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Wealden Times Magazine is the monthly lifestyle magazines for Kent & Sussex. Discover beautiful homes and interiors, read about their owners, find recipes for every occasion and delve into our pages on horticulture. Feel inspired by our fashion features and get the latest on health and beauty.

Win A Guided Walk, Lunch & Wine Tasting For Two

Glorious cliff-top views of the Beachy Head lighthouse, Belle Tout, Birling Gap and the Cuckmere estuary! That’s what you could get from the Seven Sisters cliff-top guided walk from Fizz on Foot.  Or you could meander your way along the...

Season’s Teachings

Hilary Wilce pays tribute to the life-changing work of our teachers It’s the season of joy and goodwill so let’s give a great big shout-out for our country’s teachers. Every day they get up, go to work and very often...

Dream of a Green Christmas

Jo Arnell shares her top tips and tricks for an eco-friendly festive season It’s the most wonderful time of the year. And the most wasteful – if my rubbish and recycling bags are anything to go by. Every year I...

Get the Party Started: Brandy Snap Baskets with Passion Fruit & Mango

Method: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup together, remove from the heat and stir in the flour, lemon zest and juice and spices. When cool, use a teaspoon to make balls the size...

Get the Party Started: Cheese Soufflé Toast with Cherry Tomatoes

Method: Butter the base of the tin. Remove bread crusts and cut so they completely cover the base of the tin. Season the bread base with salt, pepper and a pinch of cayenne. Spread the Cheddar cheese evenly over the...

Get the Party Started: Five-spiced Duck with Plum Sauce & Cape Gooseberries

Method: Preheat oven to 180˚C,350˚F, gas 4. Brush tortilla wrap with oil and cut into 18 squares. Place oil side down in the muffin tin and bake for 10 mins until crisp and dry.Mix the five-spice and honey together. Score...

Get the Party Started: Artichoke Crisps with Black Forest Ham

Method: Preheat the oven to 180˚C,350˚F, gas 4. Slice the artichokes thinly on a mandolin. You’ll need big slices as they will shrink. Toss them in oil and season. Lay the slices on a baking tray and roast for 10-15...

Banish the Winter Blues

Christmas stress can be kept at bay with a little self care, Sarah Maxwell explains At this busy time of year exercise and wellbeing will usually be last on your list of priorities, however... ! Christmas can be a stressful...

Have a Healthy Christmas

Henrietta Norton explains how, despite the extra indulgence, it’s still possible to have a nourishing and nutritious festive season Mid-winter celebrations give us the opportunity to commune and foster cheer, bringing light to the darkest month of the year.  “Research has...

A Classical Approach

With their lifelong love of design and architecture, Toby and Megan Osborne have restored a down-at-heel guest house to its stately elegance After enjoying an early morning coffee in the picturesque country town of Cranbrook, I can wholeheartedly understand why...

A box of delights

There is a particular joy in returning to visit a home you have seen only very much in the ‘before’ stage. In this case, the last time I saw Kimberley Watson’s flat in a Regency terrace on Hastings Old Town...

Win an overnight stay at Oatlands Park Hotel

Oatlands Park Hotel in Surrey has recently undergone an extensive multi-million-pound renovation, which includes 144 stylish new bedrooms. The hotel is steeped in royal history, and was originally the site of a Tudor Palace built by Henry VIII in 1538....

Learn to Play

Hilary Wilce emphasises the importance of self-directed play to develop growing minds Recently, I’ve been spending a lot of time with the under-fives – and they are amazing! Every moment of their lives is an adventure, and they are without...

Magic Mushrooms

Sue Whigham explores the wonderfully varied world of fungi We’ve got a fast growing and rather beautiful quaking aspen behind the pond; its nooks and crannies providing a nesting site year after year to a pair of starlings. Unfortunately, the...

Structural Assets

Jo Arnell shares her recommendations for plants with year-round staying power A herbaceous border in full swing at the height of summer is a wonder to behold, but come the autumn it does rather collapse into a heap of old...

Getting ready for the little black dress

It’s just as important to feel as good as you look this party season, as Sarah Maxwell explains with her tips for tracking down the ultimate LBD and the exercises you can do to own your look As we start...

Vitamin D: How much is enough?

Henrietta Norton explains what we can do to ensure we meet our bodies’ daily needs One in five of us in the UK are estimated to have insufficient blood levels of Vitamin D for good health; we simply can’t produce...

Keep it Local: Recipes

Try these tasty recipes using products manufactured in the WealdSage & Onion Sausage Stuffing  Stuff your turkey with this delicious festive stuffing, made using Korkers sausages, which have been produced in Rolvenden since 1959.  Method: Fry 2 chopped onions in...

Keep it Local

When Kentish baker, Simon Cannell, Managing Director of artisan bakery, Speciality Breads in Margate, decided to open Foodie’s Emporium in Headcorn, he enlisted the help of TV Chef Lesley Waters to help him spread his love for local produce. Here,...

Anna’s Top 10 Christmas Planning & Cooking Tips

1. Book an online shop for all your non-perishable items. With most supermarkets you can do this three weeks in advance; so, for delivery on 23rd, book on 2nd December. As you remember items over the three weeks you can...

Family Values: Irresistible Boxing Day Dish – Festive Pomegranate Molasses & Clementine Ham Hocks

Perfect for Boxing Day (or just to have in the fridge to pick at over Christmas). I prefer cooking ham hocks to a whole ham – their flavour is amazing, yet they’re relatively cheap (about £4 each). The glaze is...

Family Values: Christmas Day Sweet Centrepiece: Fruited Christmas Meringue Wreath

Method: Preheat the oven to 140°C/120°C Fan. On a large sheet of baking parchment, draw around a 30cm plate in the middle of the paper.Put the egg whites into a clean mixing bowl and whisk until soft peaks are formed...

