Tucked away from the main shopping centre in Folkestone is one of the oldest and most beautiful parts of the town.

The Bayle and the 12 century St Mary’s and St Eanswythe’s Church leading down to the charming narrow Church Street is full of history and character.

A short wander through the churchyard will reveal it was an important early Christian settlement in Britain.

There has been a place of worship there since 630AD when Eadbald, King of Kent, built a convent and church for his daughter Eanswythe – believed to be the first religious house with an abbess (the female superior of a community of nuns) in the country.

The Bayle is home to the British Lion thought to be the oldest pub in town.

But if a pint isn’t your cup of tea then when not try an actual cup of tea with a homemade cake or sandwich in the quaint and quintessentially British Lavender Tea Rooms in Church Street – which is also home to another pub and a parade of independent shops.