The Limes Faversham
Start planning your stay in the UK this year, as many will look at picking smaller towns and rural locations over the busier cities and larger attractions. Faversham is a quaint, medieval, creekside town, set in the heart of the Garden of England and within an hour's journey from London and is the perfect town for a short break. It is well positioned for visiting Whitstable and Canterbury too.
The pretty town centre features a great selection of independent shops and cafes along with Faversham's very popular Charter Market. This operates on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays in the Market Place, selling a range of local produce, household items, plants, collectibles and other interesting bits and pieces. In addition, Faversham Antiques & Vintage Market is held on the first Sunday of every month selling vintage, antiques, bric-a-brac, jewellery, clothing and art.
In addition to its lovely old buildings, picturesque market square and charming Creek, many of Faversham's attractions are open for businesses and making sure they are safe for visitors.
Plan your visit to the National Fruit Collections at Brogdale in Faversham, with acres of fruit trees laden with apples. Brogdale is a special place, set in 150 acres, it is home to over 2,200 varieties of apples along with pears, cherries, plums and quinces.
The orchards are beautiful, bursting with fruit trees and humming with local wildlife. The Collections are enjoyed every year by thousands of visitors learning about fruit varieties and how they are grown and cared for.
Brogdale Collections has organised a number of initiatives to help visitors access and enjoy the orchards, including:
- Heritage Open Days: a rare opportunity for visitors to harvest their own heritage fruit along with fruit activities, trails, tastings and talks from guides.
- Orchard Walks (daily): anyone with a Brogdale Orchard Pass can book a slot to enjoy a self-guided walk among the orchards with fruit tastings and help from knowledgeable guides.
- Heritage Orchard Juicing Days: Something for the kids to enjoy in half term, they can have great fun harvesting their own fruit and mushing them through the juicing machines.
Brogdale works closely with some other popular Faversham businesses who sell their unique range of heritage fruits. Tiddly Pomme at Brogdale Farm sells a good stock of heritage fruit along with other fruit-related produce including its own artisan cider. The Courtyard Restaurant and Coffee is a good place to refresh on your visit. Macknade Fine Foods is an extremely popular food hall, farm shop and delicatessen in Faversham selling international and local produce and regularly stocks Brogdale's heritage fruits. Sondes Tea Room in Selling also specialises in stocking local produce including Brogdale's fruit, honey and fruit juices.
Other attractions not to miss on a trip to Faversham include a number of historic houses with beautiful grounds, such as:
- Belmont House with its neo-classical architecture and stunning flower and kitchen gardens.
- Doddington Place Gardens, set in beautiful woods including sunken and rock gardens.
- Mount Ephraim featuring ten acres of Edwardian charming gardens to explore.
Other popular places to visit include the award-winning Oare Gunpowder works country park, an attractive nature reserve packed with crumbling walls, streams, lakes and wooden walkways for children to explore. Huckleberry Woods, which offers extremely cute walks with micro pigs, sheep and donkeys. Creek Creative which is home to many of the region's artists whose art can be bought in the shop and holds regular exhibitions in its gallery café. Not forgetting Standard Quay with its medieval warehouses boasting a great selection of places to eat and shop. You'll always find some fascinating old barges and boats moored there too and it's a great base for a Creekside walk, download Discovering Britain's Boats Bangs Bricks and Beer - a free self guided walk from Faversham.
Anyone wishing to visit Faversham has some lovely options for places to stay.
Judd's Folly Hotel, located in Syndale Park, just outside Faversham, is a good option. For anyone wishing to stay in the centre of town, the Sun Inn has lovely old rooms full of charm. For those wishing to enjoy the culinary delights of Faversham, Read's is a great place to try some of Kent's best food and they also offer beautiful rooms upstairs in their Georgian house. An exciting new venture called The Quay, is about to open its doors, based near the Creek it has completed a refurbishment and will include a hotel, restaurant and bar.
In addition, for those who enjoy a tipple, there's a selection of first-class bars and pubs in Faversham including Vino's selling wine; Castella's serving French beverages and Furlong's micropub selling local ales and beers, along with more traditional pubs serving delicious food and drink such as The Bear Inn, The Anchor and The Limes.
For anyone interested in great local produce, beautiful outdoor spaces, history, shopping, eating, drinking and walking (food trails) – Faversham is the perfect place to spend a happy, peaceful and safe couple of days.