Interesting Things To Do In Kent This Month: April 2018

Due to being otherwise engaged for two weeks at the end of February, I didn't get round to writing a March events round-up - but you were probably snowed in anyway, right? Here's a bumper look at what's going on in Kent in April:

Image: Paper Daisy Events

March-September 2018: Remarkable Characters of Tunbridge Wells

Already underway is this exhibition of 40 photographs of local Tunbridge Wells people. It's the culmination of a project by photographer Mark Wilkinson and writer Anne Wagstaff, telling the story of the real Tunbridge Wells. See the exhibition at Woods restaurant on the Pantiles, where the accompanying book is available to buy.

1-2 April: Festival of Steam and Transport, Chatham Dockyard

Choo choo! Who doesn't love a good old vintage train? Steampunks unite at this weekend festival of classic cars and trains, steam engines, food and drink stalls, live music, a funfair and more, all at the Historic Dockyard in Chatham.

4-29 April

If you're into local history, head to Maidstone Museum which has an exhibition chronicling 100 years of the WI in West Kent - more than just knitting needles and cake sales.

7 April: Street food and craft market, Brighton

Image: Paper Daisy Events

A day at the seaside, a street food market and a craft fair all in one, Paper Daisy Events pops up in Brighthelm Gardens with stalls selling items made by independent craftspeople. Plus, there's a live band to accompany all that shopping.

7 April: Heritage Transport Show, Maidstone

Image: Heritage Transport Show

If you missed last weekend's steampunk showdown, head to the Kent Showground in Detling for a mass gathering of 800 vehicles.  The South East Bus Festival forms part of the show, bringing 120 buses and coaches of all vintages together, many of which will be offering rides.

7 14 April: Lambing weekend, Bidborough

*POSTPONED UNTIL 14 APRIL DUE TO WATERLOGGED CAR PARK*

Following on from a successful pumpkin picking season, Bidborough's Four Winds Farm is holding a lambing weekend, allowing the public to see inside a commercial farm. It's not all about the newborn lambs, as there's a sheep show all about sheep and wool, tea and cake, face painting and more. Let's face it - it's mainly about the newborn lambs though.

12-14 April: Alice in Wonderland, Chiddingstone Castle

Image: Chiddingstone Castle

This one's mainly for kiddies (6-10 years), but I really wish it wasn't. Alice in Wonderland is coming to Chiddingstone Castle for the weekend, and basically having the run of the place with croquet, arts and crafts, singing, dancing, and other activities led by the characters from Lewis Carroll's books.

13-14 April: Bat Walk

If nature's your thing, Knole Park in Sevenoaks is running a series of dusk bat walks. Bring a torch and set off on a guided walk in search of bats - bat detectors will be provided. The walk is followed by hot chocolate and chance to ask the bat expert any questions you have.

18-27 April: Tulip Festival, Hever Castle

Image: Hever Castle

I love tulip season - they're my favourite flower, and so many places have festivals to celebrate them coming into bloom. If you want to cop an eyeful of them, I recommend heading to Hever Castle's tulip festival, because not only do you get the gorgeous flowers, but you get them set against the backdrop of a Tudor castle. Beautiful.

18-29 April: Bluebell Festival, Riverhill Himalayan Gardens

If bluebells are more your bag, Riverhill Himalayan Gardens will be rolling out the blue carpet for the bluebell festival, with walks through the woods, and music and craft events for children.

22 April: Penshurst Brocante

The picturesque village of Penshurst hosts a vintage fair (rescheduled from March due to the snow) with vintage clothing, antiques and jewellery available to buy.

24 April-15 May: Pashley Manor Tulip Festival

More tulips, but as I said, I absolutely love them. Pashley Manor near Wadhurst has been running its tulip festival for a good few years now, and although it's not cheap to get into, it has 40,000 tulips across 112 varieties - one for the real enthusiasts. The gardens are worth exploring beyond the tulips, and there's a cafe and shop on site too. Keep an eye on the news page for updates on when the tulips are coming out.

