A Perfect Spring Day in Whitstable

Whitstable is one of my favourite towns on earth. I don't quite think I could ever live there (or afford to) but I do love visiting as often as I can. The last time I went, I expected it to be a beautiful, warm spring day. We were blessed with blue skies and sunshine but it was definitely not warm.

Our first stop was the Lobster Shack, which I wrote about in 2016. We shared a platter of oysters, fresh out of the sea. 'Mouthwatering' doesn't even come close to describing it.

The food here is so good, there is a reason it's packed nearly every day of the year.

For our main course, we both had half a lobster tail with fresh chilli and chorizo, for £14.95. I swear I'm going to splurge out on a full tail next time I'm there.

We went for a long walk through Whitstable after our meal. We definitely needed it after eating every last crumb on our plates.

This town is lovely in summer when everyone is sailing their boats on the sea. Then again, I've never actually managed to get a table at the Lobster Shack during the warmer months, so swings and roundabouts!

I love this little boat. I haven't yet visited the restaurant to which it's attached but I must do so one day!

After a long, brisk walk, we came in from the cold and huddled, shivering in the famous Whitstable Old Neptune.

I can't remember what we were planning on drinking but it all fell by the wayside when we discovered they had Baileys Hot Chocolate on the menu. That is, hands down, the yummiest, most welcome drink I've ever had.

All too soon, it was time to head back to the car, past some pretty seaside cottages that I definitely couldn't afford. I shouldn't complain, I'd find it too busy in summer anyway.

I love towns like Whitstable. Do you have a favourite seaside town?

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24 Hours in Tankerton, Whitstable

I love living in Kent and barely a week goes by that I’m not grateful for our decision to move here. Having said that, I also escape every opportunity I get and bank holiday weekends are usually spent in Europe or at least somewhere else on the British Isles. Imagine my horror then when a hen’s party was scheduled on bank holiday Saturday, thus thwarting our plans to escape to Poland.

With just Sunday and Monday to spare on the bank holiday weekend, I decided to surprise Stephen with 24 hours away. I knew what I wanted – I wanted to go somewhere that would allow pets because I wanted to take our Labrador Molly with us and I was hoping for somewhere by the sea. I also wanted something a little old school or rustic and was looking at Canopy & Stars for glamping options as well as Airbnb.

With inspiration and a little bit of research, my plans began to take shape and my itinerary was set.

Where We Stayed

We found a lovely Airbnb apartment located in Tankerton, a quiet suburb of Whitstable. Our host Anna was absolutely lovely and very welcoming of Molly. She was also accepting of the fact that we were only staying for one night on a bank holiday weekend.

The flat was very quirky and decorated throughout with personal photographs. There was also a theme of love flowing through the entire apartment, which suited our romantic needs perfectly.

If you’ve never used Airbnb before, I would wholeheartedly recommend it as an alternative to hotels or guest houses. It is definitely for people who would like to cook for themselves or will eat out but it is so much better than a soulless hotel or cottage. When you join Airbnb, you get a referral code so if you click here you will get £25 off your first booking and I will also get money off my next booking.

Where We Ate

We were only in Whitstable for 24 hours yet still managed to fit in three meals. We enjoyed a delicious seaside lunch at The Lobster Shack, Whitstable and had a romantic anniversary dinner at East Coast Dining Room. We also had a very bad breakfast experience at The Marine Hotel on Marine Parade. I won’t bore everybody with the details but you can see my review at Yelp if you wish. Suffice to say, avoid at all costs (unless you like rude and horrible service, in which case don’t).

What We Did

Warning: this is going to sound excessively dull to many people so proceed with caution.

Readers of this blog will know that I have a tendency to burn the candle at both ends and with that in mind, we planned to do absolutely nothing. Well, that’s not exactly true.

• We walked. On our first day we walked from Tankerton Slopes to Whitstable Harbour and we also took another walk on the morning we left
• We ate
• I instagrammed
  

  Pebbly beach between Tankerton and Whitstable.

