On 7-8th July Kent will have the privilege of hosting part of Birmingham 2022 Queen’s Baton Relay, an epic 294-day journey across 72 nations ahead of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
After months of touring the Commonwealth and throughout the UK, The Queen's Baton will be touching down right here in Kent and journeying through the county, taking in some of our most iconic sights, and some pretty exciting events along the way!
From Kent’s breath-taking landscapes and history to its food and drink and cultural gems, we can’t wait to share our vibrant county, and what’s more, as travel aficionados Lonely Planet have declared Kent's Heritage Coast the 4th best region in the world to visit as part of their Best in Travel 2022 list, there couldn’t be a better time to show it off.
While we can’t reveal all just yet, we can give you a sneak peek at where the Baton will be journeying in Kent, so you can start planning your very own Baton spotting tour! Ready? Set…Go…
First up, on 7th July the relay will be starting in Tonbridge, taking in some of Kent’s heritage at our iconic Motte and Bailey Tonbridge Castle and offering locals the chance to spy the Baton as it arrives in Kent. The Baton will be taking the pilgrimage to Canterbury, walking (or running) from Westgate Towers in the footsteps of Chaucer’s pilgrims to the magnificent Canterbury Cathedral. From here the Baton will head to the coast, Kent’s Heritage Coast according to Lonely Planet, where it will take in Folkestone and the magnificent Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a beautiful landscape that forms part of the proposed Cross-Channel UNESCO Global Geopark. In Folkestone The Baton will skate through F51, the world’s first purpose built multi-storey skatepark on its way to Deal and the iconic White Cliffs of Dover. The day will end on the very top of the cliffs at Dover Castle, the key to England and a place of heritage dating back to the Romans. On 8th July, the Baton will head straight to Gravesend for a multi-faith moment of contemplation outside the Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara in the centre of the town.
The Queen’s Baton Relay is all about celebrating sporting excellence, hidden gems and untold stories, community spirit and young people at its very heart, not to mention Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II, so here are just some of the other ways you can celebrate all this and more in Kent.
