Things to Do in Otford: a Tudor Palace, a Pond and the Planets

These are the 10 best things to do in Otford in November 2026, and eight of them cost nothing. The village is three miles north of Sevenoaks, with its own station and a car park where the first hour is free.

Otford’s sights sit within a short walk of each other: a scale model of the solar system, the ruins of an archbishop’s palace and a duck pond with listed walls. Then come the walks, two playgrounds, a wood, a charity tearoom and a pub that has been serving since 1642.

Every time and price below comes from the operator’s, the parish council’s or the district council’s own page, checked on 7 November 2026.

Otford at a glance

1. Walk the Otford Solar System

This is the one people come for. It is a scale model of the solar system, built by the village as a millennium project (Explore Kent) and opened on 14 July 2001 (The Otford Society). The parish council calls it one of the largest scale models in the world (Otford Parish Council).

The Sun is a disc 30.3 cm across, about the size of a football. At that scale Earth is a ball bearing 0.3 cm wide, 32 metres away. Jupiter is 162 metres out and smaller than a ping-pong ball. Pluto stands in the fields about a kilometre from the Sun in a straight line (Clive Ruggles, Otford revisited).

The model does not stop at Pluto. Four of the nearest stars are part of it, placed to scale in museums abroad:

• Proxima Centauri at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles
• Barnard’s Star in Port Stanley
• Sirius in Sydney
• Ross 154 in Christchurch, New Zealand

Start at the north-east corner of the High Street recreation ground, where the Sun stands (Otford Parish Council). The Otford Society has put up a new interpretation board at the far end of the ground. It is adding QR codes to each planet that link to short videos and give the what3words location of the next planet. It also publishes four guided walking routes round the planets on the Komoot app (The Otford Society, walk the solar system).

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2. See the Archbishop’s Palace

Archbishop Warham built a palace here in 1515 that rivalled Hampton Court in size. In the 17th century it fell into disrepair. What survives is part of the north range: the north-west tower, part of the gatehouse and a connecting wall, now three small cottages (Archbishop’s Palace Conservation Trust, background).

The palace site, including Palace Field, is open to visitors (Archbishop’s Palace Conservation Trust). The cottages are private homes, and the trust asks visitors to respect that (how to find us). The tower’s scaffolding came down in November 2023 after 18 months of stabilisation work (the trust).

You cannot normally go inside. The trust runs occasional £5 guided tours; the last ones were three tours on the May bank holiday, 4 May 2026 (the trust). On any other day, play the trust’s free “Tales of the Tower” on your phone as you walk round. It is ten short stories told by people who lived and worked at the palace (Palace Tour).

Getting there: the palace is about five minutes’ walk from the village car park and about eight from the station. Do not put TN14 5PG into a sat-nav, because it takes you into a cul-de-sac (how to find us).

What happened to the Otford Heritage Centre? It has closed (Darent Valley Community Rail Partnership). Its collection now belongs to the palace trust as the Otford Heritage Collection. You can browse the catalogue online, and the trust plans a museum in the palace to put it back on show (Heritage Collection, About the Collection).

3. Feed the ducks at the listed pond

The pond on the roundabout in the middle of the village is Grade II listed. Kent’s historic environment record says it is the only listed pond in the country, though it is the walls that are listed, not the water. It was spring fed and was the village’s only water supply until standpipes arrived in 1887 (Kent Historic Environment Record). Explore Kent notes that the parish council pays an allowance towards feeding the ducks (Explore Kent).

4. Follow the Heritage Trail

Ten numbered boards run the length of the village. Each one tells the story of the buildings in front of it (Otford Parish Council). Look out for the church hall designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, with his trademark small owl box in the west wall. Local historians have also put up panels on the history of the line at Otford station (Darent Valley Community Rail Partnership).

5. Climb the Downs on the Otford circular

The signed Otford walk from Explore Kent is a 5.3 mile circular. It starts at the car park opposite the Bull, 0.3 miles from the station (Explore Kent). What to expect:

• it passes the solar system model, then crosses the Darent Valley golf course on an enclosed path
• it climbs onto the North Downs, including a stretch of the North Downs Way
• there are 4 gates and 9 stiles
• there is a short section on the road

Explore Kent warns that the climbs are steep and may not suit everyone. Our family walks page compares it with gentler routes nearby.

