Every so often, on a hot summer’s day, I miss the seaside.
All my friends know that I’m the worst Australian ever – I hate tomato sauce, Aussie rules football and thick Australian accents. I’m terrified of snakes and spiders, I hardly swim in the ocean on account of the sharks and I burn more easily than dry grass in a heatwave.
But sometimes a bit of the Aussie in me rears its cork-hat-wearing head and I crave the beach. I just need to see it, to be near it, to dip my feet into it.
Living in London means there’s no seaside in close proximity, but thankfully it’s pretty easy to reach the coastline of Kent for a soul-refreshing day trip to the English seaside.
On a particularly stifling day this summer, a friend who was visiting from Sydney and I took ourselves for a day trip to Whitstable to eat oysters and lobster, drink prosecco and soak up some of that glorious salty air.
How to get to Whitstable
From London Victoria it’s a really quick train journey – about an hour and a quarter – to Whitstable station.
I booked my tickets through Trainline and it cost about £28 return per person. You can probably get cheaper tickets if you book in advance or have a railcard.
Once you arrive, it takes about ten minutes to walk to the main part of town, following the signed footpaths.
You might also like: A Day at the Seaside in Brighton
What to see in Whitstable
The town centre of Whitstable is really picturesque, and worth strolling around.
As well as cute eateries and boutiques selling gifts and clothing, there’s an abundance of antique shops, so I was obviously in heaven. The prices are incredible – probably a quarter of what you’d pay for the same thing in London, and many of them deliver for free to London addresses.
Of course, you don’t travel all the way to the seaside to spend the day in shops along the high street, no matter how cute they are.
The main attraction in Whitstable is the seaside, and luckily there’s loads of it. There’s a famous walking route called the Saxon Shore Way, which follows most of the Kent coastline, including the beautiful stretch of beach in Whitstable.
There’s loads to see, from rows of colourful beach houses to a harbour, restaurants and a row of terraced houses so bright and colourful they rival even the most Instagrammable London homes.
Don’t forget to check out the quaint little alleyways leading between the seafront and the high street, including the aptly named Squeeze Gut Alley, a passageway so small it’s a challenge to walk through without grazing your shoulders.
The beaches themselves are pebbly, but on a hot day this won’t put you off dipping your feet into the clear, cool water and believing, for just a moment, that you’re somewhere balmy and tropical.
You might also like: 8 Reasons to be Mad About Margate
Where to eat in Whitstable
Famous for its oysters, Whitstable is a seafood-lover’s paradise.
In fact, they love their oysters so much they celebrate them each year with a weekend-long festival in the middle of summer.
We missed it by a week but we didn’t miss out on eating them – we stopped at the Whitstable Oyster Company Beach Bar (aka the cheap and casual version of the fancy restaurant inside) and watched as half a dozen shells were freshly shucked in front of us.
We drowned half in red wine vinegar, the other half in lemon juice, and we ate them as we looked out at the blue water, prosecco in hand. Is there anything better than fresh oysters on a sunny day?
I very much doubt it.
It wasn’t a long walk before we stopped for more food, this time at The Forge, another seaside shack that was advertising lobster so cheaply (£13.50 for a half lobster with chips and salad!) that we couldn’t keep walking.
We had more oysters, some white wine, and later in the afternoon, delicious English Toffee ice cream.
There are plenty of little bars, pubs and restaurants along the seaside, and even on the high street. Wheeler’s Oyster Bar is something of an institution, having served oysters to the public for over 150 years!
The brightly-coloured exterior is worth stopping to admire, even if you’re too full to go in and eat.
Although it was a short day in Whitstable, it was the perfect dose of English seaside, just enough to satisfy my craving for sand between my toes and a salty breeze whipping my hair. Until next summer, anyway, when I’m bound to go in search of another slice of seaside paradise.
You might also like: Dreamland Retro Amusement Park in Margate
Pin this for later:
