One of the perks of living and working in Kent is access to lots of outdoor space. From beaches to scenic parks and historic buildings, this county has it all!

Make the most of the sizzling summer sunshine and enjoy our Top 10 outdoors activities on offer across the county.

Canterbury

1. Cathedral to Coast Cycle Ride – Canterbury to Dover

Chart your own Pilgrim’s Progress on this 50-mile circular ride linking Canterbury, Dover and Folkestone. The route passes along leafy lanes and bridleways amid rolling hills, wide skies, woodland, country villages and hamlets.

2. Marlowe’s Canterbury Walk

This walk encourages you to explore the life of English poet and playwright, Christopher Marlowe. The route takes you on a journey around the heart of Canterbury, visiting places he would have known and offering an insight into his short life.

3. Kent Food Trails

Kent Food Trails are designed to encourage visitors and locals alike to discover new places and taste new dishes. You will meet fantastic food and drinks producers and farmers from all over Kent.

4. Via Francigena

If you fancy a real adventure then consider walking at least a segment of the Via Francigena. This ancient route starts at Canterbury Cathedral before passing through France, Switzerland, across the Alps and into Italy before finishing in Rome.

Medway

5. Fort Amherst

Fort Amherst is a free-to-visit historical site with 20 acres of green space all linked to the Great Lines Heritage Park. You will be able to explore tunnels, nature trails, ditches, ammunition magazines, cannons, soldiers’ quarters and fortifications.

6. The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Return to the ‘Age of Sail’ with a visit to Chatham’s Historic Dockyard, which built mighty ships that once mastered the world’s oceans. More recently, this lovely location has been a setting for popular TV shows, including The Crown and Call the Midwife.

7. Riverside Country Park

Covering 100 hectares alongside the Medway Estuary, Riverside is one of Medway’s beautiful country parks. Holder of a Green Flag Award, this haven for wildlife is the perfect spot for walking, running or cycling.

Whitstable

8. Crab & Winkle Way

This path takes its name from the railway line which ran between Canterbury and Whitstable from the 19th century. On the way to Whitstable, you’ll pass through the Blean, with its 13th century Church of St Cosmus and St Damian, and Blean Woods, a delightful RSPB nature reserve. The journey also takes you through Clowes Wood – one of the best places to hear the song of the Nightjar bird.

9. Spy Mission Trail

This self-guided family trail perfectly combines two things a day out with the kids should include – exploration and imagination! See the sights of Whitstable as you pretend to be spies and crack codes along this two-mile trail.

Dover to Deal

10. 3 Castles Walk

Starting at the White Cliffs Visitor Centre in Dover, amble along this beautiful coastline taking in three magnificent castles and a lighthouse as you head towards to Deal, enjoying its heritage and natural beauty along the way.

Picture from Canterbury City Council

Got an idea for a Top 10 feature? Let us know by emailing: stories@kent.ac.uk

As our official Employee Assistance Programme provider, Care first offers a numbers of services, including helpline support and face-to-face counselling. During the pandemic, Care first has also provided weekly webinars to offer further support and advice.

Webinars taking place this week (Monday 3 – Friday 7 August) are as follows:

Monday 3 August 2020 –  ‘How Care first can support you and an update on our services’
Time: 14.00-15.00 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Tuesday 4 August 2020 – ‘Activities you can still do this Summer’
Time: 15.00-15.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Wednesday 5 August 2020 – ‘A users guide to wearing a face mask’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Thursday 6 August 2020 – ‘What are the benefits of Cycling?’
Time: 11.00-11.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Friday 7 August 2020 – ‘Ways gratitude can boost happiness’
Time: 11.00-11.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Natalia Sobrevilla Perea, Professor of Latin American History in the Department of Modern Languages, has recently finished a project with the British Library that has made nearly 180 newspapers available online.

The aim of the project was to protect and archive valuable cultural materials which have important stories to tell about Peru and nearby provinces that would be lost if they not digitised and conserved. Despite the country’s long history of centralism, these newspapers hold the memory of regions outside the largest cities and showcase the thriving intellectual communities they fostered.

