There have been a few times in my life when every part of my body knows it’s where it should be, like a bird folding in the wind, knowing by heart. It might be the wrong time, but if it’s the right place, life has a quiet way of circling back to what was always meant to be.
My connection to Tunbridge Wells began when I covered a travel agency in Tonbridge for a week, helping during a staffing shortage. During my lunch break, I wandered around the park and castle grounds. Something about the quiet beauty of the place touched me – a sense of calm and connection I hadn’t found in an area before. I knew that one day I would be back.
A couple of years later, just as I was ready for a new chapter, a branch manager role opened in neighbouring Tunbridge Wells. I didn’t hesitate. I made the move, and I’ve never looked back. Today, Tunbridge Wells is home, but I still visit the park in Tonbridge weekly, the place that quietly set everything in motion.
I feel fortunate to have been drawn to Tunbridge Wells – an elegant spa town with a royal heritage. To bring the character of the town to life, we need to go back to the 17th Century.
The origins of a Royal Spa town
In the year 1606, Dudley Lord North, a distinguished courtier of King James I, was just 24 years old and worn down by the rigours of court life. Seeking rest and recovery, he accepted an invitation to stay at Eridge House, near Tunbridge Wells – the estate of Lord Bergavenny. While out riding in the nearby woods, he noticed a bubbling wet scum on the ground, shimmering and metallic. Recognising its potential for a spa spring, he sent for a bowl and had the water analysed in London.
The results revealed a high concentration of iron, believed to have curative properties. Lord North drank the water and was reportedly cured of a “lingering consumptive disorder.” He spread the word, and soon others came to take the waters.
The Waters at Chalybeate Spring
The Chalybeate Spring, as it came to be known, produced water that was steely and acidic in taste. It was said to act as a tonic, diuretic, and diaphoretic, causing blackened bowel movements, chills, headaches, and flushed faces. Yet it also improved circulation, strengthened the nervous system, and brought a sense of warmth, energy, and buoyancy.
The spring gained a reputation for curing a wide range of ailments, including colic, worms, melancholy, gout, hangovers, obesity, and “Moist brains” (a charmingly odd diagnosis of the time).
A town built around wellness and society
As visitors flocked to the spring, locals began collecting the water and charging a penny per dip. The area around the spring grew into a bustling hub. Trees were planted for shade, and shops popped up selling lace, gloves, and stockings. Fresh-faced country girls in straw hats and neat shoes sold flowers, cherries, cream, wheat-ears and quails.
The town became a magnet for high society. Mornings began with music from the bandstand, and under doctors’ orders, women would take the waters and promenade along The Pantiles, hoping to catch the eye of a suitor. Local gentry watched from shaded tables, sipping drinks or smoking a pipe with a dish of coffee. By evening, the promenade stirred with renewed life. Fiddlers struck up their bows, drawing elegant minuets that floated through the air, and men arrived to drink and play basset, discreetly set up on a table at one end of the tiled walk.
Royal recognition
Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I, visited the spring and camped in opulent tents erected nearby due to a lack of lodgings. It’s said she conceived Charles II shortly after. The royal patronage continued, and over time, the town’s reputation grew among aristocrats and royalty alike.
Queen Anne of Denmark visited Tunbridge Wells in 1698, when she was still a princess. She came with her son, the Duke of Gloucester, and during the visit, he fell on “The Walks,” the promenade area. Frustrated by the poor condition of the path, she demanded that it be repaved. The path was eventually repaved using pan-tiles, which gave The Pantiles its name.
In 1909, due to the recognition of the spa, King Edward VII granted the town its official title: Royal Tunbridge Wells.
The Pantiles – the promenade
Today, The Pantiles retains much of its historic charm. Elegant shops still line the promenade, and a vibrant farmers’ market brings fresh produce and local crafts each weekend. The Chalybeate Spring remains a central feature. You can still “take the waters,” on occasions, from a dipper, but also in a variety of flavours, dispensed from a modern machine!
I have made many memories here – the Pantiles has formed the heart of my social life in Tunbridge Wells. Sitting on the Pantiles feels like an upmarket continental piazza with everyone outside in the sun, but with British flair. Even in the winter, if the sun is shining, there will be people braving the cold with a blanket, nursing a hot chocolate.