30 April: Dawn chorus boat trips

Get your sea river legs on, set your alarm and head for Tonbridge. The excellent Tonbridge River Trips run special trips as well as their regular day boat trips. Today there's a dawn chorus trip, a two hour journey with a wildlife expert who will point out local wildlife and tell you a bit more about it. The kicker? It starts at 4.30am.

Ongoing, every Sunday: Afternoon tea

Image: Cafe 1809

Cafe 1809, the Hildenborough cafe owned by Dame Kelly Holmes, has launched afternoon and cream teas every Sunday. The first one took place on Mother's Day, and they're now running every Sunday for the forseeable future. I haven't tried it yet, but given I've now dedicated a whole section of this blog to afternoon tea, it's definitely on the list.

Plus: Tonbridge Library is now due to reopen in April after a long refurb (no further details at present), and I live in hope that Verdigris, the wine and cocktail bar replacing Graze in Tonbridge High Street, may open this month. Keep an eye on the Twitter account for updates.


About these listings: These are just a selection of the more interesting and unusual events taking place in and around Kent this month. I select events for inclusion based on what I find interesting myself, as I hope these will interest you too. I'm based in West Kent, so geographically they're centred around this area - although I do chuck the occasional further-afield event in if I think it sounds interesting enough to warrant it. Got a suggestion for a inclusion in future event listings? Contact me.

Photo diary: a day in Rochester

Rochester in Kent is a small town on the Medway, punching way above its weight with a castle, cathedral and plenty of Dickensian links. I've already shared some of the quirks and unusual sights of Rochester (as well as a cheeky hack for getting there), so here are a few more snaps from the few hours we spent there on a chilly Sunday in January:

The bridge over the Medway between Rochester and Strood is very elaborate and well-decorated - check out the crown above the lamp. Yet it's also a very industrial design, with huge steel spans. Quite the juxtaposition.

You didn't think you'd get away without a shot of the castle, did you? It's extremely square style may look familiar - it was designed by the same monk responsible for the White Tower at the Tower of London. No time to go inside on our visit though...

A view of Rochester Cathedral through the walls of the lawn at Rochester Castle.

Plenty of cafes and restaurants to please tourists

One of the remaining town gates, along with one of the town's many wonky buildings.

Inside Baggins Book Bazaar, which claims to be England's largest second hand bookshop

The town is a real architectural mishmash, with buildings from a variety of time periods. 

Looking south down Rochester High Street, with many different architectural styles. It reminds me of the lower half of Lewes High Street in East Sussex.

I can never resist a quirky sweet shop, there's something charming about them. Managed to bag myself a treat while we were there

The Deaf Cat Cafe on Rochester High Street, apparently named after a... deaf cat, which used to sit with Charles Dickens as he wrote.

Inside the Deaf Cat Cafe, because we were in need of refreshment. The hot chocolate was indeed yummy, the cookies somewhat less enthralling.

More Dickensian references on the High Street. You don't often see old-fashioned greengrocer shops anymore - Rochester has a lovely olde worlde charm to it.

No idea what the decor of this distance marker is, but I'm guessing it's nothing to do with Dickens.

As you get towards the bottom end of the High Street, look up and you''ll see plenty of ghostsigns...

...including this one, which is topped off by a more modern mural of Dickens.

The High Street is home to the former French Hospital, now used as mews housing, but a few hints at its past can still be seen

I was charmed by this door. Serious case of door envy and door goals going on.

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5 unusual things to look out for in Rochester

I don't believe that anyone who has visited a place for just a day - or even a week - is truly in a position to write about the best places to eat/drink/visit there. You have to go deeper than that to have any sort of authority to write about a place.

That's why, having visited Rochester for a day to fulfil the January part of my visit-a-new-place-each-month plan, I'm not going to tell you about the things you should see, do, eat and drink if you visit. Instead, I want to share a few unusual and quirky things I spotted in my few hours there. Keep an eye out for them if you ever venture into these parts. Or don't. Whatever.

