A castle just outside Blue Bell Hill: Allington Castle
Of the 11 places to visit in and around Blue Bell Hill, 8 are castles or historic places. None of them is inside Blue Bell Hill itself. The best-known trip out is to Rochester Cathedral, 6.4 km away.
The best known around Blue Bell Hill
After Allington Castle come 2 museums, 2 forts and an abbey or priory.
CastleAllington Castle3.8 km outside town, to the south
MuseumMedway megaliths1.3 km outside town, to the southMuseumMuseumKent Life3.3 km outside town, to the south
FortFort Luton3.5 km outside town, to the northeastFortFortFort Bridgewoods2.5 km outside town, to the north
Abbey or prioryThe Friars - Aylesford Priory3.7 km outside town, to the southwestEach has a page of its own: what it is, who runs it, the weather month by month and what else is near it.
Around Blue Bell Hill, mapped
The outermost point is St Andrews Lakes Watersports, at 5.7 km.
The dashed line is Blue Bell Hill’s built-up area; orange marks its middle (where most people live). Numbers match the list below. © OpenStreetMap contributors · ONS built-up area 2022
Grouped by kind
Castles or historic places lead the count with 8; 2 are museums or galleries.
Green: inside Blue Bell Hill. Grey: within 5 km of its edge.
All 11 on the list
Look within 5 km of its edge for all 11.
7Close and well known first. Churches and listed buildings are on the History page, not here.
Big names nearby
Top of the 12 day trips: Rochester Cathedral, at 6.4 km.
CathedralRochester Cathedral6.4 km north
Castle · English HeritageRochester Castle6.5 km north
CastleLeeds Castle13 km southeastMuseumMuseumRoyal Observatory Greenwich39 km northwest
Castle · English HeritageUpnor Castle8.5 km north
Castle · National TrustBodiam Castle37 km south
Big drawMuseumNational Maritime Museum39 km northwest · 2.4M visitors a year
MuseumCutty Sark40 km northwest
Historic houseHever Castle32 km southwest
MuseumQueen's House39 km northwest
Historic house · National TrustKnole House22 km west
Garden · National TrustSissinghurst Castle and Garden25 km southPlaces well known beyond Blue Bell Hill (Wikipedia articles in several languages, published visitor counts, or a National Trust, English Heritage or Cadw property), close and famous first. Distances are straight lines from the middle of the town.
Seeing Blue Bell Hill: questions
What is there to see near Blue Bell Hill?
No attraction is mapped inside Blue Bell Hill itself. Within 5 km of it are Allington Castle, Medway megaliths, Kent Life and Fort Luton.
Does Blue Bell Hill have a museum?
2 museums and galleries are in or within 5 km of Blue Bell Hill: Medway megaliths and Kent Life.
Is there a National Trust or English Heritage property near Blue Bell Hill?
None within 5 km. The nearest well-known one on our list is Rochester Castle (English Heritage), 6.5 km north.
What are the best-known days out near Blue Bell Hill?
Within 40 km: Rochester Cathedral (6.4 km), Rochester Castle (6.5 km), Leeds Castle (13 km), Royal Observatory Greenwich (39 km).
How is this list made?
From OpenStreetMap (museums, galleries, zoos, theme parks and attractions, castles, forts and abbeys, and historic houses and gardens that are open to visitors) and Wikidata (what each place is, who runs it, its website and visitor counts). A place counts for Blue Bell Hill when it is inside the ONS 2022 built-up area, and as nearby within 5 km of its edge. Opening times and prices are not shown: check the official site.
Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the ONS 2022 built-up area (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (16)
- Allington Castle: Prioryman, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Medway megaliths: Midnightblueowl at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Fort Luton: Youfoundmeout, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- The Friars - Aylesford Priory: August Schwerdfeger, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Fort Borstal: Clem Rutter, Rochester Kent, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Rochester Cathedral: Raggatt2000, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Rochester Castle: Clem Rutter, Rochester, Kent, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Leeds Castle: Misterzee, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Upnor Castle: Clem Rutter, Rochester, Kent, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Bodiam Castle: Antony McCallum, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- National Maritime Museum: Katie Chan, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Cutty Sark: Krzysztof Belczyński from Warsaw, POLAND, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Hever Castle: Nigel Lamb, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Queen's House: Vladimír Procházka, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Knole House: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Sissinghurst Castle and Garden: Hans Bernhard (Schnobby), CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.