The promenade has a row of Georgian-style townhouses, some in warm brick, others clad in crisp white weatherboard, that watch over the street from above, holding out their decorative balconies that twist and curl like wrought iron signatures. Beneath the colonnade, white pillars adorned with roundels and classical motifs stand like stately figures. A row of lime trees cast dappled shade across the path, Victorian lamp posts stand regally in between, and in the centre, a red-letter box stands proudly, like a romantic relic from the age of ink and intimacy.
I’ve spent many sunny mornings in Hattons with a pot of Earl Grey and brunch sitting outside watching people take their walk down the promenade – many seeming to have swapped their parasol accessories for dogs, each bringing its own little character to the scene.
Hattons has also provided a winter’s nook, sitting on the wooden stools at the window beside the bookcase full of candles, mugs and ornaments, cradling a glass of red wine. Outside, the world drifting past in soft smudges, blurred by the breath-fogged windowpane. Inside music from another decade, inviting nostalgia, curling into the conversation like the charred ends of a burning letter.
Thursday evenings have brought jazz, where music spills from the historic bandstand and the energy dials up on the street with the odd child running around happily, knowing they’ve managed to stay up way past bedtime.
And then there’s New Year’s Eve – shoulder to shoulder with the crowd, wrapped in scarves and anticipation, counting down beneath fireworks and live music, sharing the magic of the moment as another year gently folds itself away. Each moment on the Pantiles cementing a deeper bond with the area.
Tunbridge Wells High Street
A short walk from The Pantiles takes you to the high street, with its many independent shops, art galleries, cafes and antique shops. One shop that is hard to miss is G Collins & Sons, not just for its glittering window displays, but also for its security guards watching the store with their earpieces and black suits like the Men in Black. Harry Collins was appointed as the Queen’s personal jeweller in 2000, proudly holding the role for 22 years. G Collins & Sons was given the Royal Warrant of Appointment in 2005, and Harry achieved the status of Crown Jeweller in 2007 and was commissioned to recreate the Crown of King Henry VIII.
There are many shops I love on the High Street from small boutiques to well-known hight street stores but a couple of my favourites for a pitstop are Arte Bianca, a family-run Italian delicatessen which has the best coffee and Bresaola e Parmigiano salad, and Juliet’s – a vintage style cafe which has an incredible array of cakes (try the orange blossom; as light as a feather) served up on a mishmash of vintage crockery.
Mount Sion
Tucked just behind the High Street in Little Mount Sion is The Compasses, my favourite pub in Tunbridge Wells. It’s the oldest in town, dating back to the 17th Century, and stepping inside feels like entering a warm, wooden embrace. The wooden bar, the high-backed chairs, the oak floors, all fold into each other like the pieces of a handcrafted puzzle box. On winter evenings, I sit beneath the low-beamed ceilings, fairy lights glowing overhead, a glass of red wine in hand, and the fire crackling beside me, not wanting to crack the puzzle to leave! But The Compasses has its secrets. The pub is said to be haunted by the spirit of a young girl, allegedly murdered on the premises. An exorcist once visited to help her find peace. Whether you believe the story or not, most regulars prefer to sit outside, perhaps for the fresh air, or perhaps for the company of the living.
A town rooted in trees
Turn the corner onto Mount Sion, and you’ll find yourself in The Grove – the oldest park in Tunbridge Wells, quietly tucked away from the town. In 1703, the Duke of Buckingham placed this green haven in trust, to be preserved forever as a place of shade and gentle walks for all who call the town home.
Once thick with over 200 oak and beech trees, the Grove weathered the great storm of 1987, which claimed some of its giants. But time, as always, restores. New trees were planted, and today some stand tall again, their branches stretching wide with quiet dignity.
It’s the perfect place to escape from the hum of town life. I often detour through here walking to the Pantiles, pausing for a moment under the old oaks. The squirrels are so tame they’ve learned to linger behind the flap of the bin, waiting for an unsuspecting child to deliver a snack straight into their tiny, hopeful hands.
Walk on a bit further and you’ll reach Calverley Park, a larger park with a fantastic adventure playground tucked away quietly at the back of the park, designed by local resident and award-winning landscape architect, Jennette Emery-Wallis. The wooden playground equipment blends into the ornamental gardens like it’s part of the landscape. It’s my favourite place to bring my grandson, where he’ll make mud pies in the water and sand play area, regardless of the weather.
Tunbridge Wells is blessed with many green spaces. There’s Dunorlan Park, with its grand boating lake and Grecian temple; Rusthall Common, where rock formations rise like ancient sculptures; and Grosvenor Park, a gentle sprawl of wildlife, picnic spots, and woodland walks. Each one offering a different stillness, and escape.