Fables from the Farm: Jane ensures her flock is in prime condition

November means tupping time at Coopers Farm, when the rams go in with the ewes and the whole ‘sheep year’ starts over again. But of course before that can happen there have been lots of behind the scenes preparations to...

Village Person

A six-month sabbatical in the countryside turned into a whole new life for Kate Monckton, in an old village house lovingly brought to its full potential There is a special kind of satisfaction in visiting a beautiful house, when you...

A Family Affair

Inspired by travels across the world, interior designer Alexis Wylie has delivered her signature warm, vibrant, lived-in style with a redesign of a much-loved family home, combining old and new furnishings whilst retaining the house – and family’s – vivid...

Family Values: One-Pot Christmas Eve Crowd Pleaser – Asian Beef Stew

If I had to vote on my favourite one pot to feed a crowd, this has to be in my top three. Amazing Asian flavours, meat that falls apart, yet minimal effort, just time in the oven. I made it...

Sticky Clementine Puddings

Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Liberally grease the basins. Zest and juice 1 of the clementines.Using a knife, remove the peel and pith from the other clementine and slice into 4 rounds. Remove the pith from...

Almond Dutch Baby with Blackberry Compote

Remove the top shelf and preheat the oven to 220°C, fan 200°C, gas 7. Tip the flour and sugar into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre. Crack in the eggs and add the milk and almond extract. Whisk...

Forward Thinking

Simon Wong, Chartered Financial Planner at JM Finn, explains how to plan for your child’s private school education . Are there any ways to cut the cost of a private school education? Any aspiring parent wishing to send their children to...

Sweet Dreams

Sue Whigham goes in search of the lesser-seen members of the Lepidoptera order of moths. I know that many of us, no, all of us, when we think of moths, have dark thoughts about clothes moths, or at least their...

Winter Sports

What’s on offer to keep pupils active during chillier months? WT speaks to Dulwich Prep Cranbrook and The King’s School, Canterbury about the range of sports available. Mrs Jo Wilson, Head of PE and Games at Dulwich Prep Cranbrook What...

10 minute fitness

Being healthy isn’t just focusing on exercise or diet, it’s about lifestyle and mindset, too, as Sarah Maxwell explains. Prior to a summer break, many of us think about sprucing up in readiness for the beach, family fun, great food...

Boost Your Immunity

Henrietta Norton explains how changing attitudes to fermentation are having a beneficial effect on gut bacteria. Fermenting is firmly back in fashion these days.  Not during my 15 years as a Nutritional Therapist has the advice of fermenting a cabbage...

Apple Cinnamon Custard Tart

Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Reserve 2 tbsp of the melted butter. Add the crushed biscuits to the rest and mix until evenly coated. Tip the biscuit mixture...

Bakehouse White Sourdough

Mix all ingredients together for approximately 10 minutes – check the temperature of the dough, it should be 24°c. Cover and leave in the mixing bowl for 60 minutes.Knock back the dough and cover for another 60 minutes. Knock back...

French Twist

Add a measure of Pinkster Royale to a chilled flute of  Prosecco or Champagne. Pinkster Gin is deliciously dry with a hint of fruit and an exceptionally smooth finish.  pinkstergin.com Book your tickets at surrey-homes.co.uk/open-house

Longtooth Gimlet

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and pour in the Longtooth Gin, lime juice and simple syrup. Stir vigorously with a long cocktail spoon until very cold.Strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass, or strain over a rocks glass...

Quinoa Power Porridge

Melissa Hemsley is on a mission to prove that it’s possible for everyone to eat well on busy nights, using store-cupboard staples and speedy, fuss-free recipes that really deliver on taste. Before seeing Melissa on the Open House Live Stage,...

All that Jaz

Jaz Rosten-Edwards had always wanted to have an art gallery – so she turned her house into one. Houses on a residential street can blend into one. Especially if there is a row of them built as a set at...

Mint-crusted roast lamb with tender artichokes

  Heat the oven to 180°C. In a pot, cover the potatoes with cold salted water, bring to the boil and simmer for 5-10 mins, until just cooked. Drain and allow to cool, then cut into quarters. For the artichokes,...

Beyond the Classroom

University, college or straight into a career? Reigate Grammar School and ACS International Schools discuss what help is on hand when it comes to making choices for life after secondary education. Matthew Buzzacott, Head of Careers at Reigate Grammar School,...

Course Work

Our pick of the best adult education courses across the South East. Kent Adult Education With almost 4,000 wide ranging and diverse courses to choose from, Kent Adult Education offers adults the opportunity to reach their full potential by trying...

A Pebble’s Throw

Experienced house renovators Robey and Kelly Hilliard’s latest project – a three-storey wreck of a home cut into the Sandgate hillside – has been a labour of love for the couple, who wanted to preserve as much of the original...

Off the Scale

With soaring ceilings, contemporary décor and the most beautiful views across the Kentish countryside, Bayham Hall’s restoration has allowed the building’s original features to shine through whilst providing an enviably spacious family home for owners Jaime and Justin Cooke.  [showhide...

Spotting the signs

Speaking from her own personal experience, Sarah Maxwell looks into the stigma and concerns surrounding the menopause and perimenopause. Perimenopause generally occurs in a woman’s 40s but can happen in her 30s or even earlier. With this in mind we...

Heads Down

When it comes to successful exam revision, it’s all in the motivation, as Hilary Wilce explains. For some students, the new school year means retake exams looming ahead. For many others, there will be new tests and exams coming down...

The Forever Plants

Jo Arnell explains what makes succulents such strong survivors. Technically, a succulent is any plant with thick, fleshy (succulent) water storage organs. Succulents store water in their leaves, stems, or roots, so they can go for long periods without needing...