DAYSOUT
Sundowners and Summer Nights! cont...
LATE NIGHTS AMONG THE VINES
The rise in vineyards across the county pairs summer evenings with award-winning wine, setting the scene for a serene environment where you can be surrounded by luscious vines while relishing a delicious sundowner.
Begin your evening with a stroll through Hucking Estate( woodlandtrust. org. uk), which is set in the Kent Downs. The Hucking Estate boasts a wealth of wildlife alongside picturesque views across the countryside. Choose between two waymarked trails, consisting of the shorter, one-mile blue circular route or the longer red route, which takes around 90 minutes. Along the walk, you may see one of the 10 threatened bird species or one of the 21 species of butterfly in the woodland including the elusive Marbled White.
After a wander through the Kent Downs, a short eight-minute drive will lead you to the quaint village of Hollingbourne, which is home to Penn Oast Vineyard( pennoastvineyard. co. uk). Set on an eightacre plot, the Davis family have been running the vineyard since 2022, always making sure to put wildlife first. Resultantly, the vineyard is home to a number of insects, butterflies, wild brown hares and birds of prey which reside around the vines.
Hosting four open days across August, starting on Saturday 1 August, with food served from 5pm, you can indulge in the Defender of the Taste experience, showcasing homemade pizza cooked in a traditional wood-fired oven and paired with a perfect sundowner- a glass of Penn Oast Vineyard sparkling or still wine.
Open days will also run on Saturday 8, Sunday 30 and Monday 31 August, with delicious food from Curbside Chef, who’ ll be serving loaded fries and gyros alongside artisan pizzas from Joe’ s Dough.
Heading across the county to Sevenoaks, a summer evening can be spent at The Mount Vineyard( themountvineyard. co. uk), a hidden vineyard nestled in the Darrent Valley. Starting at 4.30pm, the evening can begin with wine tasting and a bespoke tour of the vineyard where you can explore the grounds while sipping on the vineyard’ s award-winning wine and learning about the process of vinification from vine to glass.
Later in the evening, make your way to the Courtyard Bar and Restaurant which serves British produce with small batches of cheese including Barber’ s Cheddar- the world’ s oldest cheddar maker from Somerset- and Blacksticks Blue from Lancashire. Alongside stone-baked pizzas and sharing platters to complement the comprehensive wine menu, which extends beyond homegrown to international award-winning wines, this makes for the perfect evening sundowner.
PENN OAST VINEYARD
THE MOUNT VINEYARD
www. insidekent. co. uk • 61