How to spend a day driving from Canterbury to Stansted

newone: are you kidding???

Those 3 Cities are horrid.
My GF works in Chatham and cannot wait to leave the town after work.

and yes Herne Bay is ok but what is actually there? Couldnt really spend a day site seing.

nona1 has a point

Why not head up Stansted way early on and spend the time driving along the Essex/Suffolk border, as there are loads of pretty towns and villages along there. The likes of Saffron Walden, Thaxted, Finchingfield, Coggeshall, Sudbury and Long Melford spring to mind. If you want to continue further East you'll hit Constable country and if you carry on to the coast then Orford isn't to bad a town to stop at.

Rochester is ok, but chatham and gillingham?

i would agree that thanet is hardly on the way to stansted, but the op did ask about that area, as an ex ramsgatonian i'd say IF the op wanted to drive the 30-40 mins there from canterbury then it is worth the visit.