A ploughed field with the rolling hills and fields of the Darent Valley behind underneath a bright blue sky.

The Darent Valley Today

Looking around the Darent Valley today we can still see traces of life as it may have been in Roman Kent. Although some of the crops may be different, farming still plays an important role in the area. Kent's location, close to London and Europe, continues to influence the lives and work of the people who live there.

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Green grass and bushes with a faint outline of skyscrapers behind and a bright blue sky.

A view of Canary Wharf from above Sundrige.

A View to Londinium

You can see Canary Wharf in East London from some of the villages around Sevenoaks in Kent. This is one of London's most important business areas with large skyscrapers containing offices and private homes.

Kent was an important area for the Romans because of its location. Farms in Kent provided important food supplies to larger nearby settlements like London (Londinium in Roman times). Today, some people in Kent travel back and forth to London for work.

Four lines of hops plants growing upright with wooden supports. The crops are attached to wires running above.

Growing Hops

Hops have been grown in Kent for centuries to make beer. The brewing industry grew in places like Kent because it was close to major settlements like London. Every autumn, people from these settlements would travel to find work harvesting hops.

Hops are very hardy plants that grow back every year. A selection of shoots are trained to grow upwards on strings and reach 16ft tall. The hop flowers are a green-yellow colour. They were picked and transported to oasthouses for drying. Hop drying took place in kilns which were heated by coal fires. Skilled people called oastmen would oversee the hop-drying process.

Today, some farms still grow hops in the Darent Valley but machines are used to pick the crop. As well as brewing, hops are sometimes used as decorations in people's home or at weddings.

Lavender Fields

The word 'lavender' comes from the Latin verb 'lavare'. This means 'to wash'. It's a herb with a strong smell used in cooking and beauty products today. In Roman times, lavender oil was used in soaps. Lavender is sometimes used to treat minor burns and insect bites too. Some people believe that lavender also has calming properties.

Castle Farm, between Shoreham and Eynsford, grows lavender today.