Town Profile


And if you happen to be there on the fourth Sunday morning of the month, there is a popular farmers’ market selling a wide variety of local produce. Choose from seasonal vegetables, cider, wines, beer and apple juice, cheeses, bread and cakes. The next ones are on January 22 and February 26.


If some of the shops, and even the people, look familiar, that might be because they appeared in sequences of the Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour”, which were filmed around the town and nearby airfield in 1967.


Tim Baldock, who runs the Moor and Mountain ski store in the High Street, was an extra in the movie and remembers when Ringo Starr walked into Baldocks clothes shop and bought a pair of jeans and a pink shirt – all for the equivalent of £1.65.


He is helping to organise a 1960s


weekend in April when Beatles fanatics will descend on the town to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the film’s release.


The former West Malling airfield,


now the site of the Kings Hill upmarket housing and business development, was where the Fab Four filmed the dance sequence “Your Mother Should Know” in a disused hangar.


The Beatles were once owners of 18th century Douces Manor on the outskirts of the town. Now upmarket


Your Mother Should Know


WHAT do Strictly Come Dancing, the Beatles and West Malling airfield have in common?


Well, if you are thinking of giving someone the Magical


Mystery Tour album for Christmas, you might be especially interested in the answer.


According to the Strictly website, the nation’s love


affair with ballroom is originally due to Peggy Spencer MBE.


The 88-year-old dance expert was linked with the


BBC’s Come Dancing since the 1950s but turned down an offer to present Strictly. She revealed that she told the producers they should get someone younger, so they chose Bruce Forsyth.


Peggy organised classes in village halls around Kent and that led to a formation dancing competition and then to Come Dancing.


In 1967, she was asked to choreograph a waltz


sequence for the Beatles which would have them dressed in white tailcoats and the dancers in beautiful white dresses.


They were taken to an RAF hangar at West Malling and this was the first time that Peggy heard the “waltz” which had been composed by Paul.


DANMAR BETTER BY DESIGN


51 High Street, West Malling Kent ME19 6QH 01732 848333 www.danmarkitchens.co.uk info@danmarkitchens.co.uk


Mid Kent Living 15


KITCHEN BEDROOMS STUDIES


apartments, the building was occupied by RAF officers during the Second World War, and The Twitch Inn, a bar they created in the basement, has been preserved as a heritage centre and is open to the public 20 times a year.


The ceilings are adorned with signatures written in candle


smoke during the blackout. Those who were stationed at West Malling included Guy Gibson, of Dambusters fame.


History buffs might also enjoy a visit to nearby St Leonard’s


Tower, a Norman keep built by Bishop Gundulf in the 11th century. Other buildings of interest include the ancient parish church, and the Benedictine abbey.


Manor Country Park, which is close to St Leonard’s Tower,


stretches across 52 acres of meadows and has an attractive lake, making if perfect for a quiet stroll or picnic.


For evening meals, there is a wide choice of restaurants including Thai, Indian and French cuisine as well as good traditional home-made pub fare. The Swan, once an 18th century coaching inn, has built a reputation as a fashionable gastro-pub.


Visitors can stay at the


Premier Inn at nearby Castle Way, Leybourne, which is conveniently close to West Malling rail station, and there are bed and breakfasts located in the town and surrounding areas.


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