The A-Z of Kent

We are working our way through the A-Z of Kent! Every letter of the alphabet we relate to something or somewhere in kent!

M - MARKET

We took a trip to the Dickens Christmas Market in Rochester! If you want to feel xmassy and have some presents yet to buy then this is the place to go! Theres street entertainers, festive gifts, carol singers, a giant Christmas tree and bandstand! It's on til the 19th December!

Hear what happened by clicking here

www.dickenschristmasmarket.com

L - LAPLAND UK

Lapland UK is reknowned in Kent as the ultimate Christmas experience, and we spoke to the main man Mike about what it has to offer your family...reindeer, ice skating, husky dogs, a toy factory and Father Christmas! For more info go to http://www.laplanduk.co.uk/

Click here to listen to the interview with Managing Director Mike Battle

J - JOHN THOMSON

For this weeks ‘A-Z of Kent’ we have ‘J’ and seeing as panto season is upon us we thought we’d have a chat with panto pro John Thompson! He’s best known for being a successful comedian and actor in TV show Cold Feet. He’ll be playing the evil Sheriff of Nottingham at the Marlow Theatre arena in Canterbury!

Click here to hear the interview with John

I - ICE CREAM (TAYWELL ICE CREAM)

You dont have to go to the coast to get a good ice cream! We went to visit local producer Taywell Ice creams and met owner Alastair who let us make our own (and taste it of course!)

 Click here to hear how we got on

For more info and to buy some of their yummy ice cream go to http://www.taywell.co.uk/

H - HOPS (AT THE HOP FARM)

In this week’s A-Z of Kent we have the letter ‘H’ for ‘Hops’! We went to the Hop Farm in Paddock Wood to meet Colin who is a hop expert, he showed us around their hop museum and Oast Houses.

Hear the interview with Colin here

And If you want to learn about the history of hops then take a trip to the Hop Farm, all the details are online at http://www.thehopfarm.co.uk/ There’s loads to do there with the family, there’s a petting zoo, kids rides, and an outdoor play area.

G - GHOSTS (AT BEWL WATER)

For this weeks 'A-Z of Kent' we had 'G' for 'Ghosts' in time for halloween! We went to Bewl Water to the haunted forest, tunnel of terror and ghost ship!

Hear what happened by clicking here

The halloween experience is at Bewl Water til Sunday, book your tickets at http://www.bewlwater.co.uk/

F - FISH AND CHIPS

Theres plenty of fish and chip shops in Kent and if you go to the many beaches on the coast you can't help but go to the chippy! We went along to The Paragon in Birchington to have a go at battering various foods, including cheese!

And click here to find out some tips on how to be a good batterer!

E - EQUESTRIAN

We took a trip to Willow Farm in Faversham to meet the staff and 70 horses they keep there! They have a riding school and livery, many rescue horses and a pot bellied pig called Freddie! James faced his fears and had a ride on Harvey, apparently he's a natural!

For more info on Willow Farm go to http://www.ridewithwillow.info/

D - DOGS TRUST

We're a county of dog lovers so we visited the Dogs Trust Canterbury to meet the dogs waiting to be rehomed and talk to the staff about the amazing work they do...

Hear what happened when we visited Dogs Trust

The Dogs Trust are grateful for any donations, at the moment they are in need of tinned dog food, if you could drop some into the centre we would be really grateful!

For more info on the Dogs Trust go to http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/

C - CHARITY

We visited the Heart of Kent Hospice where we met the team and spoke to the patients about the work that the hospice does for the community...

Hear what James and Gemma got up to at the Heart of Kent hospice here

For more information on the Heart of Kent Hospice go to their website www.hokh.org

B - BOAT

We went to Ramsgate Harbour to meet Jon and the crew from www.horizonseasafaris.co.uk. They taught us all about the coastal wildlife of Kent and we met a colony of seals! Then we got to pilot a speedboat! Thank you to Jon for providing a ‘B’ for Boat!

A - AVIATION

We visited Mark and the team at TG aviation in Manston where Gemma took a trip in an open cockpit vintage stunt plane! Sam the pilot performed some acrobatics (loop the loops) and then let Gemma actually pilot the plane!

See the video here...

For more information go to www.tgaviation.com or email Mark and the team at  info@tgaviation.com