As restoration continues on Folkestone’s historic Leas Lift, it is the people on the ground who are helping keep its story alive. Through the Leas Lift Heritage Walks, volunteers are reconnecting residents and visitors with the landscape, memories and everyday histories that surround the Lift. Two of those volunteers are Peter and Sheila, whose knowledge, warmth and enthusiasm shape each walk.

For Peter, the Lift represents a period of history that still feels close and relatable. His interest lies in transport history and the late Victorian and early Edwardian era, a time he feels people can still imagine themselves connected to.

“I’ve always had a strong interest in local history, especially transport related, and that late Victorian, early Edwardian period of history. I’ve always found it really interesting. I’ve never really had that interest in old stuff and things like that. By which I mean 1700s, it just seems too old for me. I like to see history where I can imagine my grandparents visited it as children and things like that.”

Although the Lift only closed relatively recently, Peter feels it already carries the weight of history. Seeing it fall into decline was difficult, but being part of its journey back has been deeply rewarding.

“Obviously the Leas Lift’s been open for such a long time, and it only closed recently, but it still feels like recent history, doesn’t it? It’s a shame to see it in its latter years when it’s almost declining. It’s going to be nice to see it back up and running again.”

One of Peter’s favourite parts of leading the walks is helping people visualise what the landscape once looked like, using precise locations and small details to bring the past into focus.

“One of the things I always say after I’ve started the walk at the bottom is we just walk a few yards and we’re right by the entrance to a very small car park, and I always stop there and say, well, if this was 1890 or whatever, this is where the turnstile booth was, where you’d be paying your penny to go onto the pier, or tuppence to go onto the pier at times.”

Peter also enjoys showing people that the Leas was once served by more than one lift, and that traces of those structures still exist today.

“People don’t really realise that there were three lifts. You had the Leas Lift, the Metropole Lift and the Sandgate Lift. With the Metropole Lift, there’s still a little bit of the concrete remains of the foundations and even the remains of the water pipe that used to carry the water back up and down, and there’s still a room at the top where the engine and pump were.”

Sometimes, those stories surface unexpectedly through the people who join the walks themselves.

“I even found when I was mentioning the Sandgate Lift to somebody, one of the guys on the walk actually lives in a flat which is built on the old station at the far end, at the bottom of Sandgate, and he told me that he owns a garage underneath it and has got remains of the gents’ urinals still in the garage.”

Sheila’s path into volunteering began from a desire to feel rooted in her new home. Having recently moved to Folkestone after many years living elsewhere in East Kent, she saw the walks as a way to meet people and contribute to the town.

“I definitely don’t see myself as any sort of hero. I volunteered as a walking guide mainly for selfish reasons. I had moved to Folkestone the previous year, though I had lived in East Kent for 50 years, and wanted to get involved in the community and get to know local people.”

Living just across the road from the top of the Lift, Sheila felt a strong personal connection to its future, particularly because it was something tangible that could be repaired.

“I live just across the road from the top of the lift, and wanted to be looking out at something interesting and in working order. I can’t do anything to help fix other broken local features like the Road of Remembrance or the Pavilion, but the Lift is repairable. I am very keen on upcycling and repairing, and I also volunteer at the Repair Café.”

Sheila is drawn to the social history of the Leas, especially the period following the arrival of the railway, when Folkestone became a place of escape and enjoyment for visitors.

“The history of the Leas and the lifts is the sort of history I can get my head round. I find it hard to take in abstract historical ideas, but I can envisage Folkestone after the coming of the railway, the early day-trippers escaping the dirt of London and the joy of people moving to and holidaying by the sea.”

One detail in particular always captures her imagination.

“I think my favourite bit of history about the Leas is the family connection between Mrs Keppel and Camilla, now our Queen. How unlikely is that?”

For both volunteers, the greatest reward has been seeing how people respond to the walks. While early tours were met with some scepticism, that has changed as restoration has become more visible.

“When we started the walks in 2024 and nothing had really started, people were still a little bit sceptical. This year, I think people have been much more positive about it because they can actually see progress starting.”

Sheila values the conversations that happen along the way and the shared memories people bring with them.

“I love talking to people who come on the walks, and I have learned so much from them. Most people live in Folkestone or the surrounding area and many of them have travelled on the lift when it was working, as have I.”

Some moments have been particularly memorable, including one unexpected request.

“It was a particular thrill to be asked by someone who had walked with me last year to lead a heritage walk for his wedding guests this year, the day after his wedding. I was amazed that 30 of his wedding guests were interested enough to turn out and really seemed to enjoy themselves.”

Looking ahead, both Peter and Sheila are excited about what the reopening of the Lift will mean.

“I can’t actually remember going on it as a child, so I look forward to my first ride on it,” Peter says. “Someone described it as a white-knuckle ride of the Victorian century.”

For Sheila, the reopening carries a deeper sense of accessibility and care.

“I am so pleased that the many elderly people whom I have met, who have told me that they have not been down to the sea for years, will once again be able to go down to the sea and also walk through the lovely adjoining park area. The day may come when I can’t walk back up again myself, but it’s great to know that the Lift will be there to help out.”

Together, Peter and Sheila represent the heart of the Leas Lift Heritage Walks, ensuring that as the Lift is restored, its stories are shared in the voices of those who know it best.