Great Everden Manor

Great Everden is on plain of Alkham, part of Kent’s Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Up to 45 guests can be accommodated in various configurations. There is a main manor house, an annex flat and 5 terraced cottages, each within a shouting distance of the other.

The Manor House

The main house sleeps 12 guests in 6 bedrooms, sharing 3 large bathrooms.

Downstairs, there are four reception rooms and a large kitchen. The reception rooms include a dining room (seating 16), with a lounge beyond (perfect for retiring to for brandies and after-dinner games). There’s also smaller breakfast room, and a sitting room, with an original brick inglenook fireplace.

Leading from the manor house is a large games room, with big, squashy sofas, a pool table and table tennis. This leads into a fully equipped gym. Beyond the gym is an indoor heated swimming pool and Jacuzzi.

The manor house sits within 7 acres of gardens, and has lots of sheltered places to sit and enjoy the peace. Should you like to break the peace with a ferocious knock-out tennis competition, there’s a flood-lit all-weather court beyond the house. There is also a large pond for wild-life watching, and paddocks for informal games of football or Frisbee.

The Annex

The annex is above the swimming pool, and has room for 6 guests in three bedrooms (sharing 2 bathrooms). The Annex has its own open-plan living area and kitchen, and a dining table to seat 6.

The Cottages

The cottages are of varying sizes, and each are self-contained with their own kitchen and living space. Two of the cottages sleep 4, in 2 bedrooms, sharing one bathroom. Two further cottages sleep 4, in 2 bedrooms with 2 bathrooms. The last of the cottages sleeps 2 with a mezzanine bedroom.

Edmund’s Choice of Extraordinary Feature

“A lot of our houses on LH boast an interesting history, but there’s something irresistible about staying in a house where the Knights Templar may have dined, on their way to France, in the very room in which you’re knocking back Bucks Fizz.”

About the Location

Everden is about 5 minutes’ drive from Folkestone, which has a main-line train station (trains from London’s St Pancras International are regular, and take about an hour).

Canterbury is about 20 minutes’ drive away, and the nearest village (almost a small town) is Hawkinge, which is about a mile away. It’s an easy walk to Hawkinge’s shops (including a chippy).

Things To Do

The house offers well-maintained Carrera mountain bikes for rent, ideal for exploring the mercifully pretty flat country side.

The house can also arrange for a beauty therapist to visit, who offers various treatments.

Great Everden is within the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which stretches all the way down to the coast, with the famous white cliffs. You can, of course, see France on a clear day.  Ho Country Park is well worth a visit, with its chalk blocks cut from the Channel Tunnel.

The area is steeped in history, right from Knights Templar to the Second World War – there are secret tunnels to be explored at Dover Castle. Folkestone is a good place to while away an afternoon, you can touch the tail of the mermaid in the harbour for luck.