Latest news with #Folkestone
BBC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Wuthering Heights Day in Folkestone aims to spread joy
Over 1,000 people are expected to flock to Folkestone on Sunday for an annual dance tribute to Kate The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever, events across the UK see people wear wigs and red dresses to recreate the iconic music video for the 1978 hit Wuthering Cotton, one of the organisers, previously told BBC Radio Kent it was "something that everybody really enjoys."Dances have been scheduled at midday and 16:00 BST on The Harbour Arm. 'Glastonbury meets flash mob' The Folkestone event, now in its fifth year, is part of a global phenomenon inspired by a world record attempt from Brighton-based dance troupe Shambush! in 2013.A spokesperson from the Folkestone version, which began in 2018, has described it as "Glastonbury meets flash mob meets cult classic fandom"."When it came back after Covid, people really got involved and I think it was just the experience of doing something with a huge group of people - everybody enjoying the same moment together - that was really powerful," Mr Cotton have made an instructional dance video and are encouraging participants to learn it in song from Kate Bush, who grew up in Kent, was based on the novel of the same name by Emily Brontë, first published in 1847 under her pen name Ellis Bell.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
The scenic coastal Kent campsite with 'breathtaking' views of France
Just a drive away from south east London in Folkestone, you'll find a campsite offering incredible views of the Kent coastline and "breathtaking" views of France with pitches starting from £8. With the six-week summer holiday fast approaching, you may be considering where to staycation around the UK this summer. Located just 10 minutes' drive from the main hustle and bustle of Folkestone – a popular Kent coastal town known for its foodie spots and stretches of beaches – Little Switzerland Caravan and Camping Site is well suited for those looking to enjoy scenic views of Kent. Little Switzerland Caravan and Camping Site is well suited for those looking to enjoy scenic views of Kent. (Image: Pitchup) This family run campsite is situated within The Warren Country Park and nestled within Kent's iconic stretch of the white cliffs, with views of France on a clear day. One reviewer described the views as 'breathtaking', whilst another praised the campsite for its 'secluded pitches' and 'adventurous walks', with The Battle of Britain Monument and Folkestone Downs being within a short walk of the campsite. Opening to campers and caravanners between March and October, the campsite offers a wide selection of camping options for tents, trailers and caravans with electric hook-ups, and laundry and bathroom facilities onsite. The campsite offers a wide selection of camping options for tents, trailers and caravans with electric hook-ups. (Image: Pitchup) If you'd prefer not to cook, the campsite also has a bar and restaurant with views overlooking the English Channel, where you can stop off for breakfast, lunch or a slice of cake after a walk. But if you fancy the walk or drive, Folkestone offers a plethora of places to eat in its popular Folkestone Market, where you'll find everything from street food vendors to indie restaurants housed within former sea containers. If you want to travel further afield, you can easily hop on the Channel Tunnel from Folkestone if you feel like exploring a bit of France.
The Guardian
5 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Mutant seabirds, sewer secrets and a lick of art ice-cream: Folkestone Triennial review
Folkestone doesn't have a pier. It has an Arm. That's what the harbour's long walkway into the Channel is called. It is a suitably surreal, even grotesque setting for the Folkestone Triennial artworks that infest its salty nooks and crannies – or armpits and elbow crooks. Laure Prouvost has placed a mutant seabird, with three heads and an electric plug on its tail, on the adjacent concrete stump of the defunct ferry terminal. Surprising? Not really if you have just visited The Ministry of Sewers, an installation by Cooking Sections that documents and protests the poisoning of our rivers and seas. There's nothing like an exhibit on the scale of Britain's water pollution to kick off a day at the seaside. It's cloudy when I visit, the cliffs and sea swathed in white mist and the water under the Arm looking like a detergent soup. It all adds to the uncanny mood. And art doesn't come much more uncanny than the sculpture by Dorothy Cross near the far end of the Arm. You have to go down soaking wet, concrete steps to a recess with a precipitous opening to the evil-looking sea. 'Try not to fall in,' says the attendant, who stays up above. Here you find a massive block of blood-coloured marble, as if a giant tuna steak had been stashed here by fish smugglers. The sides are smooth, the top uneven and rough. Out of this earthy hulk Cross has carved several pairs of feet in hyperrealistic detail, nervously walking its beach-like surface. They face out to sea, as if about to make a bold leap into the blue-green water, to find a better life. Cross has made a monument to migrants. The marble she has used is from Syria, the feet pattering over it full of fear and hope. These lifelike appendages and the surface on which they stand echo Magritte's surrealist 1934 painting The Red Model, of disembodied feet on red ground, while her use of massive, raw stone to suggest infinite sorrow - the weight of the world - shows she understands Michelangelo. This is a superb sculpture, brilliantly sited. It would be worth visiting Folkestone just to see it. But there's more – if