Things you didn't know about... Kent

Kent put the swing in the Sixties

Rolling Stones Mick Jagger and Keith Richards both hail from Kent. They are probably extremely grateful to another person born in the county, fashion designer Mary Quant, who shaped the Sixties female silhouette by inventing the mini-skirt.

Don't mistake a "Man of Kent" for a "Kentish Man"

The River Medway divides the county. To the west, a local male is called a Kentish Man; to the east, he is a Man of Kent. The difference originates from the fact that the Saxons settled in the west of the county, and the Angles in the east.

Kent has always had a lot of steam

In 1830 the UK's first locomotive-driven passenger railway opened in Kent, between Canterbury and Whitstable. The world's first season ticket was issued for travel on the line in 1832.

Game, set and match to Kent strawberries

Kent supplies the strawberries for the Wimbledon tennis championships each year. They are picked each day and transported overnight for optimum freshness. Some 28,000 kg are eaten over the course of the fortnight.

Kent lines up for a place in road history

Kent was the first place in the UK to have white road lines. They were painted on the London to Folkestone road in Ashford, in 1914.

Kent museums get dogs hot under the collar

Leeds Castle, one of Kent's most famous historic buildings (and nowhere near the city of Leeds), contains what is thought to be the only museum of dog collars in the world.

No man is on an island in Thanet

The Isle of Thanet, in the east of Kent, was cut off from the mainland when the English Channel was formed over 6,000 years ago. But over the last millennium the channel that separated the island has slowly silted up, and the Isle of Thanet is now connected to the rest of county once again.

It's lime, gentlemen, please, for Kent cricketers

Kent County Cricket Club's home ground at Canterbury is unique in having a lime tree inside the playing area. The original tree stood for over 250 years before succumbing to disease and storm. In 2005 it was replaced with a new lime tree and the tradition lives on. Hit any part of the tree and you score four.

Kent are not from Kent

There is a band called Kent... but they're actually from Eskilstuna in Sweden.