Headcorn

Headcorn is a Kentish Weald village with a medieval church, half-timbered buildings along its high street, and an aerodrome on its southern edge that makes it one of the most unusual day trip combinations in the county. Headcorn Aerodrome operates a programme of pleasure flights in historic aircraft -- including Spitfires, Tiger Moths and other wartime types -- alongside the Lashenden Air Warfare Museum, which occupies several buildings on the airfield perimeter and documents the wartime history of the site.

The Lashenden Air Warfare Museum is free to enter and contains one of the most complete collections of WWII aircraft, uniforms and memorabilia in Kent. The collection includes a restored Fieseler Fi 103 flying bomb and a range of Allied and Axis aircraft components and equipment. The museum is staffed by volunteers and is typically open on weekends and Bank Holidays during the flying season from April to October. Spitfire joy rides at the aerodrome are among the most sought-after aviation experiences in the South East and book up several months ahead; Tiger Moth flights are more accessible on a shorter booking window.

The village itself is worth an hour's walk after the aerodrome. The high street has a concentration of timber-framed Wealden hall houses and the 14th-century church of St Peter and St Paul at its eastern end. Headcorn station is on the Ashford to London Charing Cross line, with the village about a 10-minute walk from the platform.