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Discover Folkestone, Kent

Folkestone HarbourFolkestone Harbour: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Folkestone_harbour_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1566436.jpg
Author: stephen watt
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Folkestone is the main town in Shepway District, on the eastern part of Kent, England. A seaside resort, it has the nearest stretch of sandy beaches from North London. The population of Folkestone is now around 45,000 people (2012 estimate).

Folkestone is believed to have been established after the Norman Conquest. The Barony of Folkestone was held by a Norman knight. In the early times, Folkestone was a small fishing village with developed into a town by the beginning of the Tudor period. As with many coastal towns in England, Folkestone depended on smuggling for its income, particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Until the 19th century, Folkestone was just a small fishing village. Then the railway arrived followed by the construction of the ferry port. These helped Folkestone industrialize Folkestone. However its industries suffered a sharp decline afrter the Second World War, and it turned to tourism, reinventing itself as a seaside resort.

Marine Crescent, FolkestoneMarine Crescent, Folkestone: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1-14_Marine_Crescent,_Folkestone,_Kent_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1326711.jpg
Author: Oast House Archive
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Visiting Folkestone

Folkestone is located at the end of the M20 motorway which connects it to London.

Places of Interest in Folkestone


  1. Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne: Monument to aircrew who flew in the Battle of Britain.

  2. Brockhill Country Park: Country park in Saltwood, near Hythe in Kent.

  3. Folkestone Harbour: The main attraction of Folkestone, the location of shops.

  4. Folkestone White Horse: Modern figure of a horse carved into Cheriton Hill, and visible to passengers emerging from the Channel Tunnel. It was completed in June, 2003.

  5. Kent Battle of Britain Museum: Museum housed in the former RAF Hawkinge airfield, 4 miles inland from Folkestone, providing information on the Battle of Britain in World War II.

  6. Martello Tower: Small defensive fort built in 1806 as fortification against attack during the Napoleonic Wars.

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About this website



Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.

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