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Chiara’s update: week 6

Hi! I am Chiara. This is my sixth week here and I am having a great experience.

With Hilderstone College I have been on some excursions, and I really enjoyed those. Two weeks ago I went to Leeds Castle, a beautiful building with a big and lovely garden. Here there is a wide variety of birds, like ducks and swans. Valentina and I went to the maze of the Castle and we also saw the  falconry display.

Last week Valentina and I went to Canterbury, where we went shopping and visited the beautiful and historic city. There we saw Canterbury Cathedral, which is the most important cathedral in Britain. We visited also St Augustine’s Abbey and Eastbridge Hospital (medieval pilgrim’s hospital)

I spend a lot of time with the host family: I play a lot with the kids, we watch movies together (e. g. Harry Potter) and we cook together. With my host family I can also improve my English.  

Recently there have been two festivals in Broadstairs: the Water Gala and Folk Week. Every Wednesday night there were also fireworks and they were very beautiful. There were a lot of people in Broadstairs and there were markets, music and dancers in the streets.

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NEW: Hilderstone College promotional videos

We are delighted to announce the launch of two brand new Hilderstone College promotional videos (90-second montage and 3-minute video with student interviews and comments). The videos were filmed in Broadstairs this summer with the participation of staff and students. We hope you like them and welcome your comments!

See the shorter, ‘montage’ video here.

For the full-length version, click on the link:  : https://youtu.be/d6xDQjI6tOU

https://www.hilderstone.ac.uk

 

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SANDWICH: Historic charm

Sandwich is a charming town just 15 kilometres from Broadstairs. We often go here as part of a Friday afternoon visit, or you can easily reach it independently by train. It’s a small town but has some really interesting little shops and cafes, and it’s very pleasant to walk around the narrow streets with quirky buildings dating back as far as the 14th century.

You may be interested to know that the town got its name before the popular snack food! The creation of the sandwich is attributed to John Montagu, fourth Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792), a British statesman and dedicated sandwich gambler, who is said to be the inventor of this convenient type of food so that he would not have to leave his gaming table to take supper. The bread around the meat probably meant that he wouldn’t get greasy fingerprints on his playing cards!

There is a famous road sign near the town, pointing the way to both Sandwich and to Ham – the name of a local village!

 

 

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BRIGHTON: One of our favourite Saturday trips

Brighton is a fantastic destination for a day out, with its vibrant cultural mix and its varied arts and music scene. Here you will find modern shopping centres alongside unusual boutiques and small specialist shops in the old, historic lanes of the old town (known as ‘The Lanes’).

Something you really should  see when you visit Brighton is the wonderful pier  which is the one of the best examples remaining in the UK.  With galleries, cafes and entertainment, you can spend a wonderful time here while admiring the views of the city behind you.

 

You must also visit the amazing Royal Pavilion ,which was built over 200 years ago as a seaside pleasure palace for King George IV, and which mixes the visual styles of India and China in a British royal building. You may love it or hate it, but you certainly won’t forget it!

 

 

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HEVER CASTLE, Kent

Hever Castle is in our home county of Kent, about 80 miles/130 km from Broadstairs, so easy for a day out. The castle dates back 700 years in parts,and was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII (He had six in total!). It has 125 acres of beautiful gardens, two mazes and a boating lake, as well as shops and restaurants.

Here is a video of one of our recent day trips there.

 

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WALMER CASTLE: The lovely gardens make this castle special.

Walmer Castle  dates back to the time of Henry VIII (1491 – 1547) and was originally built as a defence fortress, but has evolved into a homely residence for many well-known names from the Duke of Wellington to the Queen Mother. Inside you can explore Wellington’s career, the story of his life and death and even see the original Wellington Boots. Outside there are beautiful, direct sea views and eight acres of magnificent gardens and woodland.

This is a regular Friday afternoon excursion from Hilderstone College.

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CANTERBURY: An historic city just a short train ride away.

Canterbury is a fascinating city, with hundreds of years of history – in fact, it dates back to Roman times. The impressive cathedral has been a place of worship for more than 1,400 years, and is the ‘headquarters’ of the Anglican Church (The Archbishop of Canterbury is the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion). Pilgrims have been travelling to this city for hundreds of years, and they were the inspiration for Chaucer’s ‘Canterbury Tales’.

Apart from its history, Canterbury has a fantastic selection of shops, entertainment, museums and eateries, and makes a great day out. What’s more, it’s only half an hour from Broadstairs by train.