Christmas Collaborative

Hythe Venetian Fete

Now that the summer is officially over, we are looking ahead towards Christmas and speaking to organisations across Hythe about plans for the festive season. Celebrations might be a little different this year, focusing on smaller scale events on Saturdays rather than one single large event. We hope that partnering with community minded organisations such as Hythe Life Magazine, Rotary, and Hythe Business and Tourism Association will help create inclusive events that bring renewed energy and a spirit of unity to our High Street and the community.

The biggest project we have been working on this year is the Amazing Christmas lights, we have over 1.5 miles of light going up and down the High street. As you can imagine this is a mammoth task and requires a lot of funding.

To discuss how we are going to go about raising funds for the lights this year and in the future, organisations are invited to meet at the council offices. We are hoping to fund other Christmas events this year and in the future to so have been coming up with ideas on how we can spread some much needed festive cheer over the season.

Hythe Life Magazine has donated over a third of the money needed for the Lights in previous years and are hoping they will this year, the collaborative with the HBTA raises a sizable

amount. The remaining money is hoped to be raised from support of other organisations and crowd funding.

If you would like to get involved with “Everything Christmas” and would like to help with fund raising at the next collaborative meeting, please contact Hythe Town council Email: Admin@hythe-tc.gov.uk .

Or if you would like to pledge a donation this can be done by contacting any of the below organisations.

photograph © James Willmott

Hythe Rotary Club back in action

After being out of physical contact with each other for such a long time, Hythe Rotary Club members were again able to hold one of their regular meetings at Etchinghill Golf Club. We felt comfortable enough to invite guests and friends, including Hythe Town Clerk and representatives of Hythe Salvation Army and Hythe Business & Tourism Association (HBTA).

During these past months we have been maintaining our relationships with many organisations, especially HBTA with whom we are forging closer ties aimed at working together for the general benefit of our local community. HBTA, in cooperation with Hythe Rotary and Hythe Civic Society and with the support of Hythe Town Council, has produced a new edition of the Hythe Visitor Guide, which is available in shops, hotels, B&B establishments, restaurants and tourist attractions in our local area. The guide features a map of the central area of our ancient and charming town, plus a comprehensive listing of ‘Where to eat and drink in Hythe’, also Saltwood – some 60 establishments in total! Collaboration among these local organisations has also led to the production of newcomer information packs available from local estate agents. Other cooperative projects also in the pipeline are aimed in particular at welcoming newcomers and new businesses to Hythe and its immediate neighbourhood and encouraging them to feel at home and become active in our local community. Now that everyone is adjusting to a new ‘normal’, we hope to arrange more shared projects with like-minded charities and organisations. An example is our

Hythe Business & Tourism Association (HBTA) Welcome from THYNK (“Things You Need to Know”) project for schools in our area. Our Hythe organisations are working together on a number of collaborative ventures, which will be publicised in co-ordination with the Hythe Town Diary to avoid any significant date or activity clashes. More information about such plans for the future will be on our website and Facebook pages: www.hythe-rotary.com, www.facebook.com/hbtachamber.

HBTA, in cooperation with Hythe Rotary and Hythe Civic Society, invites you to visit and enjoy our historic town, one of the original Cinque Ports, which has a history dating back a millennium. As the map in this guide shows, the narrow streets around St Leonard’s Church with its famous ossuary, and our busy high street with its wide range of independent traders, are just a short walk from a seafront unspoilt by commercial activity. We are proud that Hythe is where the countryside meets the sea and welcome visitors old and young.

The town boasts the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway, a narrow-gauge steam railway offering a regular service to Romney Marsh and beyond. Running through the town is the Royal Military Canal, a scheduled ancient monument built at the turn of the 19th century to defend Britain against Napoleon, a feature that reflects the town’s rich military history.

Although popular with day trippers for decades, many visitors prefer to stay a little longer – Hythe has a range of accommodation to suit all pockets and all within walking distance of both sea and town. For the sportsman and leisure enthusiast, Hythe offers both sea and coarse fishing, swimming, water sports and a range of sports clubs and venues including bowls, tennis, football and rugby. The town is ten minutes from junction 11 of the M20 and five minutes from the Eurotunnel terminal. There is ample parking within the town centre and at the seafront. !"#$%%&#'%()*(+#,%#)"$-%./01#2%34