  A photo posted by Mandy Southgate (@mandytjie) on Aug 28, 2016 at 12:18pm PDT

• I read my book and Stephen watched television
• We had an epic afternoon nap
• We sat and stared at the sea a lot
  

Yup, that is pretty much all we did and it was absolutely glorious!

What We Also Did (But Which Was A Bit Sad)

The one thing we did do which was sad but also incredibly meaningful to us was to release Josey’s ashes over the sea in Seasalter. We chose Seasalter because it is a very quiet beach (we didn’t want to upset any young children!) but we wanted to leave my big dog in a place where she could frolic along the beach and play with the seagulls. I think she would have liked it and now I’ll always have this peaceful place to think of when we think of her final resting place.

What We Will Do Next Time

It is no surprise that we couldn’t fit anything everything in to 24 hours and after the wonderful time that we had, we will certainly return to Tankerton and Whitstable one day. Next time we visit, we’d like to squeeze in the following activities:

• Stay in a fisherman's hut on the beach. Whitstable Fisherman’s Huts offer huts from £85 per night bed and breakfast and I have it on high authority that this is a great experience.
• Catch the train from Whitstable to Canterbury East (via Faversham) and walk back to Whitstable along the Crab and Winkle Way. The route is well sign-posted and the walk extremely scenic.
• I’m not entirely sure whether this would be in the same trip as above, but I’d also love to hire a beach hut and hang out at the edge of the sea for a couple of days. The difference is that the beach huts are far more rustic with less provisions. BeachHuts.com offer huts from £50/day or we even spotted one for £60 for three days.
• Spent time in Whitstable town itself, photographing all the quirky shop fronts.

Have you ever taken a quick 24 hour trip somewhere? Do share the details below.

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An Anniversary Meal at the East Coast Dining Room, Whitstable

There are certain lessons that Stephen and I appear to need to learn twice. Or many, many times in some instances. For example, when you are in a seaside town on a bank holiday, it pays to book ahead for your evening meal and not leave it to chance that you’ll get in anywhere. We learned that lesson in the Isle of Wight and we learned it by not being able to get in anywhere.

Likewise, if it is your anniversary, albeit only a dating anniversary, it is best to do a little research to ensure that you find the best possible place to share your special meal. We’ve been together 18 years so I’m not quite able to list how many times we’ve learned this particular lesson.

And so it was that we’d taken a long walk from Tankerton Slopes to Whitstable Harbour (and back) and we had enjoyed a delicious seaside lunch at The Lobster Shack. With tummies full and drunk on sea air, we promptly fell asleep on return to our Airbnb, only to wake up at about 8pm, ravenous and in need of a walk.

The problem is that while many establishments had extended their Sunday opening hours to accommodate visitors on the bank holiday, even then 8pm was pushing it and most kitchens had closed.

After being turned away from two places, we saw the welcoming lights of the East Coast Dining Room and even noticed that we would be able to sit outside with Molly the Labrador!

With just ten minutes to go before their kitchen was due to close, the lovely people at the East Coast Dining Room welcomed us in. They warned us that we might have a little wait before they could take our order but ensured that we had a bread platter and Elderflower and Prosecco cocktails to enjoy while we waited. It is just as well because the menu was delightful and we pored over it for some time trying to make our choices.

Being that Whitstable is the oyster capital of England, we decided once again to begin our meal with half a dozen oysters for £8. The oysters were served with lemon, shallot vinegar and Tabasco and simply melted in our mouths, as oysters should. It was about this time that we began to ask why we can’t eat oysters every day.

For our first course, I decided on the seared scallops for £9.50, served with cauliflower purée and pickled grapes. They were so good that I was reluctant to share them with Stephen (it's our thing, we share) and I even refused a taste of his starter because I didn’t want to mix tastes. In the end, I was a good wife and gave him an entire scallop.

Stephen decided on the sirloin for £9, slow roasted with a radish and tomato salad and served with a mustard cream. In a word, he described it as ‘awesome’ (he’s the man of little words, remember?)

