Tourist profile So, in addition to investment in its
flora and fauna, with woodland walks and an evenly-paced 5K jogging route, it is throwing open the gates to some of the more major attractions to be found in the likes of London’s Hyde Park. The council has already staged a wide range of attractions – such as the BBC Stargazing event, which pulled in more than 3,400 people and was one of the most popular events of its kind in the country – as well as the annual
multi-cultural Maidstone Mela and charity events, such as the Race for Life. This year’s Ramblin’ Man Fair and
The Social Festival – both lively, loud and rousing – won’t be everyone’s cup of tea in the park cafeteria. But the retro rock, live music, real ales and campsite culture are guaranteed to bring a whole new group of visitors to the park – and to the town – and should bring a welcome boost to the economy, which means benefits for everyone.
Mote Park was once home to Kent County Cricket Club, but these days accommodates the lesser Mote Cricket Club – although it does still attract the occasional visiting county cricket game. It is also the base for Mote Park
Watersports Centre and the Maidstone Sailing Club, as well as offering a municipal leisure centre and swimming pool complex for everyone to enjoy.
Many people are unaware of the network of underground tunnels that run beneath the park. Kent Archaeological Society believes
these to be remnants from ragstone quarrying between the mid-18th to mid- 19th centuries – although the more fanciful may prefer to think of them as “smugglers’ tunnels” and entrances to hidden underground caves!
It is thought that the extensive open-
cast ragstone quarries to the east of the park could have been worked as far back as the Roman occupation — but these and other old quarries are now obscured by housing development to the east of Willington Street. Most entrances have been sealed by
falls from the quarry face or, deliberately, for safety reasons.
Mid Kent Living 27
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