A Romney Marsh walk to a great pub: The Red Lion, Kent

Four medieval churches, a maze of dykes and a pub last renovated in the 1870s are the stars of this atmospheric stroll in a timeless corner of England

If ever a pub was destined to be haunted by a friendly ghost, it’s the Red Lion. Regulars swear that the spirit of former landlady Doris Jemison lingers in this inn that has been a landmark in Snargate, a hamlet on Kent’s Romney Marsh, since the 1540s.

Doris, who died in 2016, is buried in the graveyard of Saint Dunstan’s church, just up the lane. “But she’s very much here rather than there,” says her daughter Kate, who now calls time from across the marble-topped bar. Paintings, photos and other Doris mementoes take pride of place in the Red Lion, whose museum-like interior has changed little in over a century.