Natalia says: “This was a great, but very challenging project. It took an extremely long time to come to fruition and at every turn it seemed like the difficulties were insurmountable. But after much work and determination, we can now see the results online and the response has been overwhelming. To provide an online source at the time of the pandemic has been a compensation for all the delays faced.”

Below is a two page spread about the project that came out in the Peruvian press on Sunday 26 July:

At Kent Sport we are working hard to get the Sports Centre ready for reopening.

From Monday 17 August, the Sports Centre facilities including the gym, fitness classes, sports halls and Physiotherapy Clinic will reopen. While we’re excited to welcome you back, we have put in additional safety measures including pre-booking for all activities. We will be updating our website and social media channels over the next few days with more details on the reopening.

The Sports Centre facilities will reopen on Monday 17 August.

The Pavilion facilities will reopen on Monday 24 August.

For more information on opening hours, rules and FAQs please read the Kent Sport blog.

We’ve missed you and can’t wait to welcome you back!!

In the second instalment of our ‘Return to Campus’ series, Richard Cottam, Head of Facilities Management tells us about the multitude of services and functions the Facilities Management (FM) team (within Estates) has been covering throughout the lockdown period, both on and off campus.

Richard explains: ‘The majority of FM staff are unable to do their job remotely, so most have been working a reduced number of days each week to a roster. They have been busy supporting essential services and, more recently, preparing the campus for occupancy in September.’

Examples include:

Postal Services – This team has maintained a minimal presence on campus throughout, ensuring all incoming mail is managed and sending out any business essential post. The team has also been supporting colleagues in Recruitment & Marketing with the creation and supply of several student offer packs.

Waste and Cleaning – With a small team initially supporting ongoing essential services such as Security, most cleaning staff are now back at work preparing buildings for re-occupancy and developing an effective Covid-19 cleaning programme.

Stores – A small team of two has been working remotely throughout lockdown and has been incredibly busy sourcing best value supply chains for the multitude of Covid-19 related products, needed to maintain a secure environment. The team has also purchased and is rolling out hand sanitiser dispensers across campus.

Administration – The whole team has been working remotely and has quickly adapted to the new technology supporting meetings using M365 Teams. Some admin staff have also been on campus and helped with the huge task of installing the social isolation and one-way signage across the campus.

Medway FM – The team supporting Medway has also been on campus, in limited numbers, preparing the campus for re-occupancy.

Landscape and Grounds Management – Have you ever not cut your grass for four months? No, we couldn’t wait that long either! So that we don’t return to a partial jungle in September, the team has been working to a roster with half of the workforce on campus, keeping on top of the spring and summer growth.

Find out more about the services the Estates department provide.

In our next Return to Campus feature, we’ll look at the work of the Planning and Space Management team.

The Global Officers Leadership Development (GOLD) Programme has celebrated another successful year which ended with our celebration event and certificate presentation taking place online.

The programme, led by Kent’s Dean for Internationalisation Dr Anthony Manning and International Partnerships, is a co-curricular venture which provides a framework of activities for globally minded undergraduate students at Kent to develop their leadership skills, global citizenship and cultural awareness.

This year’s cohort made an impact through their role in leading the various Global Hangouts that took place, leading the way with a green marketing strategy for Worldfest, introducing a speed-friending event for new international students and participating in our first Erasmus+ virtual exchange programme. Participants also took part in various workshops including Talking Cultures, event management, explored the concept of curriculum internationalisation and looked at their own cultural intelligence (CQ). Other activities they supported included orientation for new exchange students, the S Group Conference and provided campus tours for some of our international partners and visitors.

Students who have completed the programme have said that it has helped to increase their own cultural awareness, enhance their employability and given them the opportunity to meet a range of people from diverse backgrounds.

