Castlemas 2021 - a brand new festive event for Kent

If you live in West Kent, there’s a high chance you’ll have spotted the posters and adverts for Tonbridge’s brand new festive fare, Castlemas, over the past few months. Popping up like a beacon of normality and bringing a sprinkling of magic to our little corner of Kent, it’s been wonderful to have an exciting, Christmas event to look forward to.

So when I was kindly invited to the opening night of this brilliant ten-day festive experience, I jumped at the chance to get a taste of all Castlemas had to offer. From the moment we arrived, it was clear this was something special. The castle itself was lit up with snowflakes and the Castlemas logo, with festoon lights guiding our way into the castle lawn which was filled with wooden market huts and more festive lighting. The centrepiece of this mini festival, though, is the impressive 300-seat Igloo Theatre which sits in the middle of the green and plays host to the many shows and performances scheduled for the ten days ahead. We had tickets to one of these brilliant shows – Jess Robinson’s ‘12 Days Of Jessmas’ (more on that below) – but arrived an hour before to explore Castlemas’ two free, unticketed areas first, Mistletoe Town and the Jingle Bell Bar.

Made up of beautiful wooden chalets, Mistletoe Town is the perfect place to shop locally this Christmas, with a lovely variety of stalls featuring everything from clothes and local art, to delicious food and drink. Some of my personal favourites on offer when we visited included Debbie Draws Maps (wonderful prints, coasters and towels featuring great spots in Kent), The Bloom Foundry (amazing Tunbridge Wells-based florist), Little Wild Co (gorgeous baby products) and Crumbs & Treacle (sooo many tasty treats!). We treated ourselves to an enormous festive burger from Hook & Cook street food, jam-packed with turkey burger, pigs in blankets and gravy-naise, which certainly set us up for the night!

We also visited the tented Jingle Bell Bar where you can enjoy a drink or two, accompanied by live music from the bandstand. Though we didn’t spend too long here before the show, there was a great atmosphere and a good array of tipples on offer!