Day Trip to Whitstable
I am spending much more time near water on this trip. It just gives me life.
Whitstable came up as a nice place to visit when I researched coastal towns near Canterbury. I figured I would make it my first visit to the coast. The town is almost straight north of Canterbury and was a quick 30 minute train ride with one change in a town called Faversham.
Like some kind of idiot, I didn't bring my umbrella with me even though it was overcast when I left the house. When I got to the platform at the station, it had started to rain.
Luckily it wasn't raining too hard and I made the 20 minute walk from the station without getting too soaked. I had a scarf with me so every once in a while I put it on my head. Stylin'.
My plan wasn't really to eat right away, but figured I needed to be somewhere indoors for a bit until the rain cleared up. I found a hotel nearby called Marine Hotel that ended up being pretty posh, but the food prices seemed reasonable. I went inside and ordered an eggs florentine bagel and cappuccino. Both were good! The place was so cute too and look how my coffee arrived.
By the time I left the hotel, the rains had cleared! The hotel was right across from the sea, so leaving was refreshing. Technically at that point I was in an area called Tankerton, specifically Tankerton Slopes because, well, the land slopes to the sea. It is well known for its colorful huts along the coast.
I haven't quite figured out what they are there for. I saw a lady opening one and I wanted to ask, but chickened out. I think really it's just storage? It's definitely not large enough for living quarters, but who knows. These people live in pretty small spaces. You could sleep in one, but there can't be a toilet in there? Mysteries.
Next up was Whitstable Castle and Gardens. From what I understand, this place is mostly used as a wedding and event venue. Really I wanted to walk through the garden because it was free. It was also mostly on my way up the beach.
Whitstable came up as a nice place to visit when I researched coastal towns near Canterbury. I figured I would make it my first visit to the coast. The town is almost straight north of Canterbury and was a quick 30 minute train ride with one change in a town called Faversham.
Like some kind of idiot, I didn't bring my umbrella with me even though it was overcast when I left the house. When I got to the platform at the station, it had started to rain.
Luckily it wasn't raining too hard and I made the 20 minute walk from the station without getting too soaked. I had a scarf with me so every once in a while I put it on my head. Stylin'.
My plan wasn't really to eat right away, but figured I needed to be somewhere indoors for a bit until the rain cleared up. I found a hotel nearby called Marine Hotel that ended up being pretty posh, but the food prices seemed reasonable. I went inside and ordered an eggs florentine bagel and cappuccino. Both were good! The place was so cute too and look how my coffee arrived.
By the time I left the hotel, the rains had cleared! The hotel was right across from the sea, so leaving was refreshing. Technically at that point I was in an area called Tankerton, specifically Tankerton Slopes because, well, the land slopes to the sea. It is well known for its colorful huts along the coast.
I haven't quite figured out what they are there for. I saw a lady opening one and I wanted to ask, but chickened out. I think really it's just storage? It's definitely not large enough for living quarters, but who knows. These people live in pretty small spaces. You could sleep in one, but there can't be a toilet in there? Mysteries.
Next up was Whitstable Castle and Gardens. From what I understand, this place is mostly used as a wedding and event venue. Really I wanted to walk through the garden because it was free. It was also mostly on my way up the beach.
The garden was simply charming because everything had raindrops on it. I really miss my mom when I see and smell beautiful roses because they were her favorite. I also think of my Grandma Scheffert because she would've been able to share some gardening knowledge with me. This was a nice little pit stop for me.
The rest of the day was pretty much spent walking along the beach. It's a different type of beach, with medium sized pebbles instead of sand and every 100 feet or so there is a wooden divider, something else I'm not sure about. Does it keep the beach from eroding? Maybe it has something to do with fishing and oystering. More mysteries.
Once the sun came out, it was a beautiful day.
Speaking of oysters, this is what Whitstable is known for and, boy, do you run into the smell of it quite often. I am not a big oyster person, but while in Whitstable...
They were pretty okay. Definitely fresh and oystery. I put a little hot sauce on them. Glad I had some! There were other options to have oysters and other seafood, of course, and these places are just begging for a photo to be taken.
I decided to have a half pint on the beach and got it at a place called Old Neptune. It was so pleasant being out in the sun just people-watching. I saw a dad teaching his kids how to skip rocks; it was so cute.
What a lame photo of me. I'm finding that the timer doesn't auto-focus too well. This is the only pic I got with me in it today and I'm okay with that.
I thought I would end up staying in Whitstable for longer today, but I was ready to head back to Canterbury by about 3:00. I was tired from nearly 7 miles of walking and hungry because three oysters wasn't much for lunch. Got the train back to homebase and went in search of a pub called Lady Luck for dinner.
I ordered an item called ploughman's lunch, which I had heard of before but actually had no idea what it was. Here it is!
The bread and cheese here are always superb. England definitely has perfected those two things over the centuries. The ploughman's lunch was tasty! I do like blue cheese, but couldn't eat it straight on the bread. I did take a couple of bites, though.
This pub was rock n roll themed, which I didn't fully realize until I sat down across from a mural of band logos.
Appreciative of seeing Deftones, Muse, Metallica, Korn, and Red Hot Chili Peppers on there!
Tomorrow is another day to explore Canterbury and then from there I am pretty much on the move daily!