EXCITING NEWS: We have just received some funding for an extension of this project called Folkestone StoryMap: Your Stories! For more information, please visit the Your Stories page.
The Folkestone StoryMap is an audio trail of short stories written by residents and regular visitors to Folkestone, created by local community interest company, Hand of Doom Productions CIC. At present there are six stories situated within the town’s award-winning Lower Leas Coastal Park.
The project, funded by Folkestone Town Council, Folkestone and Hythe District Council, and Kent County Council, saw nearly 300 children in the town take part in short story workshops in schools and Folkestone Museum in early 2020.
A free short story competition was then held to find stories rooted in the town’s history and connected to the Lower Leas Coastal Park. Six stories were chosen from the many entries, with each writer being awarded a £100 prize. The stories were then recorded by local actors.
The audio trail can be accessed via QR codes dotted throughout the park and via this website, where both audio and text versions are available.
The aim of the project was to encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to write and tell stories about the town, inspired by its landscape and heritage. It also aims to boost mental health wellbeing through storytelling, as well as encouraging people to get out into the fresh air.
Hand of Doom Productions is now looking for a seventh story to add to the trail at HG Wells’ former home in Sandgate and, once the pandemic is over, will resume workshops to encourage people of all ages to write more site-specific stories about the town and district.