The wonky doors of Rochester

I thought I'd seen the full extent of England's wonky doors when I lived in York, but Rochester has some pretty strong contenders too. Highlights are J.R. Barbers (above), and Topes Restaurant - which, like many Rochester buildings, claims Dickensian links:

Don't miss the door frame of this house next to the castle. Trippy stuff.

Rochester Bridge

The people of Rochester, it seems, love their bridge over the Medway. It's a magnificent beast, a bridge of two halves; an ornate offering, decked with handpainted crests, crowns and a quartet of lions not dissimilar to those in Trafalgar Square. 

It's also an ugly hulk of industrial steel, something Brunel would be proud of. The two are completely at odds with each other, but the people of Rochester are proud of it; a building adjacent to the bridge on the Rochester side proudly announces itself as the Bridge Chamber, base of the Bridge Committee; a exhibition dedicated to the bridge can be found in the crypt of Rochester Cathedral, and leaflets about the bridge take pride of place in some of the town's shops.

The beach at Rochester

A post shared by Laura Reynolds (@scribbling_lau) on Jan 28, 2018 at 11:34pm PST

Before you go digging out your swimsuit, it's not that sort of a beach. I'm pretty sure it's more mudflat than beach actually, and probably dangerous and off-limits to the public. But it does make for lovely photos (imagine more sunshine than I managed to capture) and a on a summer's day at low tide, you could probably make out your strolling along the French Riviera. Maybe.

Rochester's unusual post boxes

If postal whimsy is your thing, a stroll down Rochester High Street will see you right. The short street has three unusual post box for admiring. The green and black ones pictured above both sit outside the (free!) Guildhall Museum, and date back to the reign of Queen Victoria.

The third is the above, which you'll find outside the Post Office at the southern end of the high street. It's not as historically interesting as the other two, but still quirky to look at. 

England's largest second hand bookshop

Oh my, the bookshop. If you're a book lover, start planning a pilgrimage to Rochester now, for behind the castle and cathedral lies what claims to be England's largest second hand bookshop. Having been inside, I don't doubt it. It's a maze of aisles and staircases, hidden reading rooms and stacked tomes.

A sign on the ground floor kindly requests that shoppers leave rucksacks and shopping bags at the till while browsing - a little further into the shop, as the aisles narrow and the precarious stacks of books get higher, you understand why.

I'm reluctant to use such a cliche, but it really is a Tardis of a shop, its splendid but modest exterior telling nothing of how far back the shop goes.

Plus, a tip for visiting Rochester:

If you're visiting Rochester by train, you've got a couple of options. Coming from London, you can speed straight into Rochester station. However, if you're coming from West Kent, as we did, you might be better heading to Strood station instead. There are direct trains from Tonbridge and Maidstone, and when you get to Strood, the station is only a 10 minute walk (across that magnificent bridge) to Rochester Castle and the town centre.

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Interesting Things To Do In Kent This Month: February 2018

Image: Hever Castle

1 February: Harry Potter Book Night, Maidstone

Calling all Potter fans: Waterstones in Maidstone is one of many venues across the UK hosting a Harry Potter Book Night with free games and activities on a wizarding theme. Alright it's aimed at kids, but adults, it's probably worth begging, borrowing or stealing a child for the night if you don't have your own.

2 February: New burlesque night, Tunbridge Wells

This one caught my eye on Twitter: a new cabaret and burlesque night is livening up Tunbridge Wells, with music from swing trio The Dad Pack and a performance from burlesque artiste Lulu Vesper on opening night. Ooh la la.

10 February onwards: Snowdrop walks, Hever

Image: Hever Castle

See in spring in the glorious grounds of Hever Castle, which has been laced with 70,000 snowdrop bulbs of varying colours. Wander your way through the floral carpet, or take a longer walk around the perimeter of the lake.

