It’s the home of Dame Kelly Holmes and has recently been voted among the top 20 places to live in the UK.
But how has Hildenborough earned this reputation? And do the villagers agree? Dee Lukasik reports.
It was raining hard when I arrived, the sort of weather that leaves you soaked within minutes.
But I had come to see what makes Hildenborough so special, even though it did not look very inviting in the rain.
This year Garrington Property Finders, a UK property buying agency that compiles an annual list of the best places to live, ranked Hildenborough the highest-placed village in Kent, at 18th, and seventh in the country for wellbeing.
They analyse data on schools, green space, transport links and community infrastructure across 1,447 locations in England and Wales before publishing their list.
I wanted to see for myself what the best village in Kent looks like and what makes it so special.
I stood by the car, staring at my phone, wondering where I should direct my first steps when I suddenly heard a voice.
“Are you lost?” A woman in a green jacket was pointing at the map on my phone.
Not exactly, I said. I was looking for a café, a pub, somewhere I could meet people from the village and ask them what makes it one of the best places to live in the country.
She raised her eyebrows, so I explained.
“It’s Tuesday,” she said. “There’s a market in the village hall. Go there. You’ll find the crème de la crème of the village.”
She pointed down the road and continued on her way before I could ask anything else.
I pulled my coat tighter and followed her directions.
On the way I spotted a local shop and could not resist going in.
Warm air drifted through the open door and the place smelled faintly of sweets and old wood.
The manager, Josh Weller, has lived in the village for 13 years.
“It’s peaceful,” he said. “There’s a good atmosphere and people are really friendly. Nothing bad really happens here.”
When I stepped back outside, it was still grey, rainy and windy, but the people of Hildenborough carried on with their day as if it hardly mattered.
Among them were Celia and her mum Jennifer, who found a moment to stop and talk to me.
Celia has lived in Hildenborough for 15 years. Jennifer visits often and stays long enough to join the exercise classes held in the village hall.
“We love living here,” Celia said.
“The village is surrounded by fields and woods.
“You can take the dog for a long walk, go for a run or just wander around and breathe some fresh air.”
Hildenborough lies in the River Medway valley within the borough of Tonbridge and Malling.
Parts of the village sit within a conservation area and the surrounding land is protected Green Belt.
For Celia, another important thing is the train station in the village.
The line runs directly to London Charing Cross, which means many people who live here commute to the capital.
For Celia, the village combines the best of both worlds – countryside on the doorstep and the city within easy reach.
Before reaching the village hall, I stopped at a café, called Ridings, tempted by the smell of coffee and freshly baked cakes.
Anne Eustace, who has worked there for nearly four years, welcomed me with a warm smile.
“It’s really friendly, like a little community,” she said. “Everyone knows each other and we get lots of regulars.”
“Carrot cake is the most popular choice,” she added, pointing to the delicious-looking goods.
“And the brownie is very popular – all the kids love that one.”
Katie Yardley, working alongside her, said: “You see the same people coming in every day. It feels close-knit.”
Eventually I made it to the village hall.
A handwritten sign by the entrance invited people in for tea and coffee, and a smiling scarecrow stood beside the door, quietly greeting anyone escaping the rain.
Inside, long trestle tables were covered with trays of eggs, baskets of vegetables, jars of jam and handmade crafts.
Homemade cakes looked more than inviting, and the smell was wonderful.
People walked back and forth between the stalls, exchanging pleasantries, complaining about the weather and sharing their thoughts about the goods laid out before them.
When I asked a few people around the market about the village, several told me I should speak to Janet Richardson, who has lived in Hildenborough for 60 years.
Janet turned out to be friendly, energetic and very willing to talk.
Full of life, she spoke with enthusiasm about the village and about the many things she helps organise — including this market, which she has been involved in for many years.
When I mentioned that the village had been ranked the best in Kent, she did not hesitate.
“I would second that. It’s a wonderful, supportive community,” she said. “The market has developed into a very focal point of the village. There’s a huge atmosphere, friendship and care.
“We have an excellent parish council and they are always looking at ways to improve the facilities.
“We have two primary schools which are both very good.
“We have a good village shop and a village pharmacy.