For our main course, I chose the pork tenderloin wrapped in prosciutto, served with aubergine purée, roast peppers and courgettes and resting on a Parmesan polenta for £17.50. The pork was succulent, incredibly tender and very tasty indeed. I especially liked the aubergine purée and thought that the roast peppers and courgettes were the perfect accompaniment to the meal. I was a little bit more gracious this time and allowed Stephen a decent taste which he greatly appreciated.

Stephen chose the lemon sole for £17.50, pan fried with scallop roe and seaweed butter and served with spinach and sautéed potatoes for his main course. I had a taste and it was absolutely delicious and like the sole I remembered and loved from South Africa. It was at this moment that I realised that I don’t like Dover sole and that it is lemon sole that I do like. The flesh is much lighter and slightly sweeter and Stephen confirmed that he greatly enjoyed his meal.

We loved our meal at the East Coast Dining Room and cannot speak highly enough of the welcoming staff. At different times in the evening, we were visited by both waiters and management who took the time to come out and chat to us and even made sure that Molly had enough water and cuddles.

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and would absolutely recommend it to anyone seeking a romantic meal for two. There is no fixed menu at East Coast Dining Room and the food on offer changes seasonally. It is the kind of place that you will return to again and again just so that you can see what delicious items they have thought of next.

East Coast Dining Room
101 Tankerton Road
Whitstable
Kent
CT5 2AJ

T: 01227 281180
E: book@eastcoastdiningroom.co.uk

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Seaside Dining at The Lobster Shack, Whitstable

We’d been for a long walk along the beachfront from Tankerton to Whitstable Harbour and as we rounded the last stretch, we could see Whitstable Harbour. There in the distance, I saw what looked like a large warehouse with the words “restaurant” painted on the roof. If there is one home truth about the sea air, it is that it stimulates your appetite and suddenly eating by the sea front seemed like the best idea ever.

We followed signs for The Lobster Shack and chose to sit right by the water’s edge. I have to admit, for one split second I did wonder why we were the only people sitting outside but my thoughts quickly turned to food and how quickly I could obtain it.

As the wind began to pick up, I hurried inside, pausing only to ascertain whether it was less windy closer to the shack. It wasn’t and so I hurried along. Inside The Lobster Shack it was bustling and full of diners. I was surprised how quickly I was served and placed the order before grabbing drinks and water for Molly the Labrador and heading back outside.

After losing my cup to the wind, Stephen and I settled down to enjoy our drinks and gaze over the sea. Molly tried her best to drink her water out of a pint glass before settling down to enjoy the wind in her face.

When the waitress came outside with our food, she remarked at how brave we were to face the windy conditions. When a local says something like that about any part of England’s rough and windy coastline, it is usually a good idea to take heed but we were simply too hungry.

To start, we shared a half dozen medium Whitstable Rock Oysters for £10, served with lemon, Tabasco and shallot vinegar. My first thought was that the oysters tasted remarkably like shampoo but that was before I realised that the wind had blown half my ponytail into my mouth. Once I perfected holding my hair with one hand and my oyster shell with the other, I was truly able to appreciate the oysters. We knew that we were close to the source because the oysters were simply delicious. We even got to try a few dashes of the Tabasco sauce before the wind blew the container into the sea.

For main course, I tried half a lobster tail served with chili and chorizo for £14.95 and Stephen tried the local skate wing for £9.95, beer battered and served with chips and a homemade tartar sauce. I apologise for the quality of this photograph, what you can’t see in the photo above is Stephen desperately trying to prevent the plates from blowing away and he put in a fine effort.

The lobster tail was absolutely delicious. I had never eaten lobster before but will certainly eat it again. Even though the chili and chorizo could have made the dish quite spicy, I didn’t find it too spicy at all and instead thought it to be very tasty. Stephen enjoyed his skate wing but warned me that he didn’t think I would like it due to the numerous and unusually-located bones. I decided to give it a miss but he said it was very good. We both loved the chips which is unusual because I am super fussy when it comes to chips. We drowned them in vinegar and agreed that they were perhaps the best part.

