This blog is dedicated to the wonderful town of Tunbridge Wells
23-11-2011
holiday update at last...
I finally found the time for an update of our blog...
First of all I want to tell you something about our last summer holiday which was last July.
We left rainy Belgium to arrive in sunny Tunbridge Wells on July 18. There was a difference of about 10° Celsius! After the usual warm welcome by our lovely landlady Sarah we unpacked and got ourselves ready for another excellent 2 weeks.
Our first day started off at Royal Victoria Place to do our usual shopping. On Tuesday we visited Tonbridge city center and the leisure center where our kids had lots of fun. The weather was truly excellent and we sat in the sun for a couple of hours. Wednesday we went to visit Maidstone, which was most entertaining. This is a really lovely town with great shops and restaurants. That same night we also went to visit our friends at the Crowborough Petanque Club. On Thursday the 21st of July we took life the easy way. We did some shopping at the CEX store on Camden Road, had an excellent meal at the Ragged Trousers and took a nice long walk at the Pantiles. On Friday we treated ourselves to a daytrip to Brighton. We had a marvellous day again and enjoyed Brighton in any which way.
One of the highlights of our summer holiday was on Saturday. We visited Hever Castle and the whole family had a wonderful day. Our son Andrew had the time of his life, watching the knights in shining armour, King Henry VIII and Anna Boleyn
On Sunday we visited the farmers market at the Pantiles and afterwards we drove to Rusthall to see the final day of the Courier Cup. We met up with the other fans from the Tunbridge Wells Football Club and cheered our boys to the victory. Well done you Wells, it was a stunning victory!
Our next daytrip took us to Canterbury. Again we had a very entertaining day and the whole family had great fun all day long. On the second Tuesday of our stay we stayed at Manor Court Farm to... well... just relax a bit. Our holidays are always full of activities and it is always great fun but every once in a while we need a bit of rest and Manor Court Farm is perfect for that
On Wednesday we visited several places in the Tunbridge Wells town center. We went again to RVP, had a great lunch at our favourite pub, The Ragged Trousers and we visited the BBC shop. After dinner at the farm we went to Crowborough to pay our friends from the petanque club another visit.
On the last complete day of our summer holiday we did our children a huge favour. They had so much fun the first week at the Tonbridge leisure ground we decided to go back. They enjoyed themselves at the playground and we had fun by just watching them. To finish this wonderful day we went to the Chafford Arms in Fordcombe to have a wonderful dinner, skillfully prepared by Jackie, the landlady.
Sadfully, on Friday 29th of July our holiday ended. We did some more shopping at Sainsbury's and had a final lunch at The Ragged Trousers. With a heart full of wonderful memories we returned back to Belgium that evening but we could already look forward to another 3 marvellous days we were going to spend in the wonderful town at the end of august!
in a few weeks time, we're heading again towards our favourite town. we take off on monday july 18 at about 2am in the morning to catch the 6am ferry in Dunkerk. we'll be staying for two weeks to spend our summer holidays in the town we love the most
what are the plans??? well, we plan to do some shopping, visit all Tunbridge Wells' delights again, see our friend from TWFC at the Courier Cup, hosted by Rusthall FC, going on a day trip to Canterbury, visit our petanque friends at the Crowborough Social Club, enjoy Manor Court Farm in all it ways and so much more...
you can read the complete story of our holiday when we come back to Belgium in August!
last friday we took off at the impossible hour of 2am towards our beloved Tunbridge Wells to celebrate our wedding anniversary. for the first time we went on a holiday without our kids and i must say it was totally different. allthough we love our children more than anything else, it doesn't hurt too much to leave them at their grandparents every once in a while
for the first time too, we were unfaithfull to P&O ferries. their prices for the Calais-Dover crossing have raisen incredibly so we chose to try DFDS seaways and did the Dunquerque-Dover crossing. we must say, it was a most entertaining experience to cross the Channel with DFDS seaways. their ships are extremely comfortable, they have all kinds of facilities P&O doesn't have and so much more.
at about 8am on friday morning we arrived in Dover harbour and we both my wife and I felt again "like we come home". we drove to Manor Court Farm where we got our usual warm welcome by our landlady Sarah. unfortunately it started raining while we were on our way from Dover to Tunbridge Wells but that couldn't spoil our good mood.
after we installed ourselves in our room, we drove to RVP to do some shopping and we bought some presents to give to eachother we had a quick lunch at the food court on RVP's ground floor and continued shopping.
we carried our bags to the car afterwards and we took a walk down Mount Pleasant Road to meet Charlie Rose (the extremely nice gentleman who did the interview on us for BBC South East Today) at the BBC Kent television studios. he was very pleased to see us and invited us to take a tour around the TV and radio studios from BBC Kent. this was a very entertaining experience, i would even dare to say a "WAAAW" experience. we also met Polly, one of the hosts of BBC South East Today. she is a most gentle person and very charming.
