We rented a car to drive to the Southern part of England. Over the course of a single day, we were able to cover a good distance across Southern England. You could go on our roadtrip here

We left London somewhat early in the morning and drove straight to Kent seaside town of Margate.

We arrived in Margate prior to lunch. We had originally expected to be on the road during lunch time so had packed our own lunch. We ate our lunch along the beach before exploring the city.

I expect that any time that isn’t covid lockdown- Margate is a great English beach side town during the summer time, with a wonderful pier, arcade games, and beach. Unfortunately, it was COVID. So everything was closed, boarded up, or limited services.

We walked around the beach and along the coast. A cute town

After lunch, we drove along the coast of Kent. If you ever get the chance to see southern England, I highly recommend. Numerous small villages with a small high street, coastal views, and greenery everywhere. We even went on some verrrry small roads that barely fit our single car. Whenever an oncoming car came, it would get VERY tight

We stopped by a number of towns like Dover (i.e. where the Chunnel and ferries to France are based out), seeing Dover Castle, a town named Sandwich, and another one named Rye.

Before heading back to London, we stopped by the famous Seven Sisters in South Down National Park

The Seven Sisters are a number of sea chalk cliffs on the English channel in the South Downs. This is a national park, so you don’t need to pay to view these at all. The beach is rocky, the water is clear, and the view is wonderful. The Seven Sisters are unique and one of Southern England’s most striking landscape. White cliffs and green grass, breaking into bright blue water

However, I wouldn’t recommend making a trip out just to see them if doing a vacation trip in London. It’s nearly impossible to get here to without a car (1.5 train from London + 30-40 bus ride) and viewing will take ~30 mins at max. You could take a long hike if you’d like to enjoy your time there

Seeing southern England by a car was a great way to see the country side. It was a wonderful day ride and would recommend if you have extra time in England.