Local Information

Maidstone is a thriving county town of Kent, in South East England, United Kingdom. It is located only about thirty miles from London and so visitors here enjoy making trips to Europe’s biggest city; that is when they get a chance to. While London is a great city to visit, Maidstone - a stone of the maidens - usually keeps visitors very occupied with its own charms. Indeed, the town combines richness of historical attractions with the arts, culture, and superb shopping and entertainment facilities.

The town stands like a rock on the River Medway. It has lived through the Stone Age; even though it was the Romans that gave it importance in the beginning. Two Roman villas have even been discovered in Maidstone; what is more, it was they who first extracted stone from the area.

Maidstone Prison is a major tourist attraction; it was here that the last public hanging in Britain took place in the year 1868. Then there are theatres in town, such as the Hazlitt Theatre, RiverStage, The Exchange, and the Hermitage Millennium Amphitheatre.

Maidstone is surrounded by a calm landscape of orchards and hop gardens. It is lovely to take pleasure walks here, and then return to the town’s great mix of speciality shops, individual boutiques and shops selling high street brands when one is determined on enjoying the hustle and bustle of life once again. Maidstone is both a great place to recuperate and to shop and sight-see. You cannot miss the Maidstone Museum & Bentlif Art Gallery, as you must eyeball the bones of Maidstone’s first residents here! The Tyrwhitt-Drake Museum of Carriages is yet another unique site. It is housed in the medieval stables of the Archbishops’ Palace. But no visit to this town is complete without a stroll along the Maidstone Millennium River Park. The Whatman Park lies at the heart of this park, with treetop walks, nature reserves, adventure playgrounds, a skateboard park, and the Riverstage Arena.