after we said goodbeye to Charlie and the rest of the BBC Kent crew, we went for a drink at The Ragged Trousers, our favourite pub. i took a pint of Dipper, my favourite beer from The Royal Tunbridge Wells Brewing Company and my wife just had a coke... meanwhile, we ordered a table for two for sunday lunch. we also visited the Tunbridge Wells museum that day which was most pleasant as well.
afterwards we drove to Sainsbury's to do some shopping, took off to the farm again and had a few sandwiches. so a very exciting first day came to an end and at about 8pm we already fell asleap with a big smile on our faces.
on saturday morning we woke up, washed up and enjoyed Sarah's wonderful breakfast. the weather was very good on saturday so we drove to the city centre for a nice long walk. we discovered some very nice things we had never noticed before. we took a walk at Calverley Crescent (a special thanks to Christopher Cassidy and his wonderful website for this!) and discovered more beautiful spots at Calverley Grounds as well. we had the best times ever!
after taking a quick lunch we took off to Culverden Stadium where our friends from the Tunbridge Wells Football Club were waiting for us. as usual, we had a real good time at Culverden and Phill, the club's secretary even made an announcement for our wedding anniversary for the whole stadium! (in dutch!!!) unfortunately the result of the game wasn't as bright as the weather but we keep supporting this great local team anyway.
on saturday night we treated ourselves to a fantastic dinner at the Chafford Arms pub. tired but delighted about the wonderful day we had, we returned to Manor Court Farm and went to sleep, again with a big smile on our faces
as we woke up on sunday morning, the sun was there already and again we enjoyed Sarah's breakfast. unfortunately we had to pack our bags on that day, the most unpleasant thing to do when you're in Tunbridge Wells... we said goodbeye to Sarah, said goodbeye to all the farm animals and took off towards Sainsbury's to get some groceries to take along to Belgium.
the sun guided us towards The Pantiles where we took a nice and calm walk at, regarding to us, one of the most beautiful places on earth. at about midday we headed towards The Ragged Trousers for our Sunday lunch, superbly prepared as usual by masterchef Sebastien.
and so the time for "bye and see you soon" had arrived again we drove towards Dover to catch te 4pm ferry and after a nice trip (thanks DFDS seaways!) we arrived in Dunquerque.
with our minds and hearts full of great memories we drove back to Vilvoorde and we already look forward to our next trip to our beloved and precious Tunbridge Wells!
last weekend we had an excellent trip to our beloved town together with some friends of us (david and mandy) from belgium we took along to discover the wonderful town Tunbridge Wells. it was most enjoyable and we had a great time as usual. thx everyone for making it a great weekend again !
During the last couple of years, we made a lot of new friends inTunbridgeWells. I would be ashamed to not dedicate a little word to them
First of all there is Sarah from Manor Court Farm who is a real friend to us. We have complete trust in her and we really think she's a wonderful person who deserves all credit for everything she does.
And then of course there are the people from the Tunbridge Wells Football Club. There is Dave, Phill and Wynette, Joe, Darrell, Heather and John and many more. Those wonderful people give their heart and soul for the club and we have a real great liking for them. They make us feel really welcome every time we come over to see a game and they have all our respect and friendship, they're worth it!
Many credits as well for the staff from The Ragged Trousers pub at The Pantiles. This is no ordinary pub for us, it's so much more because of their kindness and the hospitality they show towards us.
THX EVERYONE FOR MAKING US FEEL WELCOME IN THE WONDERFUL TOWN OF TUNBRIDGE WELLS !!!
At home playing centre half or left back, Steve initially came through one of the former Tunbridge Wells Youth teams before moving across to Tonbridge Angels and then Rusthall. He linked up with The Wells again in pre-season 2009/10. Now well established in the Tunbridge Wells defence.
Defender and Captain, Bourney is a seasoned campaigner and played in the Southern League for Great Wakering Rovers before re-joining the club for the second time when Martin Farnie returned. Fierce competitor Jason is popular with The Wells faithful and captains the side.
Now in his third spell with the club, Andy has returned to The Wells following a short spell in the Ryman League with neigbouring Crowborough. He is a 'strong voice' in training and on match days.
Stepped up from the Kent County League in a bid to further his career with The Wells. Scored plenty of goals for Tonbridge Invicta, and ticks the boxes of young, local, talented and hungry to improve.
Michal returned to The Wells in Season 2008/09 from stints at Tonbridge Angels and Redhill. A big strong keeper, he left the club as a reserve keeper and has returned as the No 1. A key member of the squad.
Tom has an exceptional youth record, including playing for England Schoolboys - and with Ryman league experience he was brought in to add further quality to the side. A left footed player with great passing ability.