“There are lots of sports associations – cricket, other sports – and groups like scouts, cubs, guides and brownies.”
“People here are just very caring about one another.”
Hearing all the praises about the village made me a little suspicious, but I must admit everyone had been very welcoming and willing to talk.
No one was rude or tried to brush me off, which isn’t always the case.
I also did not feel that artificial politeness you sometimes encounter when people do not want to say directly that you are an intruder.
When I was just about to leave the village hall, someone called my name. It was Celia in her exercise clothes.
“I want to introduce you to someone,” she said.
Beside her stood Justin Jones, a personal trainer who runs sessions in the village hall and outdoor classes on the recreation ground.
“The people here are very friendly,” he said. “There’s a really good community vibe, and people like to exercise and stay fit, which is good for me.” He added with a charming smile.
While researching the village earlier, I discovered that Dame Kelly Holmes lives here. She won double gold in the 800 and 1,500 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
The village was also home to legendary heavyweight boxer Henry Cooper, famous for knocking down Muhammad Ali during their 1963 fight.
Another Olympian connected to the village is Henry Stallard, who competed for Great Britain in the 800 and 1,500 metres at the 1924 Summer Olympics and whose story later inspired the film Chariots of Fire.
Suddenly the wellbeing ranking began to make a little more sense.
In a place where Olympic runners, boxing champions and fitness enthusiasts share the same village streets, staying active seems almost part of the local culture.
When I asked Justin how long he had lived in the village, he said he didn’t.
“When we were buying our first house, the prices were too high for us to get on the property ladder here.”
It was the first time the M word had come up – money. The agency estimates that the average family home in the village costs £754,191.
This is £350k more than the average in Kent.
Since the rain had stopped, I left the market and went for a walk around the village.
I met Tim Palmer outside his Edwardian house, built in 1904. It quickly became clear from our conversation that he was another person who was very proud of his village.
At the beginning Tim asked if I had been to the old green in the centre of the village, where a Jubilee memorial to Queen Victoria stands.
“Go and have a look,” he said. “It just shows how old the village is and what a rich heritage it has.
“We’ve lived here for 35 years. Never regretted it.
“There’s something for everyone here, especially if you like sport. There’s a golf course and the recreation ground.
“And the council is putting a path around it now so you can walk the dog in winter without getting your feet wet,” he said with clear enthusiasm.
When I asked if there was anything that made life here difficult, he thought for a moment before answering.
“The parking on my road is terrible,” he said. “That’s the downside.”
A little further along I met former parish councillor David Davis.
“I was a councillor here for 14 years,” he said. “My wife served on the council as well. I was a governor at the primary school.”
“There are lots of responsible people in the village doing quite a lot,” he added.
David joined the growing chorus of residents praising the village and explaining why they believe it is such a good place to live.
He repeated many of the things I had already heard that morning – the surrounding countryside, the quick train link to London, the sports facilities, the village market and the two pubs that have survived here over the years.
Of course, before leaving the village I had to visit them myself.
The first one was closed from the outside and when I knocked, a member of staff told me they loved the village and that the people here were great.
I then drove to The Flying Dutchman. The pub itself was also closed that morning, but its owner Matthew Meads was outside running a food truck.
He too was happy to talk.
He told me he had owned the pub for 18 years.
“It’s very nice and quiet here,” he said. “Full of nice residents. It’s a nice little community.”
But even here the pubs have not escaped the long reach of economic pressures, and their future is far from guaranteed.
Matthew told me that, in part, he blames the high house prices in the village.
“A small bungalow around here would be about half a million pounds. A lot of people are tied up with mortgages and don’t have the disposable income to come out as much.”
“The pub trade is definitely on the decline, he added.
“Over the years a lot of pubs have gone. You have to try something different
“We added the food truck in March and it was popular, we had a very busy summer. Winter’s quieter, but it works.”
I left the village with one thought in mind.
Hildenborough has many things going for it — good schools, an excellent train connection to London, a café with friendly staff, welcoming pubs, heritage and history, places where people meet, and a parish council that genuinely seems to care about the village.
It is a very nice village, but who can actually afford to buy a house there?
