Local scenes and information on Kent and Sussex...
Typical triple Kentish Oast house
As you drive through the county of Kent and Sussex you can not fail to notice the typical sight of Oast houses with their characteristic white cowls pointing in the direction of the wind. Originally used for the drying of hops for beer making, they are no longer in use and their use of the buildings pretty much died out in the 1960's when new and more efficient methods were implemented. The vast majority of Oast houses have been converted to quaint picturesque homes.
The earliest surving Oast houses dates back to around 1750 although they are documented in the early 16th century. Square oast houses appeared early in the 20th century as they were found to be easier to build. In the 1930s, the cowls were replaced by louvred openings as electric fans and diesel oil ovens were used.
Hops, the ingredient that adds bitterness to beer, have been grown in Kent since the 16th century. In Victorian times it was the biggest industry in the county. Every September the plants were ready to be picked and casual workers from Kent, London, Sussex and East Anglia would come to Kent to work in the hop gardens for 6 weeks. Once the hops were picked, they were dried out in oast houses and sold to the breweries.
One of the best preserved Oast house complexes is at The Hop Farm Country Park at Beltring.
For more information on Oast houses visit the museum of Kent Life Maidstone.
If you want to venture further, Canterbury is a great day out and is part of a "World Heritage site, just 40 minutes away by car. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England.
The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century (two of them in prose, the remaining twenty-two in verse). The tales are contained inside a frame tale and told by a collection of pilgrims on a pilgrimage from London Borough of Southwark to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral.
Canterbury is a very lively cosmopolitan city with the well known Marlowe theatre. Numerous restaurants, bars, cafes and pubs. There is also a huge array of shops and a new shopping centre called Whitefriars.
We would recommend going to Canterbury from Tenterden throught the villages of Biddenden, Smarden, Pluckley (most haunted village) Charing, Challock and then Chilham.
(very pretty village) This a much more scenic route and avoids the busier A28.
Howletts zoo park is also near to Canterbury at Bekesbourne.
Canterbury Cathedral..
