Richborough Roman Fort and Amphitheatre

The Roman fort at Richborough sits just outside Sandwich, and what strikes you first is how little remains - yet how much that little tells you. This was the gateway to Roman Britain, the landing point where legions first stepped ashore around 43 AD, and the towering flint walls you see today are what's left of a fort built centuries later to guard that same strategic crossing. Walk around the outer fortifications and you're literally treading the perimeter of military history. The museum on site explains what happened here - the amphitheatre once hosted fights and spectacles, though now it's just an earthen bowl where you can stand and imagine the roar of crowds.

It's the sort of place history buffs will spend a solid couple of hours exploring properly, reading the interpretation boards, getting their heads around the logistics of Roman occupation. Families with younger kids might manage an hour, though it depends whether they're into that sort of thing - there's plenty of space to run about, but not much in the way of hands-on activity. The walls themselves are genuinely impressive when you stand beside them, and the views across the flat Kent countryside give you a sense of why the Romans chose this spot.

If you're based at one of the holiday parks scattered round Sandwich - Sandwich Leisure is barely over a mile away - Richborough makes an easy morning or afternoon visit. It's free to wander the site, though there's usually a small charge for the museum. Go when it's not boiling hot, because there's precious little shade. The fort pairs nicely with Sandwich itself, which is a proper medieval town worth a wander.