Hailing from Northern Ireland, Andy has moved from the midlands into the area with work during pre-season 2009/10. He impressed with his attitude in pre-season and offers width to the midfield. He has quickly become an integral part of the team.
Midfielder Sam came through the youth ranks at Tunbridge Wells and played in the reserves at Sevenoaks Town before the Wells re-signed him.
His energy and non-stop running has kept him in the first team. An enthusiastic player - Sam picked up recognition for a particularly good season in 2007/08 netting the Supporter's and Manager's Player of the Year award.
Joined the U18s from Tonbridge Angels and was the U18s player-of-the-year for 2007/08. A midfield player with the U18s, Jon has stepped up to the reserves and played as a striker. What a conversion - he was the Kent League Division 2 top scorer in 2008/09. Moved into the first team set up this year, and continues to score goals.
Tunbridge Wells native Alex is proof of the Wells youth policy bearing fruit. Not only did he come through the youth team ranks but up through the reserves before making his mark in the first team squad.
A pacy left sided winger/Midfielder, Alex played for Tonbridge Angels and Crowborough Athletic in the Ryman League between stints at The Wells - who he rejoined for a third time in pre-season 2009/10.
Vastly experienced utility-man, who's career has included time in the professional game. A great passer of the ball, who displays great vision and often simple but effective execution. This year Brad becomes assistant manager, while remaining available to play if needs be.
Belgium is world famous for its beers. You got Leffe, Duvel, Chimay and much more. But again I'm not really into belgian beers, probably most of the world will say i'm nuts but i prefer the english real ales and lagers. My absolute favourites are the beers made by the Wychwood Brewery. Their ales are outstanding, their bottles and labels are unique collectables. An excellent number 2 are the beers from the Tunbridge Wells Brewing Company. They're great local beers with an excellent taste, i just love them all To go commercial, i would pick Carling lager for it's refreshing taste.
Untill now we posted lots of positive items about our beloved town. Nevertheless we miss some things that used to be part of the town... First of all i want to mention "A day at the Wells". Back in the ninetees, when i first visited Tunbridge Wells for a couple of times, there was this lovely museum "A day at the Wells". It used to be where nowadays you can now find The Corn Exchange shops and tearoom. I told my wife about this exhibition and Beau Nash but unfortunately it was gone by the time we re-discovered Tunbridge Wells. After asking around a bit, i was told that the town council just got rid of it. What a shame! I tried google to find some pictures on the exhibition but that didn't give many results... If anyone has pictures or footage about "A day at the Wells", please feel free to contact us through this blog.
Two others things we miss are Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Pizza Hut who both used to be at Mount Pleasant Road. In January 2009 GBK was still there and we enjoyed every bit of it. On our next trip in April 2009 it was already gone. Same story with Pizza Hut. In july 2009 it was still there, in november 2009 it was gone as well.
It's a bit sad that these restaurants have dissapeared as it's not always easy to find a place to eat with 3 children...
This blog wouldn't be complete without a word about Manor Court Farm. Manor Court Farm is a B&B and campsite on a lovely farm in Ashurst near Tunbridge Wells where we feel "at home". When we're in Tunbridge Wells, we always stay over at this wonderful venue. The farm is owned by Julia and the landlady is Sarah. Sarah is a very warm and friendly person who serves the best breakfast in the area. She became a real friend of ours. The rooms at Manor Court Farm B&B are spacious and very clean and really good value for money. Manor Court Farm lies in a beautiful countryside and is very suitable for families with children. At the farm you can find chickens, rabbits, turkeys, birds, guinnea pigs and sheep. On the farm, you can also find Holly, an extremely friendly black labrador retriever, Kitty the farmcat and Logan, the trainee-farmcat. Sarah even allowed us to adopt one of her rabbits for our children, truffle.
as we said before, Tunbridge Wells is a wonderful place to visit and probably a great place to live as well. but during our holidays we got to know some other nice places too. first of all there is Crowborough. what we like about Crowborough? well, there is the Crowborough Social Club which includes the Crowborough Petanque Club. they've got a marvellous venue with lots of very nice "pistes". As petanque is a hobby for us too, we had a really good time last summer at the club and we got to know two very nice gentlemen, Tim Andrews and his mate Tom. We sure will be visiting them again and we will sure keep in touch with them!
last summer we visited Penshurst Place and Gardens in Penshurst. we had a lovely day out and the 5 of us saw the most beautiful things. whenever you're in the Tunbridge Wells area, Penshurst Place and Gardens is surely a must-do.
Ik ben philip dhont - cindy naudts - amy, sara, andrew
Ik ben een man en woon in vilvoorde (belgium) en mijn beroep is opvoeder.
Ik ben geboren op 23/10/1971 en ben nu dus 53 jaar jong.
Mijn hobby's zijn: tunbridge wells, football, petanque.
a belgian family with a heart for tunbridge wells
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