family days out in kent

FOWLMEAD IS OPEN FROM 8AM TO 17.30PM EVERY DAY (Colliers Gate [Fowlmead's back gate for pedestrians and cyclists] opens at 8.15am and closes at  17.15pm; Fowlmead Visitor Centre opens at 8.30am and closes at 17:00pm)  CAFE OPEN EVERY DAY FROM 9.30AM TO 16.00PM Except Wednesdays.  BIKE HIRE OPEN EVERY DAY FROM 9.30AM TO 16:30PM PAY & DISPLAY CAR PARKING operates at Fowlmead – the cost is £1.50 for all day parking Monday to Friday and £2.00 for weekends and Bank Holidays.  Why not save money on your parking by joining the Fowlmead Membership scheme – download details and application form Here Fowlmead Country Park is a 200-acre (80 hectare) park regenerated from the shale spoil tip of the former Betteshanger Colliery.  The colliery was the last of the four Kent coal mines to close in 1989 and the land languished unused until 2000 when the regional development agency, SEEDA (South East England Development Agency), acquired the freehold and set to redeveloping the brownfield site into a country park.

Since its opening in May 2007, Fowlmead has continued to develop as a safe off-road site for activities and leisure pursuits such as cycling (leisure, road, and mountainbiking), running, orienteering, geocaching, archery, walking, bushcraft and fossil-collecting.

Fowlmead has a two-mile Tarmac road cycling track which can be used by the general public and which is available for hire to clubs, organisations and individuals for cycling rides and events.  There are miles of leisure paths for walking and cycling around the site and in through the established woodland, and mountainbiking trails are being developed.

Fowlmead also has a back gate, Colliers’ Gate, which is accessible by cyclists and walkers from Southwall Road in Deal.  Colliers’ Gate opens 15 minutes after the published park opening time and 15 minutes before the published park closing time.

Tides Leisure Pool (2 miles)
Deal 01304 373399
Tides Leisure Pool Tides Leisure Centre in Deal is a multi sports leisure centre with associated Indoor Tennis Centre. Very popular with families, Tides has a free form leisure pool with..

Dunkerleys Restaurant & Hotel (2.1 miles)
Deal 01304 380187
Welcome to Dunkerley's Restaurant and Hotel 3 Star Silver Award - AA + SEETB recommended Our award-winning restaurant and accommodation is in the heart of Deal, just a stone's throw away from..

Deal Castle (2.3 miles)
Deal 01304 372762
What are the opening times? Dates Opening Times Opening Days 21 Mar -30 Sep 10am-6pm Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, & Sun. (Closes 5pm Sats) Deal Castle Deal Castle is one of..

Secret Gardens of Sandwich (2.7 miles)
Sandwich 01304 619919
Secret Gardens Unveil Jekyll's Long Border Work has been completed on a stunning new attraction at the award-winning Secret Gardens of Sandwich. The 200-ft long Long Border is a re-creation..

Rare Species Conservation Centre (2.9 miles)
Sandwich 01304 611578
Rare Species Conservation Centre About Rare Species Conservation Centre was created in 2006, It was formerly a small children’s zoo and it was taken over and renovated by a small..

Walmer Castle (3 miles)
Deal 01304 364288
Walmer Castle Originally built during the reign of Henry VIII as part of a chain of coastal artillery defences against Catholic attack from Europe,Walmer Castle has evolved over time into..

The Bay Restaurant (3.8 miles)
St Margarets-at-Cliffe 01304 852 229
The Bay Restaurant Eat in the The Bay Restaurant or on the terrace at breakfast, take lunch in the lounge by the fire in winter or in the rose garden in summer and dine in the oak-beamed Bay..

Richborough Roman Fort and Amphitheatre (4 miles)
Nr Sandwich 01304 612013
Richborough Roman Fort and Amphitheatre Evocatively sited amid the East Kent marshes, Richborough is perhaps the most symbolically important of all Roman sites in Britain, witnessing both..

Walletts Court (4 miles)
Dover 01304 852424
Wallett's Court Headed up by Restaurateur Gavin Oakley and kitchen genius head-chef Ryan Tasker, whose passion and flare put Wallett’s Court firmly on the gastronomic map. Foodies, bon-viveurs..

The Coastguard (4.4 miles)
Dover 01304853176
The Coastguard Pub & Restaurant isn’t hard to find. Head for the sound of the waves lapping against the white cliffs of Dover, the delicious aroma of local produce cooking in a busy..