Hop farm introduces helicopter rides
Published: 00:00, 07 September 2001
HELICOPTER flights over Kent and London are the latest addition to the attractions at the Hop Farm Country Park at Beltring, near East Peckham.
Visitors can enjoy a bird's eye view of the ground belowe them during trips lasting between 40 minutes to an hour. Spokesman for the Hop Farm, Chris Yates, said: "It's excellent, something different, and it gives you a different perspective."
Flights are currently being offered all day every Saturday and Sunday, with flights scheduled to start weekdays at the end of the month, from 7am to 9am and 4pm to 6pm.
The helicopter, based at Biggin Hill, will also be used by Invicta FM as its new flying eye. Flights cost £148 and can be booked on 01622 873273.
The Hop Farm also has two more new attractions on offer - a mock steam train called Harry and the lorry used in the TV series The Darling Buds Of May.
The electric train, in the style of a turn-of-the-century steam train, runs around the Hop Farm grounds on wheels, picking up and dropping off visitors.
It was hand-built in Tunbridge Wells and only one other model exists - in a shopping centre in Saudi Arabia.
In the Darling Buds of May, the lorry belonged to Pop Larkin, played by actor David Jason. It was donated to the Hop Farm by Rex Cadman, who lives near Canterbury and hired the lorry to the show's producers.
It has been in the possession of the Hop Farm for several years, but has only recently gone on show.
Visitors are able to hitch a ride on the lorry at special events.
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KentOnline reporter