The Vineyards of Kent

Make your own way to Canterbury today and check in at the Broome Park Hotel (15 minutes from Canterbury station by taxi). In the evening you will meet Jonathan Ray and the rest of theparty for an introduction to the best of Kent’s produce, including a tasting of some local Kent wines and dinner featuring some of the county’s finest seasonal ingredients.

Our first day in Kent will begin at perhaps the most celebrated of its vineyards, Chapel Down, just outside Tenterden. We will enjoy a tour of the wine estate including a tasting of their award-winning still and sparkling wines, followed by lunch in Chapel Down’s excellent Swan Restaurant. In the afternoon we will travel to nearby Rye, an ancient town and member of the Cinque Ports with a fascinating history as defensive bastion and smugglers’ haven. There will be time to explore the highlights of Rye including Lamb House, the infamous Mermaid Inn and the church which offers spectacular views over the landscape. We will return to the hotel later and the evening will be free for an independent dinner either at the hotel or one of Canterbury’s excellent local restaurants

This morning we will visit Gusbourne Estate, planted with vines in 2004 and producing some of the finest English sparkling wines over the last decade. We will have a tour of the estate, which dates back to 1410, and a tasting of sparkling wines with lunch. In the afternoon we will visit Goodnestone House, a Grade II* listed palladian house, home to the Fitzwalter family with its 15 acres of wonderful gardens including a walled garden and delightful woodland area. We will then visit our third winery, Simpson’s, where experienced winemakers Charles & Ruth Simpson grow 30 hectares of Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir on the chalky soil of the Elham Valley. We will visit the winery and enjoy a tasting before returning to the hotel. This evening there will be an optional light supper at the hotel featuring fine local Kent produce, or you are free to explore Canterbury

Grapes may have gathered the headlines in recent years, but it was the humble hop which put Kent on the drinks map and there is no better guide to the history of brewing in the county than Jonathan Neame, whose family have run Britain’s oldest brewer, Shepherd Neame since 1698. After a tour and tasting at the magnificent Victorian brewery in Faversham, we will visit the splendid Macknade Food Hall, a cornucopia of local produce. We will then continue along the coast to Whitstable and nearby Margate, a seaside town which has enjoyed an extraordinary cultural renaissance in recent years. There will be time to explore the mysterious Shell Grotto, the 100-year old Dreamland Amusement Park – now reinvigorated and boasting an excellent cocktail bar – and to stroll the seafront which inspired JMW Turner and TS Eliot. The highlight will be a guided tour of the Turner Contemporary Gallery, opened in 2011, and we will conclude the day with a spectacular final dinner together at a local restaurant

Before departing this morning those who wish to may join Jonathan this morning for an optional visit to Canterbury Cathedral, the magnificent seat of the head of the Anglican Church, which was founded in 597.