Rainy days in Kent | Shepherd Neame

They don’t call Kent the Garden of England for nothing, and you don’t get a beautiful lush landscape like ours without a bit of rain!

So how can you keep entertained when keeping dry? Here are a few of our favourite things…

Broadstairs

“There are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best parts” wrote Charles Dickens, but few would put his books in that category!

If you’re a Dickens fan, why not visit Bleak House in Broadstairs, where he and his family spent their summers for 22 years. It was here that Dickens wrote David Copperfield and you can visit the study where this, and other novels, were written.

And why not round off your sight-seeing at Ballard’s coffee lounge at The Royal Albion Hotel? Named after the man who owned the hotel in Dickens’ time, you’ll be transported to a bygone era surrounded by illustrations of historic Broadstairs. Or perhaps you'd prefer Ballard’s Bar, where you can select from a comprehensive range of excellent local ales, international lagers and wines, accompanied by a menu carefully created by their chef, offering an exciting and varied menu to appeal to all tastes and appetites.

Canterbury

Canterbury Cathedral has been the destination for pilgrims since the Middle Ages and is still one of the most visited places in the country today, with over a million visitors each year. Open to the public all day Monday – Saturday, and briefly on a Sunday, there’s a lot to see at the Cathedral, including The Martyrdom, where Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in 1170, and The Miracle Windows in Trinity Chapel, which show some of the miracles that were said to have taken place after his murder.

Fans of the Bard can find a second folio of Shakespeare’s work on display at the Cathedral. Printed in 1632, its display marks the 400^th anniversary of the playwright’s death.

Fans of our beer can find a great selection of Shepherd Neame ales at The Shakespeare, just a short stroll from the Cathedral, where they serve great food for modern-day pilgrims to recharge the batteries after visiting the Cathedral.

Chatham

Where better to spend a rainy day than on the waterfront in The Historic Dockyard at Chatham. There’s a lot about ships here, of course – you can learn how ships like HMS Victory were designed and built; you can climb aboard and explore ships and submarines – but there’s much more going on here.

Fans of the television series Call the Midwife can enjoy a guided tour of the areas of the dockyard which were transformed into the 1950s Poplar Dock used in countless scenes throughout all five series of the show and, from June 2017, the Dockyard will commemorate the 350^th anniversary of the Battle of Medway with a spectacular series of exhibitions and activities.

After all that excitement, why not relax with a lovely meal and a drink at The Ship & Trades, a stunning, recently-refurbished bar, restaurant and hotel – it’s just a short stroll away!

Deal

Deal Castle was built in the mid 16^th century as part of King Henry VIII’s chain of coastal artillery forts, designed to protect Britain against the threat of invasion by Spain and France. Enter through the gatehouse to enjoy a great day’s sightseeing – start in the storerooms and work your way up to the captain’s residence on the first floor, before taking a walk around the defences with its squat, rounded bastions and canons.

After your visit, why not follow in the footsteps of Deal’s most famous visitors, Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton, and enjoy a meal and a drink at The Royal Hotel on the Deal seafront. The Boathouse bar offers a range of tempting dishes using the finest, locally sourced ingredients including fresh seafood from the surrounding shores and serves plenty of great ales and wines to help you recharge those batteries!

Faversham

Love Beer? So do we! Shepherd Neame is Britain’s oldest brewer and we’ve been making great ales at our brewery in Faversham since 1698. Why not join one of our award-winning brewery tours to learn about the ancient art of brewing. The 80-minute tour includes a visit to the Old Brewery Store, which features impressive displays of historic delivery vehicles, a recreated coopers’ workshop, bygone pub signs and a collection of hop picking memorabilia. It ends back in the Visitor Centre with a tutored tasting of Shepherd Neame’s Kentish ales and speciality lagers.

Or why not treat yourself to one of our excellent Beer and Food Matching Evening? Enjoy a special six-course dinner, hosted by one of the brewery’s beer experts, and learn about beers in a variety of styles, with the delicious meal designed to complement their flavours.

Margate

Want to try something completely different and unique to Margate? Why note visit The Shell Grotto, where you’ll find 4.6 million shells in 70ft of winding underground passages leading to a rectangular chamber with a 2,000 square foot mosaic!

Lewis Carroll visited the Grotto in 1870 and described it in his diaries as “a marvellous subterranean chamber, lined with elaborate shell-work” – you can have a quick look at it in this video, to whet your appetite…

After visiting this amazing piece of history, why not walk to the nearby Northern Belle, the oldest pub in Margate. The pub is named after the American transatlantic ship whose crew members were rescued by local men, and timbers from the wreck can be seen in the bar today, having been used in renovations.

Ramsgate

Computers are everywhere these days! They’ve come a long way in a short space of time, and to find out how far and how fast, why not visit The Micro Museum, Kent’s only computer museum. Dedicated to the history of computing, and how the digital world we live in now began, this museum houses a vast collection of vintage home computers, games, toys and much, much more.

Opening from Easter 2017 until October 29th, the 2017 calendar is already packed with events including a long weekend of Star Wars Games, a weekend dedicated to football games, and a magical Harry Potter weekend, where you can enjoy a game of Quidditch on the classic consoles.

The museum is just a short walk from the Royal harbour, where you’ll find the wonderful Belle Vue Tavern, with its incredible views over Pegwell Bay and a great selection of warming food and drink.

Whitstable

Whitstable is a beautiful seaside town famous for its oysters, which have been collected here since Roman times. If you’d like to know more about Whitstable’s history, why not visit the Whitstable Museum and Gallery. The museum is full of fascinating artefacts, from an old diving helmet to a big, red, horse-drawn fire engine. You can sit at a Victorian school desk and even hunt for fossil sharks’ teeth!

Whitstable is renowned for being home to famous names, and the museum contains memorabilia of resident Peter Cushing, as well as a display for Pip, Squeak and Wilfred, cartoon characters created by Whitstable resident Bertram J Lamb.

For a real taste of old Whitstable, take a short stroll down to the East Kent hotel, recently reopened after a major refurbishment which has restored this glorious old pub to its historic old self.