Bicknor Wood

Shopping

Shopping locally is focused around Maidstone town centre, especially along High Street and the pedestrianised Week Street. This vibrant commercial district is home to The Mall and Fremlin Walk shopping centres, as well as to the Royal Star Arcade, Gabriel’s Hill, Earl Street and Bank Street with their independent and boutique retailers, restaurants and bars.

The town market takes place twice weekly and is held at Lockmeadow Entertainment Centre, which also has an eight-screen cinema, a selection of restaurants, a trampoline park and a bowling alley. A monthly farmers’ market is held in Jubilee Square, in the heart of the town.

Retails parks Newnham Court Shopping Village and St Peter’s Wharf offer a selection of fashion and homewares stores, and these are 10 minutes and 15 minutes’ drive from the development respectively.

Leisure

Eating out is a pleasure, with a wide range of cafés, restaurants, traditional pubs and bars within Maidstone. For fine dining, the Fish on the Green at Bearsted is a popular choice and holds two AA rosettes. The Oak on the Green in the same village offers a variety of meat, fish and vegetarian dishes created from locally sourced ingredients. Culpeper’s Restaurant at country house hotel Chilton Park, 15 minutes’ drive away, provides fine food against a 22-acre parkland backdrop.

Residents of these new homes in Maidstone will find a wealth of sport and leisure opportunities within the town and surrounding villages. Bearsted Football Club is just a short walk from Bicknor Wood, while Maidstone Leisure Centre – which has five swimming pools – can be reached in less than 15 minutes by car. In addition, the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is around four miles from the development, providing a picturesque landscape for walking, cycling and horse riding.

Drama, comedy and music can all be enjoyed at the Hazlitt Theatre on Earl Street, Maidstone, and in summer, open-air theatre, cinema screenings and classical concerts are staged at the historic 12th century Leeds Castle, four miles from Bicknor Wood.

Education

Well-regarded schools nearby include Senacre Wood Primary and Greenfields Community Primary for children aged up to 11 years. For older students, Cornwallis Academy (mixed), Maidstone Grammar School (boys), Maidstone Grammar School for Girls, Oakwood Park Grammar School (boys) and Invicta Grammar School (girls) can all be reached within 20 minutes’ by car.

Transport

The locale is popular with commuters working in London: regular trains run from Bearsted, 10 minutes’ drive away, to Ashford International, Canterbury West and London Victoria. High speed services operate from Ashford International to London St Pancras, with journey times of around 35 minutes. Major roads easily accessible from Bicknor Wood include the M20 – less than 10 minutes’ away by car – for the M25, The Channel Tunnel and Folkestone, and the A20 London to Dover road, which is five minutes’ drive from the development. The nearest airport is Gatwick, around 45 minutes’ drive away via the M25.