Maidstone: any decent cafes/pubs and things to see?

[editor]

I'm probably going to Maidstone for the Dulwich Hamlet cup final and am thinking about getting there early and having a look about.

I can see there's a museum that looks worth a visit and The Living Cafe seems my kind of place, but is there much else around the centre of town?

 

[behemoth]

Stepping Stone is an interesting artsy kind of place. Society Rooms is the better of the two 'spoons in the town, and close to the station and ground. Pubs? Flower Pot does an impressive range of ales, but for a real old fashioned kind of back street boozer it has to be the Rifle Volunteers which is just one of two Goachers pubs. Look for the range of silver jubilee ales on the dusty shelves. Quite unique. The ground itself makes the best of an unusual town centre location, and it is probably worth paying £1.00 extra for a stand seat.

 

[editor]

Here's some snaps from last weekend's trip. It's not the greatest town, tbf.

http://www.urban75.org/blog/a-selection-of-photos-taken-around-the-town-centre-of-maidstone-kent/

 

[el-ahrairah]

whippets in clothes! *moves to maidstone*

 

[editor]

whippets in clothes! *moves to maidstone*

That was the highlight.

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

This used to be a chippy in the 70s/80s - I went to primary school next door. Two doors down there used to be an proper Italian ice cream parlour called 'De Marco's' - there is still a mosiac 'D' in the entrance to the shop. That top part of the town near the station used to be thriving, its pretty grim now. In fact I'd say the pictures on the blog really do the town a favour, every time I go back it feels more grim than before. I lived in 'the Stone for the first 22 years of my life. Tellingly when I moved to Brixton I couldn't believe how friendly everybody was in London. I think Maidstone folk are some of the coldest fish you'll find in the UK.

 

[editor]

This used to be a chippy in the 70s/80s - I went to primary school next door. Two doors down there used to be an proper Italian ice cream parlour called 'De Marco's' - there is still a mosiac 'D' in the entrance to the shop. That top part of the town near the station used to be thriving, its pretty grim now. In fact I'd say the pictures on the blog really do the town a favour, every time I go back it feels more grim than before. I lived in 'the Stone for the first 22 years of my life. Tellingly when I moved to Brixton I couldn't believe how friendly everybody was in London. I think Maidstone folk are some of the coldest fish you'll find in the UK.

It seemed extraordinarily white and I can't say I warmed particularly to the townsfolk I saw on the street. Some towns seemed to have a real characters about them. This was not one of them.

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

The west of the town - particularly down the Tonbridge road around Fant / Barming is far better. Lots of little terraced streets overlooking the river and the best little pubs. The art college and hospital are up that way and ethnically its a tad more diverse. Maidstone is a town struggling with itself though, the main industry is gone (Trebor sweets) and its in that crucial zone of being too close to London to have a distinct identity. If you live there and want to earn liveable money you have to commute to the smoke.

Shame, there is a lot of history there. It lays claim to Watt Tyler (along with Dartford) and features as a significant battle in the 2nd English civil war. So much so in fact the 'battle of Gabriels Hill' is re-enacted by local enthusiasts every Saturday night, usually between Atilla Kebabs and the queue for Taxis.