Maidstone is located in the ’’Heart of Kent’’ in England and is close to some of Kent’s most fertile and scenic countryside. It lies at the foot of the undulating North Downs and astride the River Medway. The place has been an important market town for centuries, which is not surprising really, for it is surrounded by hop gardens , apple and cherry orchards, arable and dairy farms. Not for nothing has Kent been dubbed ’’ The Garden of England’’. The area around Maidstone produces a good proportion of the soft fruit and vegetables on sale in London while the hops are supplied to several major breweries , not only locally but to overseas brewers as well.
There are a number of interesting buildings worth visiting in the town. The Archbishop’s Palace , once a manor owned by the Archbishop of Canterbury, is one of a group of attractive, ancient, buildings in the town centre. The Archbishop’s Stables , virtually opposite, now houses the fascinating Trywhitt-Drake Museum of Carriages. The church of All Saints’ is in the perpendicular style and again is worth a visit. Maidstone is not short of green space. There is the very well-tended Brenchley Gardens and the attractive Mote Park, where Kent County Cricket Club play some of their County Championship games. Avrinda da Silver and asif Iqbal both starred for Kent in the years gone by. The Cobtree Manor Park boasts a nature trail whilst the Museum of Kent Life is an attractive open air site with traditional buildings , displays, farm animals and herb gardens. It is good for a fun family day out ;just nearby is the Malta Inn pub and restaurant, a lovely riverside inn.
The Maidstone Museum and Art Gallery is one of the biggest and arguably most comprehensive museums in the South East of England .It is housed in a beautiful Elizabethan manor house in the centre of Maidstone. Much extended and recently refurbished , the Museum houses displays of wildlife, military history, costume pictures and even has a section devoted to Japanese art. Who said Maidstone is parochial ? The town has a reasonably wide range of high street multiples and other shops but has probably been eclipsed as one of Kent’s premier shopping centres by such US-style developments as Bluewater, McArthur Glen and other retail developments at Ashford and , of course , there are the traditional attractions of Canterbury as a shopping haven. The traffic system dosen’t help either and Maidstone frequently seems to be congested. On my last trip to Tonbridge to see my favourite soccer team, Ashford Town play, I was held-up for nearly half-an-hour in Maidstone. The countryside around the County Town is, however, delightful. The area is certainly richly endowed with a remarkable wealth of scenic, historic and recreational attractions. There are ancient castles, medieval buildings, attractive Kentish villages, country houses and world famous gardens to explore. Some of the villages are set on the banks of the River Medway and often possess superb medieval bridges across the river-the one at Yalding even has buildngs on it .! Shades of the Pulteney Bridge in Bath ! Another charming village is Lenham which has a delightful cobbled square and several excellent and very congenial inns, which I have long enjoyed visiting.
The Ringlestone Inn near Harrietsham also comes recommended and they have hotel accommodation as well as fine cask ales and high quality meals .It should be added that there are a number of good hotels and guest houses in and around Maidstone. In the heart of the fruit and hop growing area is the lovely village of Marden , it has a magnificent 13th century church and some gorgeous inns. Only a few miles from Maidstone is a major tourist attraction- the moated Leeds Castle- described by Lord Conway as ’’...the loveliest castle in the world.’’- it most certainly is very beautiful. Then there is an utterly splendid 13 th century moated castle at Allington on the site of an iron-age settlement and Roman villa.
There is plenty of history in this part of the world. Boughton Monchelsea Place-don’t you just love British place names -is an impressive battlemented Elizabethan Manor constructed in1567. Other places worth visiting include the Headcorn Flower Centre and Vineyard which has breathtaking displays of chrysanthemums and orchid lillies. There are guided tours through acres of heated flower houses concluding with a tutored wine tasting session .Staplehurst is home to the Brattle Farm Museum. South of Maidstone near Lamberhurst and romantically set around the ruins of a medieval moted castle , Scotney Castle is owned by Britain’sNational Trust and is a blaze of colour in Spring and Autumn. At Paddock Wood there is the Whitbread Hop Farm which has the largest collection of Victorian oast houses in the world as well as the famous Whitbread shire horses. Not very far away is Penshurst Palace, the fine medieval home of the Viscount De L’Isle, with a huge Barons Hall dating back to 1341. Also at Penshurst are the local Vineyards where visitors are welcome to walk among the vines, visit the winery and taste the wines.It is not the Napa Valley but the fledgling British wine industry is alive and starting to kick. In the grounds of Penshurst Vineyards are a mob of wallabies , rare breed sheep, exotic waterfowl and a picnic area.
Well our trip to Maidstone and the surrounding area must unfortunately come to an end.! The town is only just around 35 miles from Central London and it, and especially the surrounding countryside, is well worth checking out.