A Little Kentish Magic

Seeking out little moments of magic amidst the humdrum of every day life.

kent

  • A – Z of Kent: Aylesham

    “Hey,” my daughter messaged me one day. “How about doing a blog series called the A – Z of Kent? We can work our way through the alphabet, visiting towns and villages beginning with each letter.” Of course I loved the idea and couldn’t wait to begin. We decided that our destinations would be picked… Read more

  • The Darent Valley Path From Shoreham to Eynsford (The Walk That Keeps On Giving!)

    We have a lot of books of walks, and are constantly discovering new ones online, but it is very easy to fall into a routine of the same familiar favourites – especially when we are reliant on public transport, so travelling a bit further afield can sometimes seem a bit of an effort. Whenever we… Read more

  • A Week Of National Days

    My stress and anxiety has been running high just lately, and in a bid to find something to focus on, and following the success of our Sussex Day celebration, I decided that it would be fun to spend a whole week celebrating random National Days. If you look online there are National Days for absolutely… Read more

  • Kent Coast Walk Part 10: Ramsgate to Broadstairs

    I have always been very attached to Ramsgate, maybe because it is somehow rooted in my DNA. My maternal great grandparents used to holiday in the town every summer, travelling from their Lambeth home with their six sons (one of whom was my grandfather), on the steamer from London Bridge. The steamer would stop at… Read more

  • A Wander In The Woods

    During their very short blooming season, I like to take every opportunity I can to walk where there are bluebells. I can’t get enough of them, and a swathe of that glorious bluey/violet makes me quite giddy with happiness. This year, my son and daughter in law took me on a trip to Hole Park… Read more

  • Celebrating May Day

    May festivities were first recorded during the Roman period, when the Festival of Flora (the goddess of flowers, fertility and spring) took place. Later, in the Gaelic world, a Pagan festival known as Beltane was held on 1st May, and people would light bonfires and decorate their houses with flowers, and later still, May Day… Read more

  • A Perfect Easter Walk: Ham Street Circular

    Bluebells are my absolute favourite flower. I would even go so far as to say that I am obsessed with them. We have a few glades of bluebells near us that I try and visit as often as possible during the short bluebell season, but after discovering several years ago that Hamstreet Woods has some… Read more

  • Kent Coast Walk Part 9: Pegwell Bay to Ramsgate

    I caught the train back to Thanet Parkway to finish off what, in ideal circumstances I should have managed to achieve in one go. I was the only person alighting, and in about 15 minutes, I was back on the coast. The first thing that I saw was the sand banks at the mouth of… Read more

  • Kent Coast Walk Part 8: Sandwich to Pegwell Bay

    This is the part of the Kent Coast Walk that I have been dreading, knowing as I do that it involves not just a significant amount of rood walking that’s well away from the coast (because of a river and a nature reserve), but also a section along a very busy road. I was keen… Read more

  • February Coffee Shops

    I have finally accepted that January is my lowest energy month, and instead of fighting it, have tried to embrace it by giving myself permission to stay inside in the warm and pursuing my more sedentary hobbies. As February progressed however, I was ready to slowly start coming out of hibernation mode, although the month… Read more