The Gold Programme was a highlight of my time at Kent. The team leading the programme listened to all of our ideas and supported us throughout the year. I developed many transferable skills, gave back to the student community, and made many new friends.
Melissa Couvet, LLB English and French Law

I thoroughly enjoyed my participation in the GOLD programme, not only do I think that it has allowed me to develop skills that have strengthened my employability, I also found the programme to be an important avenue for expression during an intense final year of study. I would recommend the GOLD programme to any student that is interested in further developing themselves personally and professionally.
Leo Harris, BA History and Spanish

Many of this year’s cohort were final year students and we wish them all the best for the future after their graduation.

The Covid-19 webinars from Care First continue the week commencing Monday 27 July. Please see below for the schedule and where you need to register.

Monday 27 July 2020 –  ‘The Emotional Impact of feeling hopeless during the COVID-19 pandemic’

Time: 14.00 – 15.00 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Tuesday 28 July 2020 – ‘COVID Fatigue’

Time: 12.00 – 12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Wednesday 29 July 2020 – ‘Financial Wellbeing this Summer’

Time: 12.00 – 12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Thursday 30 July 2020 – ‘COVID-19: How the pandemic has changed our relationships’

Time: 14.00 – 14.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Friday 31 July 2020 – ‘Lockdown Belly: how to lose weight and shrink your waistline’

Time: 12.00 – 12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

We are hosting our next Postgraduate Virtual Open Event on 27 July 2020, from 16.00 – 18.00. 

Our last postgraduate event was so popular we’re giving an opportunity to all potential students to watch again the presentations from our specialist academics and attend live Q&A sessions, as well as find out more about funding and the Graduate School.

Preparations for the event are underway and those who are taking part have been informed by the Recruitment team. Our Postgraduate virtual event in May saw over 800+ prospective students attend on the day, with over half from overseas.

It would be a great help if colleagues could promote the virtual event across their platforms, either on their school websites and on social channels,  as well as forwarding on to friends or family members who may be interested in a postgraduate programme at Kent.

For further information and to register for the event please visit attend the Postgraduate event webpage.

As Kent prepares for a phased return to campus, many of our colleagues are busy ensuring a safe return for us all. We’ve been talking to staff across the Estates department to find out what they’re doing as part of a special ‘Return to Campus’ series.

In our first feature, we hear from Gary Richardson, Maintenance Stores Supervisor about the work of the Estates Maintenance Stores team and Sarah Cooke, Head of Customer Services and Engagement, on the Design & Print Centre’s contribution.

Gary Richardson: ‘The Estates Maintenance Stores team have been operating remotely over the lockdown period, researching, and investigating products relating to both customer enquiries and order requests. We have also been kept busy maintaining stock levels for essential maintenance requirements on both the Canterbury and Medway campuses.

We have procured a diverse spectrum of products from hand-sanitising gel and foot-operated dispensers, pumps, electrical components, and boilers, to Perspex sheets enabling our talented maintenance teams to manufacture bespoke screens. This will enable staff, students and visitors to return to campus and enjoy the safest possible environment.

As a team, we’ve worked hard to offer choice and obtain the best possible value for the University.’

Sarah Cooke: ‘We first started to look at the social distancing signage requirements in early May, and it was evident we would need to move quickly to produce everything needed to make the University’s campuses compliant with the government’s guidelines.

‘Thankfully, we have our own in-house Design & Print Centre, which has proved invaluable in turning around the signage in this time-frame. Lesley Farr, Graphic Design Supervisor, has created a whole suite of social distancing signage designs, which accommodate the needs of each school and department. The turnaround time from request to design is far quicker and cheaper than it would have been to outsource this to an external company, and the signs are aligned with the Kent brand and colour palette.

‘Once the designs are agreed, Ian White, Production Supervisor, reviews the orders. Through Ian’s contacts and knowledge, he was able to swiftly secure the print materials needed at competitive rates and there has not been any delay in production. The three Print Technicians; Hannah Bentley, Melanie Smith and Craig Richards have been working hard on campus to print all the floor vinyl’s and posters required, while maintaining social distancing and enhanced hygiene procedures.

‘I have been managing the Design & Print Centre for just under a year now and I am so impressed with this team and how well they work together.’

Find out more about the services the Estates department provide.

In our next Return to Campus feature, we’ll look at the work of the Facilities Management team.