Big Weekend’s animal magic

More than 180,000 people applied for free tickets to visit attractions across Kent this weekend.

The record-breaking number of applications for the Kent Big Weekend 2017 was 184,143

- with just over 22,000 pairs of tickets to 116 attractions on offer.

The weekend organised by Visit Kent is in its eleventh year and will be held on Saturday, April 1 and Sunday, April 2.

Animals and wildlife proved the biggest draw, with Wingham Wildlife Park, Howletts Wild Animal Park, Port Lympne Reserve and the Rare Breeds Centre, near Ashford, taking the top four most popular choices of the ballot, with a combined 40,000 applications.

Bids to Hever Castle and Gardens took the final spot of the top five, receiving more than 6,300 entries. There were also tours and tastings at some of the county’s top vineyards up for grabs, light railway adventures, sports lessons and museum entry. Sinead Hanna from Visit Kent said: “Every year brings along new and exciting opportunities for our residents to experience Kent’s exceptional range of days out. We look forward to seeing everyone sharing #kentbigweekend17!”

There will be a selfie competition running over the weekend, where ticket holders can share a selfie of them enjoying the #kentbigweekend17 and using #kbwselfie on Twitter for the chance to win a prize.

The weekend is part of English Tourism

Week and aims to highlight tourism for the county.

Extra tickets were also donated to the

Family Holiday Association charity, which helps struggling families enjoy a day out for free.

Wingham Wildlife park has been a popular choice