you fancy a walk. Up above the cliffs, on steep green downs guarded by Martello towers built to fend off invasion during the Napoleonic wars, are a string of thoughtful, often witty artworks. A monolith that looks as if it were made from glue and plastic stands alone on a mowed hill, facing the sea. Approaching, you read the words 'Curse dissolved'. That's heartening. The brochure describes this piece by South African artist Dineo Seshee Raisibe Bopape as 'meditative' but it made me laugh. What is the curse? Who lifted it? I chew on this as I climb to a white circular tower inside which Katie Paterson also plays with magic. Paterson shows, on curving display tables inside the round room where red-coated soldiers once lived, a collection of mystic charms from different times and places. There are images of ancient Egyptian gods, Buddhist amulets and a tiny figure of the Mesopotamian demon Pazuzu who features in The Exorcist. Each replica is cast in materials that bear witness to planetary crisis, including space debris from satellites and plastic from the Mariana trench. Paterson has a track record of working with scientists to get her hands on such exotic materials. Her installation is a more refined version of the Ministry of Sewers, a sly way to show us that we are turning everything to crap. These amulets are bluntly satirical. They seem to mock the magical thinking of those who would wish away the Earth's crisis. If you head on to the next Martello tower you might be momentarily cheered up by Jennifer Tee's wavy picture of a giant kelp, mapped in the grass in brown bricks which also have sea kelp and other life forms imprinted on their surfaces. It makes you look out to the sea below and imagine the threatened life it holds. There are jollities to be found in this seaside art trail – for the kids, Monster Chetwynd has started building an adventure playground, and down in the harbour you can get Emeka Ogboh's 'artist designed ice-cream'. But then I find huge burial urns littered in the high moorland overlooking the misty Channel. Sara Trillo has modelled these deathly objects on bronze age grave goods. They return you to melancholy: the view from here is as bleak as it is beautiful. Folkestone Triennial opens on 19 July
Glasgow Times
15-07-2025
- Glasgow Times
The beautiful Scottish town where a 'food revolution' is underway
North Berwick in East Lothian, which has been praised for its great number of quality eateries, was named alongside places like Folkestone in Kent and Stockbridge in Edinburgh. Located a half-hour train ride from Scotland's capital, it has long been a popular spot for travelling foodies. Now the town, which was recently named a culinary hotspot by National Geographic, has featured in a new list of the best small towns every foodie needs to visit. See why North Berwick is one of the best small towns in the UK for food lovers Discussing the well-known seaside town in Scotland, Olive said there is a "food revolution" taking place in North Berwick. Highlighting what makes the Scottish location so great, the publication praised Steampunk Coffee Roasters and the Bostock Bakery for their wonderful pastries and flat whites. The croissants at the latter are apparently so good that NOMA's René Redzepi sent his pastry chef from Copenhagen to learn from The Bostock's Ross Baxter. Because of its coastal location, the town has plenty of seafood options to enjoy as well, including the famous Lobster Shack. The "seasonal operation" on the harbour gets its catch from the Firth of Forth Lobster Hatchery between Easter and October. Recommended Reading: The lobster and crab bisque here has been described as "exceptional", while many have commended the spot for its views out to sea. For those looking to enjoy an amazing cuppa after a "blustery and beautiful" walk, they can make their way to a shipping container turned coffee shop called DRIFT. Perched on an outcrop above Canty Bay, the dining spot is popular for its bacon and egg sandwich with herby aioli.
The National
15-07-2025
- The National
Scotland's North Berwick is one of the UK's top foodie towns
North Berwick in East Lothian, which has been praised for its great number of quality eateries, was named alongside places like Folkestone in Kent and Stockbridge in Edinburgh. Located a half-hour train ride from Scotland's capital, it has long been a popular spot for travelling foodies. Now the town, which was recently named a culinary hotspot by National Geographic, has featured in a new list of the best small towns every foodie needs to visit. See why North Berwick is one of the best small towns in the UK for food lovers Discussing the well-known seaside town in Scotland, Olive said there is a "food revolution" taking place in North Berwick. Highlighting what makes the Scottish location so great, the publication praised Steampunk Coffee Roasters and the Bostock Bakery for their wonderful pastries and flat whites. The croissants at the latter are apparently so good that NOMA's René Redzepi sent his pastry chef from Copenhagen to learn from The Bostock's Ross Baxter. Because of its coastal location, the town has plenty of seafood options to enjoy as well, including the famous Lobster Shack. The "seasonal operation" on the harbour gets its catch from the Firth of Forth Lobster Hatchery between Easter and October. Recommended Reading: The lobster and crab bisque here has been described as "exceptional", while many have commended the spot for its views out to sea. For those looking to enjoy an amazing cuppa after a "blustery and beautiful" walk, they can make their way to a shipping container turned coffee shop called DRIFT. Perched on an outcrop above Canty Bay, the dining spot is popular for its bacon and egg sandwich with herby aioli.
