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QUIRKY KENT – HIDDEN GEMS 043 Walpole Bay Hotel
Built in 1914, this hotel is being restored to its glory days. Step back in time to spacious lounges, an Edwardian restaurant, snooker room and even a 1920s ballroom. Not surprisingly, it’s in high demand for TV and the media – you could be forgiven for thinking you’re in a vintage Agatha Christie! An Otis Trellis gated lift from 1927 serves all
fi ve fl oors, and with abundant memorabilia and attention to detail, you’ll soon work out why it’s described as a living museum. Play vinyls in the lower bar, take dance classes in the ballroom – or sign up for a murder mystery! Restaurant, Bar Room and Terrace are open daily; traditional Sunday Luncheons served at 1pm accompanied by the resident pianist on the 1908 pianola. • Visit
www.walpolebayhotel.co.uk
Sands Hotel, Margate
Bought in an auction by Nick Conington with the original plan of turning this beautiful building into luxury apartments, when he heard that at the close of the 1800s it had been a hotel, Nick spent two years lovingly restoring it to its former glory. With Margate’s marvellous seascape used as inspiration to its interior, who says glamour is a thing of bygone days? For a splash of local decadence, you could stay in one of 20 luxurious rooms, or simply enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner at the Contemporary Bay Restaurant (which boasts two AA rosettes) – or soak in sea views and sip a carefully selected drink at the hotel bar. • Visit
www.sandshotelmargate.co.uk
Folkestone Harbour Arm
After a £3.5 million renovation, the harbour arm is unrecognisable from its previous drift into dereliction. The improvement is part of a wider rejuvenation and now an exciting selection of independent cafes, bars and restaurants (there really is something for everyone!) draw people together to socialise, hang out with friends and family, or simply to soak up the atmosphere next to the sea. Weekends will fi nd the live music, pop-up stalls – and at the end of the arm is the Lighthouse Champagne Bar where customers cluster, perhaps toasting, amongst other things, the sea and its charms. • Visit
www.folkestoneharbourarm.co.uk
Betteshanger Sustainable Parks
A scheme to regenerate the former mining community in East Kent includes a 3.5km road cycling track, 10km of mountain bike trails, leisure paths, woodlands, wetlands and reed beds that are home for wildlife. The scheme will eventually see the 121-hectare site transformed into a Country Park and a Visitor Centre that will encompass the Kent Mining Museum. There are adventurous and imaginative events all year long: don’t miss the return of The Beast (the world’s largest infl atable obstacle course) from
Shell Grotto
A shroud of mystery surrounds this unique chalk cave embedded with shells. How old is it? Who built it, and why? Whether or not you’ll fi nd out the answers, you’ll still get to see 4.6 million shells and 70ft of underground passages leading to a chamber and 2,000 square feet of mosaic.
• Grotto Hill, Margate CT9 2BU,
www.shellgrotto.co.uk
26th- 28th May. This year’s beast is a world- fi rst, 384m long course – making it over 100 metres longer and a length that has never been attempted before. • Visit
www.betteshangerparks.co.uk
© Thanet District Council
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