Once we had finished our meal, we quickly polished off our drinks and were soon on our way. We might have been brave enough to face the wind but even we could not take much more. We turned the way we had come and walked on past the beach huts before making our way home. We even stopped to chat to a lady about the history of the beach hut which you can read about on our walk from Tankerton Slopes to Whitstable Harbour.

I’d certainly recommend The Lobster Shack and the lobster tail was so good that I’d even brave the wind again for it, although I might just sit inside next time just to be sure.

The Lobster Shack
East Quay
Whitstable Harbour
Whitstable Kent
CT5 1AB

Have you ever tried extreme dining? What is the most you have braved for a good meal?

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Walking Tankerton to Whitstable Harbour

It is strange the things we dream about, things that are so easy to do but we simply never seem to get around to doing them. For the longest time, I dreamt about walking my dogs on the beach and this past Bank Holiday weekend I finally got to do that.

We began our walk on Tankerton Slopes. Tankerton is a suburb of Whitstable and an easy 30 minute walk along the beach to Whitstable Harbour.The slopes are so named because of the large expanse of grassy land sloping down to the beach.

We took a moment to admire the wind farms in the distance. I love wind farms and wish that we could make a plan to make them more economically viable. They looked so much bigger in real life, more so than they appear in this photo. I should mention that all the photos in this post (and all my Whitstable posts) are taken on my iPhone 5SE. Surely I’m not the only blogger who goes on a trip to a new location and forgets her camera at home?

Our walk took us past beach huts which have the most fascinating story. Tankerton itself was a beachfront created specifically to cater for the Victorians that were able to visit the seaside via brand new rail routes from London. Later on in the walk, we met a lady who told us all about them.

This sign made me laugh at first until we walked along the Marine Parade later that night and saw how high the tide was!

We saw a natural sandbank up ahead and decided to walk down it right to the edge of the sea. Molly wasn’t too sure about the feel of the pebble beach under her paws at first but she soon got the hang of it.

She even agreed to pose for a photo with me although she insisted on showing her more favourable rear profile. In her defence, there were some very entertaining seagulls frolicking away at the water’s edge.

We continued our walk towards Whitstable Harbour, stopping only to admire these groynes. Groynes are there to manage coastal erosion which is of great importance on English coastlines. They interrupt the water flow, thus lessening the impact of the waves, while simultaneously controlling the movement of sand. I thought it was quite a clever idea and endlessly photogenic too.

We soon arrived in Whitstable Harbour and admired the vintage ice cream van.

Having worked up quite an appetite, we decided to stop for a bite to eat at The Lobster Shack which I'll tell you all about in my next post. Spoiler: it was delicious but windy.

During our visit, we learned that the oyster shells are accumulated in great skips like this and returned to the sea floor to restore oyster beds and encourage baby oysters to nest in them so that they won’t be enveloped in the muddy sea floor which is lethal for them.

On our way, we stopped to talk to this lovely lady in front of her hut. I had apologised for taking a photo of her and explained that I was admiring her pirate flags and we soon got talking to her and her husband. I took the opportunity to ask her about the huts – coming from South Africa, I didn’t know much about them. She explained that in Victorian times, the huts were wheeled to the edge of the sea so that women could bathe and not scandalise anybody with the image of their scantily clad bodies. Our new friend mentioned a connection to the burkini ban and the fact that we are still telling women what to wear!

The couple live locally and spend their days in the hut. In fact, their grandchildren recently came down from London and spent two weeks with them at the hut. What an idyllic holiday!

All too soon, we made it back to Tankerton and climbed the long path up the slope. I’m not sure how our 12.5-year-old dog was feeling but the humans were struggling! After buying an ice cream from the kiosk, we decided it was high time for an afternoon nap.

Have you ever spent much time at the English seaside or were oceans and big waves more your thing?

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