Our Kent Holiday

What a way to celebrate turning 61 .. I'm still not sure how that happened as although I have years of amazing memories and my body reminds me most days I don't really feel I've reached my 60s.

I love holidays, no surprise there, and so we went away, this time to Kent visiting many places some of which I have written about separately such as Canterbury 

Our holiday began with a few days in Faversham with a visit to National Trust Knole House on the way. My actual birthday fell on our full day there with a great visit to Shepherds Neame brewery and a fab meal at The Sun Inn.

My special day started with cards and pressies and a pancake, blueberry & yougurt breakfast in bed (thanks to a bit of Aldi shopping the night before). Thank you to all my lovely family and friends, I felt very spoilt but this filled my heart in such a special way - my life's names!

Our hotel was at short walk into Faversham, with the sun shining it was a nice stroll past some very nice houses, a definite look of London especially the red brick terraces.

Our holiday wouldn't be right without adding another Wetherspoon pub to our visited list, currently 93 out of over 800. And there it was The Leading Light named after Henry Wreight the 19th century mayor of Faversham and a main benefactor of the town.

The beautiful Art Deco building was originally Faversham Co-operative Society shop. The Society was founded in 1887 by local gunpowder factory workers and the building remained a shop until 1997 when it was opened as a Wetherspoon pub.

The interior was amazing, one of the reasons we visit J D Wetherspoon pubs is an appreciation of old buildings being restored and reused, of course we also appreciate the food and drinks on offer, this time a great coffee!

Faversham was lovely in style and age with over 400 listed building reflecting its maritime history. There was certainly some overseas influence with some Dutch gables, the Old Pharmacy door was amazing and it was great to find a Queen Victoria postbox.

After our Shepherd Neame tour and tasting we settled in at The Sun Inn enjoying a glass of Iron Wharf stout followed by delicious fish and chips and a super bottle of Gris de Grille from Carcassonne, perfect birthday wine.

After a lovely birthday in Faversham our Kent holiday continued with a week at Parkdean Romney Sands in a gold caravan. Our son and girlfriend stayed for one night followed by us all enjoying A Little Trip to France over the weekend and them then returning home, extended birthday treat for me.

Our time in Kent had been very enjoyable so far if busy so it was quite nice to settle into our holiday home with the Romney Hyde and Dymchurch Railway running by throughout the day and the sea just across the road from the park's main entrance. The weather was mixed with some dramatic skies, a good reason to stay in with a fish supper and my birthday bottle of Picpoul de Pinet from our son.

As well as our trip to Canterbury we also ventured out to Folkestone on the bus. An hour's journey on a double decker bus with the front upstairs seats giving views of the south Kent coast all for £3 each, what a bargain.

Folkestone also had evidence of overseas influences in its buildings, it has been a major trading port for centuries. It was a popular Victorian holiday resort and a major cross-channel ferry port, today it has a creative hub, a lively historic harbour and many food specialists. Folkestone has its own mermaid,  a life size bronze created by Cornelia Parker in 2011 for Folkestone Triennial that sits peacefully looking out to sea.

The Samuel Peto, previously a 19th century Baptist Church, was our lunch stop, another great building reinvented by JD Wetherspoon. Sir Samuel Peto was an English engineer who helped develop and build over 750 miles of railway track in England during the mid 1800s.

The location of the caravan park was good if you like remote pebble beaches. Dungerness, a vast remote area of shingle beach, is not far away and is the terminal for the railway. We had a lovely drive round the stark but beautifil area, it was a huge surprise to find this chap in his own world oblivious to the people and cars around him.

Not far away but not really accessible Hubby discovered the Sound Mirrors. Made of concrete these pre World War II Listening Ears were built in the late 1920s and were an experiment to detect enemy aircraft by deflecting the engine sound onto microphones. Although they could detect planes up to 20 miles away by the time the war started radar had been invented and the Sound Mirrors were never used.

I had a super birthday and holiday in Kent with such a variety of places visited and experiences enjoyed. My birthday celebrations ended a week later as Hubby and I travelled to Leicester to watch Tigers v Saracens rugby followed by The 745 Game, played by ex-players in aid of MBD. A superb end to a superb birthday.