Folkestone

Folkestone (pronounced: FOKE-stun) is a town on the Kent coast, in the South East of England. It is known for its artworks around the town and good beaches.

Understand
Folkestone is a member of the Cinque Ports, having been incorporated as a Corporate Limb of Dover. In 1629 the local inhabitants obtained a licence to build a port, prior to which, fishing boats were entirely reliant upon the natural protection of the natural harbour formed by the Pent Stream.

At the end of the 18th century the city became prosperous because of an increase in the fishing and shipping industries and, in the middle of the 19th century, Folkestone was one of the chief resorts of southern England, aided by the construction of the railway line from London. Numerous Victorian Hotels, including "The Grand" and "Metropole" are testament to this, together with no less than three railway stations.

Since the 1950s it has fallen into decline due in part to competition from Dover, the advent of the Channel Tunnel (with many new jobs in the area because of it convening in Ashford) and the ubiquitous package holiday. However along with Kent's other seaside towns, it has seen some cultural regeneration in the 2010s including the Triennial arts festival.

Sandgate is a village at the west end of the town which has a popular beach.

Visitor information

 * Visit Folkestone website

By car
The M20 links Folkestone with Ashford, the A259 runs south along the coast to Hastings and the A20 heads up the coast to Dover.

From within the UK
is in the town centre and is served by trains from London St Pancras and London Bridge, as well as other towns in Kent. Fare and timetable information is available from Southeastern, tel. +44 8457 484950.

By bus
Stagecoach is the bus company that operates in Folkestone. Timetables and fares are available from Stagecoach Buy your ticket from the driver when you board the bus. A £9.50 Mega rider plus ticket gives you unlimited travel within the Folkestone area for a week

See








The Leas
South-west of the town centre, or if coming from the harbour, west up Marine Parade, is a clifftop coastal promenade along which you can stroll for about a mile. It's wide and flat, with some landscaping, a bandstand and a number of impressive old hotels. You're high enough to get some superb sea views, and for sure high enough to get buffeted by the Channel winds on blustery days! But on a calm, pleasant evening, there are few better places in Kent to catch a sunset.

There are several different attractions alongside the prom:

Recommended itinerary
There's nothing better than on a warm sunny weekend day in summer than to spend a morning browsing shops in the town centre, take a walk down the Old High Street into the artist's quarter, spill out into the harbour - get some locally caught fish and chips or some wonderful locally-caught seafood from the harbour stalls and then walk to the right, around the shore to the coastal park, stop by and listen to great live music in the amphitheatre, walk up the Zig-Zag path or take the Victorian lift up to the relaxing Leas promenade for some fantastic panoramic views of the coastline, pop into the Grand or Metropole for a refreshing drink in sophisticated surroundings and look at some artwork. In the evening, visit any of the restaurants in the town or nearby Sandgate and catch a show at the Leas Cliff Hall or in the more intimate Silver Screen Cinema in the town centre (next to Waterstone's bookshop).

Buy
At the turn of the century, many of the larger chains departed Folkestone for Ashford, being a much larger town and having superior rail connections to London and the continent. But, thanks to the efforts of a visionary charity, Folkestone's retail offering hasn't died; far from it. Creative Folkestone bought up much of the land in the centre and brightened up tired old buildings with vivid colour. The organisation actively encourages artists and craftspeople to relocate their businesses here and, crucially, keeps rents affordable. All this has seen the old town centre transformed into the Creative Quarter; there are around 50 independently-run shops, plus art studios, buzzing cafés and office space for the creative economy. The quarter's focus is the pedestrianised and the more modern, which both descend towards the sea and meet just shy of the harbour.

Eat
There are a number of cafes in Folkestone, particularly at the top of the Old High Street. Country pubs nearby:

Go next
Folkestone has easy access to a number of areas:


 * Canterbury – the famous pilgrims' cathedral housing Thomas à Becket's remains, a museum celebrating Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, a number of Roman things, as well as some decent shops and cafes
 * Dover – the remains of a Roman villa, and the white cliffs experience museum
 * Hythe – small town with ornamental canal, Port Lympne Wild Animal Park and access to the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch ultra-narrowgauge railway
 * France – zip across the channel to Calais