The Venue Perhaps best known as the home of the Powell-Cotton Museaum, Quex Park comprises some 250 acres of parkland, gardens and woodland. Quex House was built as a Regency gentleman's residence and was extended in Victorian times. Much restoration work has been done on the gardens in recent years and the 15 acre pleasure gardens and the walled garden, with its original teak-framed glasshouses, cucumber pit and orchid house, are now fully open to the public. The park and gardens are home to a large colony of colourful and loquacious parakeets, which add a definite touch of the exotic. A pre-sale lunch in the popular restaurant could prove a pleasant start to an enjoyable afternoon. Directions The A28 Canterbury to Margate road passes through Birchington. From Birchington, take the B2050 (Park Lane) towards Acol and Manston. The entrance to the park and museum is off the B2050. Copyright ©2007 The Hardy Plant Society Kent Group