Historic walls with modern plates
Tunbridge Wells is also fortunate to have lots of outstanding restaurants – far too many to list in one post. But here are a few favourites in the centre of the town where exceptional food meets historic charm.
Thackeray’s sits in a 300-year-old weatherboarded house on London Road, once home to the celebrated author William Makepeace Thackeray. Today, it offers Michelin worthy cuisine in a warm, intimate dining room, where Gary, the ever-gracious maître d’, welcomes guests like old friends. It’s a place where fine dining feels personal.
The Beacon is another gem, steeped in layers of history. Originally built by Sir Walter Harris as tea rooms and pleasure gardens, the site became a sanctuary in the 1930s, offering refuge to those fleeing the bombings of Guernica and later to Jewish girls escaping Nazi Germany. Now, it’s often reserved for weddings thanks to its sweeping views and romantic gardens. But if you book around those dates, you’ll be rewarded with a tasting menu that celebrates local produce with flair. They also have a delightful garden room with views over the countryside, perfect for a late breakfast.
Sankey’s Old Fishmarket is a seafood lover’s delight. Nestled on The Pantiles, the building dates back to 1745 and began life as a fishmonger. It later became an antique shop before Sankey lovingly restored it to its original purpose. It’s a wonderful place to sit out on The Pantiles with a menu of oysters, champagne, crab, lobster, and towering seafood platters.
Hotel du Vin offers yet another layer of heritage. This Grade II listed building was one of the first private residences on Decimus Burton’s Calverley Estate. Queen Victoria frequently stayed here before ascending the throne in 1837. Today, its bistro serves refined dishes in a setting with quiet grandeur.
Fairytale Castles – a storybook trail through the Weald
Turn any corner in the countryside around Tunbridge Wells and you’ll find yourself stepping into a scene from a storybook, from medieval fortresses to romantic ruins, the area offers a captivating glimpse into England’s architectural and aristocratic past.
Start with Tonbridge Castle, just a short drive north. It has an 11th-century motte-and-bailey fortress with a gatehouse so grand it could have been plucked from a medieval romance. In summer, the grounds come to life with open-air cinema nights and live music drifting over the river. Locals arrive with wicker baskets and elaborate cheeseboards and settle in by the water.
Head south and you’ll find Scotney Castle, tucked into a wooded valley like something out of a Jane Austen novel. There’s a 14th-century ruin, complete with a moat, and a Victorian manor perched above it. The gardens are a painter’s palette with roses, rhododendrons, and hop fields that nod to Kent’s brewing heritage. It’s the perfect place to wander slowly, then stop for cream tea under the wisteria.
Further east, Bayham Old Abbey offers a quieter kind of grandeur. These 13th-century monastic ruins are wrapped in parkland designed by Humphry Repton, with a gatehouse and sandstone golden arches that catch the light, providing a magical backdrop for a quiet picnic and a good book. I love to visit midweek when it’s silent but for birdsong, with a mini bottle of champagne, a book and a picnic blanket – pure escapism.
And then there’s Bodiam Castle, a fairytale fortress rising from its wide moat in East Sussex. Built in the late 14th Century by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, Bodiam was designed as both a defensive stronghold and a luxurious residence. Its symmetrical towers and mirror-like waters make it one of the most photographed castles in England, and a must-visit for anyone exploring the High Weald. Even if you’re not great with heights, the climb up the towers is worth it for the view. In summer, the castle hosts jousting tournaments, archery displays, and circus workshops – perfectly blending history with popcorn and sword fights.
Spa Valley Railway
Just a short stroll from The Pantiles, the Spa Valley Railway offers a nostalgic escape into the countryside; steam billows, whistles echo, and carriages feel like time capsules. From here, you can board a vintage train to High Rocks, a magical woodland dotted with towering sandstone formations and interlinking bridges. It’s a place of quiet wonder, once used as a filming location for The Lord of the Rings, and perfect for a scenic walk beneath the trees. Or travel onward to Eridge, where Dudley Lord North once stayed.
The railway hosts a delightful calendar of themed events: cream teas served in vintage carriages, murder mystery evenings, and even leisurely rides to Birchden Vineyards, where you can toast your journey with a glass of something local.
Tunbridge Wells for me is home, but if you visit, it’s a town full of historic buildings, fine dining, slow country walks, local castles, steam trains and, brunch on the Pantiles. It might tempt you to stay!
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