Living in Ashford
Ashford Town Centre
As part of an on-going focus from Ashford Borough Council to develop Ashford town centre, the whole area has been transformed.
County Square is the place for all your high street brands and appealing independent and chain stores can be found the adjacent streets and within the council-owned Park Mall. Elwick Place also provides more restaurants, a cinema and hotel right in the heart of the town. Blending the traditional high street experience with modern lifestyle, you’ll be able to visit local, independent stores, restaurants and cafes.
Ashford Food and Drink Festival, takes place throughout the whole month of July in the town centre. It debuted in July 2023 and celebrates all things food and drink, where you can taste and try the best treats local businesses have to offer. From wine tasting, markets, weekend festivals, pizza making and competitions; you name it, it’s on the menu. Carnival of the Baubles , takes place every November and is a fabulously festive day featuring a stunning lantern procession through the town lead by a giant mechanical puppet, family craft workshops, live music and all day entertainment.
Create Music Village is an exciting month-long event driven by four grass-roots music venues, all based in the heart of Ashford Town Centre. It reimagines Ashford’s much loved Create Music Festival, as an indoor-venue event with a unique village feel. UNFRAMED, Ashford’s first mural festival officially is a contemporary street art trail which saw the transformation of blank walls and building surfaces in Ashford Town Centre into high quality mural paintings and bespoke integrated artwork. It aims to animate the town centre and support wayfinding.
Green Spaces
Ashford has two areas of National Landscapes (formerly AONB) - High Weald and Kent Downs. Parks, lakes and riversides… Ashford has over 47 acres of open spaces across the town and its surrounding areas in the Ashford Green Corridor. Pick your park and explore the Kent countryside throughout the seasons!
If you’d rather spend the day by the water, then the Conningbrook Lakes Country Park is a great option for a day out.
You can also spend time in the Singleton Environment Centre, a unique space located next to 15 hectares of woodland, where you’ll be able to enjoy activities all year-round, as well as spot beautiful Kent wildlife around you.
Living in and around Ashford gives you the perfect blend of countryside and city life
Shopping in Ashford
Not only do we have a vibrant high street, but Ashford is also home to no less than three shopping centres, located in or right next to the town centre.
The Ashford Designer Outlet is home to over 100 luxury international brands such as Calvin Klein, Coach, Dr Martens, Nike, Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger, and underwent a major expansion in 2019. Ashford Designer Outlet boasts ample parking with 1,900 spaces so you can make a day of shopping for branded clothes and more, plus stop for a bite to eat in one of the outlet’s restaurants.
County Square is the town centre’s shopping hotspot, welcoming over 3.5 million customers annually! You’ll find some of your favourite high street stores here, including Next, New Look, JD Sports, Pandora Deichmann and Metro Bank.
Park Mall is a favourite with locals thanks to its mixture of independent shops like The Record Store. Check out Made in Ashford for handmade homeware, gifts and more from local makers and the games shop Warhammer.
Or find your dream wedding dress at WED2B Ashford. This Ashford Borough Council-owned shopping centre has been credited with the successful regeneration of Ashford’s high street.
Eating out in Ashford
Ashford serves up a tempting selection of pubs, restaurants and cafes.
Elwick Place, one of Ashford Borough Council’s Big 8 Projects, has brought exciting new restaurants to the town centre, including Matches Sports Bar, Grill & Social. Throw in a film at The Ashford Cinema on the same site and you have the ideal family trip out or date night!
The stunning, architect-designed Curious Brewery, a unique addition to Victoria Way includes a brewery, a bar and a restaurant. They offer regular tours and tasting experiences, allowing residents and visitors to find out more about this thriving craft beer business. For more information about the tours and to book a table at their restaurant, visit Curious Brewery.
Some of the UK’s leading vineyards are located in the wider Ashford district. Producers including Gusbourne, Chapel Down and Biddenden Vineyards offer visitors tours and tastings, with some offering a full Kentish dining experience. It’s the ideal place to discover the local cuisine alongside a glass of English sparkling wine.
Arts and Culture
Ashford continues to develop and grow its arts and cultural profile through a wide ranging mix of projects, events, and commissions. Revelation Ashford right in the heart of the town centre hosts regular gigs and events within the awe-inspiring Grade I listed St Mary the Virgin Church. Over the years, Revelation has welcomed some huge international names, legendary performers, and created incredible ‘up close and personal’ experiences for the community.
We are proud that the Jasmin Vardimon Company, a leading force in British dance theatre, have called Ashford their home since 2012, creating world-class work and delivering professional development training at all levels in their Creative Enterprise Quarter based venue.
At the heart of Ashford High Street is Made in Ashford a base for creative business in Kent to sell their creations, alongside the Craftship Enterprise – a creative hub offering the local community a dynamic series of workshops, pop up galleries, and community group activity.
The town boasts popular annual festivals such as the Ashford Food and Drink Festival (Summer), Pride Ashford (Summer), Create Music Village (Autumn), and Carnival of the Baubles (Winter) all of which works closely with local community groups, schools and businesses as well as attract artists and audiences from far and wide to the town. Looking further-afield across the borough, long standing events such as the Tenterden Folk Festival and Stour Music Festival for connoisseurs of folk and early music respectively.
The borough of Ashford continues to see an increase in the number of creative enterprises setting up in or relocating to the area, meaning Ashford has a very healthy mix of performing arts schools, production studios, and creative workspaces. Ashford College, located directly opposite Ashford International Station, also continues to grow its creative arts and media courses to reflect job opportunities in the area, and in the proposed Ashford International Film Studios.
Find more information about seasonal events, exhibitions and festivals on the Love Ashford website.
Sports Facilities
Ashford offers a wide range of activities including trampoline parks, skate parks and local leisure centres.
Flipout Ashford has seen an incredible response from the local public. Wall-to-wall trampolines, stunt area and foam pits… it’s a bouncing paradise!
Sk8side Ashford is the place for every Tony Hawkes-wannabe. There are mini-ramps. Quarter pipes, flat banks and funboxes to practise tricks, as well as an onsite shop for spare parts and set up their own boards.
Another local sports venue is the Julie Rose Stadium, near Conningbrook Lakes which provides a gym, fitness classes and multi-games areas.
The surrounding areas
A base in Ashford means you’ll be just minutes from the old market town of Tenterden, which has been picked by the Guardian as a great place to live, or pretty villages including Biddenden, Appledore, Charing and Smarden. It’s also a fantastic place to visit at the weekend, with great cycling routes across Kent as highlighted by The Telegraph.
Tenterden High Street was named in the top 30 UK shopping destinations. The ranking comes alongside other positive retail news for Tenterden, with plans for The Grapevine Champagne & Jazz Bar opening, the opening of Dominos in the town and independent shops opening such as Lift Your Spirits, Manes Hair Space and Ethel Loves Me.
For more information on the surrounding areas, visit the Ashford and Tenterden website.
