KENTSTAYCATION
Kent by Moolight cont... eat and drink as the evening carries on. For somewhere to stay, Rocksalt Rooms offers four boutique boltholes and an easy, very comfortable overnight option.
HARBOUR TOWNS: FOOD, DRINK & ART COMBINED
Kent’ s harbour towns come into their own after dark, and a moonlit soiree is the perfect way to see in the summer solstice. Start with a walk along Margate Beach as the sun begins to dip, then head to Buoy and Oyster for dinner and cocktails, where seafood and a view over the sea set the scene. Just along the coast, Kingsgate Bay offers a more secluded alternative, its sandy cove tucked between chalk cliffs that hold onto the day’ s warmth. As evening slips into night, the crowds thin quickly, leaving only the sound of the tide and the soft afterglow of the solstice sky fading above the bay. From there, make your way to the Turner Contemporary, which hosts regular late events, from talks and performances to terrace sessions with live music and dancing, drawing people out well into the night.
For somewhere to stay, No. 42 Margate by GuestHouse is hard to beat. Rooms look straight out to sea and, on warmer nights, you can open the windows and hear the tide moving in and out long after dark. For a change of pace, Ramsgate Marina feels at its best in the evening, with boats gently shifting in the harbour and lights reflecting across the water. Book a table at Porto Reale on Harbour Parade, where traditional Neapolitan dishes are served with warmth and simplicity, and settle in overlooking the marina as the evening unfolds.
After dinner, head up to NOA Rooftop for a handcrafted cocktail. From above, you can look straight out over the marina, with the harbour lit below, listening to glasses clinking and music carrying across the rooftops as the night settles in- exactly what a summer’ s evening should look like.
HERITAGE AFTER HOURS: THEATRE, GARDENS & TWILIGHT VISITS
Kent’ s historic sites offer the perfect backdrop for the evening as we welcome the longer days. Evening events are becoming more common, allowing visitors the chance to experience these places in a different light as the crowds thin.
Hever Castle’ s Festival Theatre is a standout. Set within the grounds of Anne Boleyn’ s childhood home, its open-air stage hosts everything from Shakespeare and comedy to live music and family performances. In the covered Two Sisters’ Theatre, you can sit beneath a transparent roof, watching the stars both on stage and above you as the sky darkens overhead.
Chiddingstone Castle and Penshurst Place are also leaning into after-hours programming, with outdoor theatre, evening talks and seasonal events that make the most of their historic settings once the daytime crowds have gone. At Penshurst Place, British Touring Shakespeare performances unfold on the South Lawn overlooking the Elizabethan Italian Garden, with audiences invited to arrive early for private evening access to the grounds before curtain-up at 7pm. Picnics, folding chairs and sunset garden walks are all part of the experience, turning the estate into something closer to an alfresco summer gathering than a traditional theatre trip.
© Chris Cork © Tourism Thanet District Council
KINGSGATE BAY
TURNER CONTEMPORARY
Chiddingstone Castle also forms part of the wider Hever Festival programme, hosting theatre, music and seasonal events across its lakeside grounds and courtyards during the summer months. Together, they reflect a growing appetite for heritage venues that feel less formal after dark, when illuminated pathways, open-air performances and the shift from daytime energy to evening calm give these historic spaces an entirely different atmosphere.
THE FESTIVAL THEATRE AT HEVER CASTLE
48 • www. insidekent. co. uk