6. Walk the river to Shoreham

For something flatter, follow the Darent Valley Path north along the river to Shoreham. Otford sits on the path and also connects with the North Downs Way and the Pilgrims Way (Darent Valley Community Rail Partnership). Shoreham has its own station on the same line, so you can walk one way and take the train back. Otford station is on the line from London Victoria, with Darent Valley trains between Sevenoaks and Swanley (Archbishop’s Palace Conservation Trust).

7. Let the children loose at the recreation ground

Otford Recreation Ground is the middle of village life and home to Otford United FC (Otford Parish Council). It has:

• a children’s playground
• football pitches, a tennis court and cricket nets
• outdoor fitness equipment
• a large open area for dog walkers
• the car park and public toilets next door

For smaller children, Hale Lane Recreation Ground has a playpark for pre-school and primary ages, a basketball hoop, a small car park and views across the railway to Star Hill (Otford Parish Council). More in our guide to parks and playgrounds around Sevenoaks.

8. Take the dog round Palace Park Wood

Palace Park Wood is a Woodland Trust wood, set up in 1998 on land leased from the parish council. It sits on the edge of the village, a short walk from the cemetery and some of Otford’s oldest sites, with benches dotted through the trees (Otford Parish Council). It has a small car park of its own (Otford Parish Council, car parks).

9. Have tea at the Olive Tree

The Olive Tree Bistro and Tearoom at 11A High Street is run by Hospices of Hope, the Otford charity that supports hospice care in Romania and five other countries. It opens 9am to 4pm Monday to Saturday and on bank holidays, and 10.30am to 3.30pm on Sundays (Hospices of Hope). Our afternoon tea page has other options.

10. Finish at the Bull

The Bull on the High Street has been serving since 1642, with open fires in winter and a garden for summer (The Bull Otford). Opening hours:

• Pub: from 10am Monday to Thursday and from 9am Friday to Sunday
• Kitchen: noon to 8.30pm Monday to Thursday, noon to 9pm Friday and Saturday, noon to 8pm Sunday
• Breakfast: 9am to 11am on Friday and Saturday

It is now taking Christmas bookings: parties from £26.95 a head and four courses on Christmas Day for £120 (The Bull Otford).

Coming up: Otford Christmas Fayre, Saturday 21 November

The Otford Society’s Christmas Fayre is on Saturday 21 November. The society says stalls, activities and entertainment will be announced on its page in the run-up (The Otford Society).

Kent County Council has given notice that it intends to close the High Street between the Duck Pond roundabout and the village car park that day, from 8am to 6pm. The signed diversion runs via the A225, the A25, the A224 and Pilgrims Way West (Public Notice Portal). Other fairs are in our Christmas fairs and markets roundup.

Parking in Otford

Otford Village Car Park, TN14 5PQ, has 122 spaces including blue badge bays. Charges apply Monday to Saturday, 9.30am to 6pm (Sevenoaks District Council):

• up to 1 hour: free
• up to 2 hours: 50p
• up to 3 hours: £1
• each extra hour: £1
• Sundays and bank holidays: free all day

You pay at the machine, by cash or card, or with the MiPermit app. There are public toilets and two ChargePoint electric car chargers in the car park (Otford Parish Council). Hale Lane and Palace Park Wood have small car parks of their own. Our free parking page covers the rest of the district.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Otford Solar System free? Yes. The Sun stands on the public recreation ground and the planets are spread out from there across the village and the fields (Otford Parish Council). The Otford Society publishes four walking routes on Komoot (The Otford Society).

Can you go inside Otford Palace? Not normally. Palace Field and the outside of the tower are open to visitors, but the trust only opens the inside for occasional guided tours, last run on 4 May 2026 at £5 (Archbishop’s Palace Conservation Trust).

Is the Otford Heritage Centre open? No. The centre has closed, and its collection is now the Otford Heritage Collection, with a catalogue you can browse on the palace trust’s website (Heritage Collection).

Is Otford pond really listed? Yes, at Grade II. Strictly, it is the pond’s walls that are listed rather than the water (Kent Historic Environment Record).

Is parking free in Otford? For the first hour, every day, and all day on Sundays and bank holidays. After the first hour it is 50p for up to two hours (Sevenoaks District Council).

How do I get to Otford by train? Otford station is on the line from London Victoria, with Darent Valley trains between Sevenoaks and Swanley. The palace is about eight minutes’ walk from the station (Archbishop’s Palace Conservation Trust). More days out are in our list of things to do in Sevenoaks.