A resource guide to Kent, England. It features guides to the best
accommodation, attractions, festivals, restaurants, food & drink suppliers, history and property.

50 Years of Bewl Water
Completed in 1975. Supplies water to Kent & East Sussex. Sailing, fishing, outdoor centre, aquatics, boat trips (Bewl Belle) and more.
Bewl Water, Bewlbridge Lane, Lamberhurst, TN3 8JH map

Kent Bonfire Nights
8 Nov: Edenbridge Bonfire & Fireworks map
The largest in Kent.
8 Nov: Benenden Bonfire & Fireworks map
Tickets required in advance click here (from 2 Oct)

Oct: October is the start of the cider making year. 
From now to November apples are harvested, milled and pressed. After several months in casks etc it is ready to be drunk from the following April. Kent & Sussex cider growers traditionally used dessert apples but new producers are adding West County cider apples to the mix. Interestingly Norman Hunt’s fam near Sedlescombe is one of last Sussex farms to grow cider apples (more info from our visit).
A History of Cider (due) Kent Cider Producers  Sussex Cider Producers

August: Summer Events on the Kent & East Sussex Heritage Railway
The line runs between Tenterden and Bodiam. Steam and Heritage Diesel hauled trains through the Weald. Museum, tea room, gift shop and free parking. Click here for events.
KESR, Tenterden Town Station, Station Road, Tenterden TN30 6HE map

21-29 June: English Wine Week
A celebration of English wines. Kent vineyards taking part include the Wine Garden of England (Balfour, Biddenden, Chapel Down, Domaine Evremond, Simpsons, Squerryes Westwell & Yotes Court). 
For others see our guide to Kent Wine Producers for more information.

11 May & 15 June: Frances Hodgson Burnett’s Secret Garden Open Days
Ms Burnett lived at Great Maytham Hall from 1898 to 1907 the she found the 1721 walled garden overgrown and neglected. Between 1909-1912 the Arts and Crafts horticulturist Gertrude Jekyll & the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, amended the 17 acres of grounds and the original 18th-century property. In 1955 Anthony du Gard Pasley prevented its demolition. The house was split into multiple occupancy in in recent years. It includes a cutting garden, a bluebell wood, as well as the C18 walled garden made famous by Ms Burnett. Book here. Direction: Maytham Road off A28. Nearby: Hole Park Gardens (1927).
Great Maytham Hall, Great Maytham, Rolvenden Layne, TN17 4NE map

Feb: Popular Fishmongers relocate to Hythe from St Mary's Bay 
The popular fishmongers have moved into the old Barclays Bank premises and given it a striking new frontage. Retail & catering services. Owners: Cieron & Richard.
Boathouse Fisheries, 11-13 High Street, CT21 5AD map

Sept 2024: New winery opens on the North Downs
Domaine Evremond’s brand new estate building, two-thirds underground, has an exterior design that ‘seamlessly integrates’ into the North Downs. It is now home to a state-of-the-art, gravity-fed winery and a naturally cool chalk cellar with capacity to hold up to 1.5 million bottles. Visits are by appointment (info). 
Domaine Evremond, Chalk Hill, Chilham, Canterbury, CT4 8DT map

6 May: Channel Tunnel celebrates 30th birthday
The 31-mile structure, connected Folkestone in Kent, with Calais, northern France,.
It's estimated about 480 million passengers have used the service since it opened.