10-18 February: Vintage Valentine's tea, Hurst Green

Photo: Merriments Gardens

This one tips over into East Sussex rather than Kent, but it tickled my fancy for afternoon tea so I'm allowing it. Merriments Gardens (excellent name!) is serving up a vintage themed afternoon tea for Valentine's Day, with sandwiches, scones and cakes served up on vintage china. One for the Instagrammers, me thinks. Note that the gardens themselves don't reopen until March - this is all about the food.

15 February: Fish and chip train, Tunbridge Wells

Image: Spa Valley Railway

You'd struggle to find a more British event than this; a fish and chip lunch on a steam train. It's one of the Spa Valley Railway's themed trips, running from Tunbridge Wells out to Eridge and back again, with your lunch served to you at your seat - followed up by ice cream. If you can't make it this time round, the event is repeated semi-regularly.

18 February: Snowdrop Sunday, Sevenoaks

I flippin' love flowers, so here's another chance to see this year's snowdrops, this time at Great Comp Garden in Platt near Sevenoaks. This place takes its snowdrops very seriously, with a plant fair where galanthophiles (snowdrop collectors to you) can get their hands on varieties of the plant. If you're less serious about snowdrops, you can still wander through the garden and see them at their peak, along with hellebores and other February flowerers.

24 February onwards: Rye Bay Scallop Week, Rye

Image: 1066 Country

Again, this one's slightly further afield, and it's one for the foodies among you. Rye Bay Scallop Week is an annual celebration of seafood with special meals, cookery demos, markets, live entertainment and quizzes, all around the humble scallop. 

About these listings: These are just a selection of the more interesting and unusual events taking place in and around Kent this month. I select events for inclusion based on what I find interesting myself, as I hope these will interest you too. I'm based in West Kent, so geographically they're centred around this area - although I do chuck the occasional further-afield event in if I think it sounds interesting enough to warrant it. Got a suggestion for a inclusion in future event listings? Contact me.

A first look at Glow Wild at Wakehurst Place

Not saying I've got an obsession with light festivals or anything, but hot on the heels of my trip to Christmas at Kew, I headed to Wakehurst, its sister site in Sussex, for the lantern festival Glow Wild.

After the magic of Kew, I was expecting fantastic things from Wakehurst and in its own, subtle way, it didn't disappoint.

The trail begins at the base of the Christmas tree, the largest in the UK apparently, and use by pilots navigating their way into nearby Gatwick Airport. Take your own lantern to guide your round the trail and from here, a lamp-lined path weaves through the trees, each decked out in their own way.

Various woodland creatures are recreated in lantern form along the route, adding the 'wild' to the festival's name. The first major 'wow' moment comes courtesy of the lake, which is sprinkled with colourful lanterns, creating perfect reflections on a still, dark night. The Christmas tree looming over it only adds to the sense of scale and grandeur.

It only gets better around the next corner, where a stream has been transformed into a literal river of fire. Hundreds of naked flames have been placed on the stream, which flows down into a lake at the bottom. The photos really don't do it justice.

From here, the trail takes a convoluted wander before turning back towards the house, via a fire garden.

It's hard to miss another highlight; the light projections on the house itself. It's fantastic, with absolutely everyone rooted to the spot, entranced by it before being able to move on. Again, I found myself comparing it to the fantastic laser projection show at Kew, which is in a whole other league.

The trail ends here, the path opening up into a market square type area in the courtyard with food and drink stalls, and crafts for the kids.

Glow Wild at Wakehurst doesn't have quite as much oomph behind it as Christmas at Kew, but that's not to say it disappoints. It's a well-thought out, charming way to wile away an hour or so, albeit aimed more at young families than adults alone. Some will appreciate its calmer, slower approach to winter, but for me, it's all about the all-singing, all-dancing wonder of Kew this year.

Glow Wild at Wakehurst Place runs 30 November-17 December 2017, but tickets are now sold out.