Tired of visiting the same Sussex resorts, I headed to Whitstable on the north Kent coast to celebrate my birthday. Just before leaving, a conspiracy theorist told me, ‘ that’ll be nice and crowded.’ ‘Hardly, I replied, you seen the weather today?’ ‘People are gearing up for permanent lockdown, it will be busy,’ he warned. Whether it was busy for those reasons, I doubt it, or just because it’s summer and people can’t go abroad, he turned out to be right. The traffic was heavy and the parking, once we’d found a space , was expensive.
For several years now house prices along this stretch of coast have risen exponentially, mainly because Londoners have discovered this hidden gem, flocking to this quirky, historic town with its working Cornish-style harbour to buy second homes. It’s a short zip back to London for a Monday morning start back at work and so you can see why they’ve priced the locals out.
I’m a cafe girl, always have been and like to read and write while I sip strong black coffee, but weaving our way through the back streets of Whitstable, I was excited to see so many old traditional pubs, the type I remember from years ago. Especially when I lived in south London . Real pubs cluttered with old stuff on shelves, wood everywhere, groups of friends huddled around tables drinking rather than gastro pubs converted purely for dining. Old frontages with swaying signs, dark and welcoming insides with a chink of copper and warm low lighting and an array of colourful bottles behind the bar, a good selection of beers. Aside from the pleasure of visiting a proper pub again and amid fears that 1:5 are going under each week, we had a very good reason to dive into a pub; we’d bravely eaten a plate of oysters on the seafront and needed to swill them down with a pint or two of Kent’s finest. Whitstable is famous for its oysters, collected from the beds since Roman times, now cultivated. For those who’ve never eaten oysters you do have to be brave to sample these little beauties. The beaches of Whitstable are littered with oysters shells , huge swathes of white across the pebbles , washed up by the actions of the waves. Not far out to sea there are oyster trestles visible at low tide.
So what do they taste like? Slippery and slimy like a body part! So slippery you might miss your mouth and let it spill down your top. They taste like the sea, every seaside memory hits you at once as it slithers down your throat coming to settle at the pit of your stomach . You shudder and swallow . Then you’re aware of it nestling there for the next hour or two until you’ve forgotten the experience in a cloud of beer and your worry of becoming ill and ruining the weekend.
Whitstable has an array of diverse eateries for every palette and every budget from seafood to pizza , cream teas , to good old Eastend pie, mash and liquor. The best restaurants overlook the working harbour. As soon as you arrive you need to head to the seafront, stroll along and look at the colourful Cape Cod style weathered boarded houses with neat gardens a riot of colour, roses, lavender and other flowers. It was June and the beach was also teeming with plant life including red and yellow poppies.
If you visit Whitstable, don’t forget to drive out to nearby Tankerton and Herne Bay. They are equally lovely. From Herne Bay you can walk or cycle along a beach path for several miles taking in the wonderful views, beside beautiful green slopes– a natural habitat for plant life, insects and birds. Truly glorious!
