insideKENT Magazine Issue 40 - July 2015 | Page 88

DAYSOUT quex park Nestled in the Birchington countryside, Quex Park invites you to get lost in a world of adventure, nature and excitement. The 250-acre country park is both an oasis of calm and a thrilling place to explore. The family home of the adventurous Powell-Cotton family, today it boasts a wide range of attractions to entertain visitors from far and wide, including luscious gardens, a fascinating museum, farm shop, children’s indoor and outdoor play areas, craft village, garden nursery, boutique café and giant maize maze. Here are just some of things to see and do at Quex Park this summer… Gates open at 4.30pm and close at 10pm. T ickets are £25 for adults, and £12.50 for children (under 5s go free). Groups of 10 or more will receive a reduction of £2 per ticket. Call 01843 842168 to book or email [email protected]. This summer’s evening prom and picnic event includes a programme of popular and classical music in the lush grounds of the Quex mansion. Relax to the sounds of the The Kent Concert Orchestra featuring soprano Margaret Threadgold, The Thanet Big Sing Community Choir and Muziki Steel Pans Group. Guests are welcome to bring their own picnic, tables, chairs or rugs, and refreshments will also be available from resident boutique café Mama Feelgoods and licensed bars. A BBQ can also be pre-ordered. The latest addition to the Powell-Cotton Museum is the bright and breezy Gallery Six, which opened in 2014 with the aim of increasing access to and awareness of the museum’s unique collection. Explore The Powell-Cotton Museum Undoubtedly one of the UK’s most fascinating visitor attractions, the Powell-Cotton Museum was dubbed as a place where ‘the past meets present to change the future’ by the President of the Born Free Foundation. Attend The Summer Prom Don your finest garden party outfit and dust off your picnic basket and parasol for an unforgettable evening in Quex Gardens on Sunday 5th July. Make Music at Gallery Six Quex House’s beautiful façade would impress most visitors alone, but behind its doors lies one of the most impressive natural history dioramas in Europe that whisks visitors back to an age of explorers and adventurers. The museum was established in 1896 by Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton to house his natural history specimens and cultural objects collected on expeditions to Asia and Africa, including the huge dioramas of exotic animals mounted against backdrops of their natural habitats. These displays are unique to the UK and continue to support the study and understanding of the zoological, cultural and ecological diversity of Africa and the Indian sub-continent. Further galleries contain Asian weaponry, a range of ceramics, jade and ivory. 88 The space has been designed to continue the park’s aspiration that anyone can be a researcher, and allows visitors of all ages to touch and examine artefacts to learn more about them. Along with preserved specimens, snake skins, and traditional games, there are also musical instruments for people to play on. Daily workshops throughout August (Tues to Fri) allow visitors to learn more about these instruments and to create their own, from thumb pianos to xylophones. Visit www.quexpark.co.uk for full details of opening times, attractions and events.