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Kent Leasing

Did You Know?

The world’s oldest horse fossil was found at Studd Hill, Herne Bay, Kent in 1838 and has recently been dated as 54 million years old, giving Herne Bay the special privilege of being considered the official birthplace of the horse.

Kent is home to one of only three ‘Royal’ towns in the UK. Royal Tunbridge Wells was granted its official regal title in 1909 after Edward VII granted the prefix in special recognition of the town’s connections with the royal family since the Stuart dynasty.

John Buchan wrote The 39 Steps while bedridden in Kent. Suffering from stomach ulcers, he wrote his famed novel to distract himself from the excruciating pain. He even took inspiration from the nearby North Foreland and the 78 steps from the villa to the beach.

 Comedy giants Laurel and Hardy opened The Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway in 1947. The line showcases some of Kent’s most breathtaking scenery including the picturesque Cinque Port of Hythe, continuing along to the fishermen’s cottages and lighthouses at Dungeness.

Britain’s only officially recognised desert is located at Dungeness, the shingle beach at the southernmost point in Kent. Visitors to this unique British spot can expect to see beautifully bare shingle, gravel and shell landscapes which attract rare breeds such as the Spoonbill.

 Kent’s iconic title as the Garden of England dates back 400 years. Henry VIII allegedly once sampled a bowl of cherries produced in Kent and was so delighted with the flavour that the county became known as the Garden of England.

Kent is the proud supplier of Wimbledon’s famed strawberries. Each juicy red berry must be between 25mm-45mm in diameter, fully red all over and without even the hint of a defect. Love all.

Kent is home to the world’s first audio sweet shop. Sweet Sol, in Herne Bay, is the first of its kind and has a recording studio, gluten-free, sugar-free and normal sweets, healthy juices and even healthy workshops.

Kent is ideally situated for many swashbuckling stories of pirates and smugglers. For example, it is said that the Walnut Tree Inn at Romney Marsh was the headquarters of the infamous Aldington Gang, a band of smugglers roaming the marshes and shores of Kent.

Biddenden Vineyards, established in 1969, is Kent’s oldest commercial vineyard. The vineyards have grown from little more than a third of an acre to 24 acres today. The Barnes family produces 80,000 bottles per year and all vine work on the estate is still carried out by hand.

The first railway line was opened in Kent. The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, fondly known as the Crab and Winkle Line, was an early British railway that opened in 1830 between Canterbury and Whitstable and was even visited by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.