Kent is in the South East corner of England. It is easy to travel to Kent, through London. There are trains to cities and towns in Kent from Saint Pancras and Victoria stations in London.
There is approximately 1,5 million people living in Kent with the principal towns being Maidstone, Canterbury and the Medway conurbation of Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham.
Friday January 2nd 2026
I set off after work on Friday January 2nd. I caught the 16.01 from Reading to Paddington. I travelled by underground train to St. Pancras and caught the 17.20 South Eastern train to Whitstable, and I arrived at 18.41. Due to it being dark, I decided to take a taxi to the Canterbury-Whitstable Travelodge Hotel, which is on the site of a motorway type services, which serves the busy A299 dual carriageway. Unfortunately this hotel doesn't have a restaurant or bar, but the staff in the check-in desk were very friendly and helpful.
I had a quiet evening, I had a supply of snacks and the hotel supplied tea, coffee, UHT milk. I watched repeats of Top of the Pops programmes from 1976, 1978 & 1989.
Saturday January 3rd 2026
In the morning I listened to Sounds of the 60s (Radio 2). I brought some pains au chocolate with me. I had one with my morning cup of tea.
I set off to explore the other food outlets on the site, but there was only Costa & Starbucks (coffee shops) and a Budgen mini-supermarket selling groceries, primarily for motorists.
I walked towards Whitstable, via Dargate, which is a small village. However there is a pub, The Dove which serves Shepherd Neames beer, which are brewed nearby, in Faversham.
I noticed on my map, there was a cafe on the route to Whitstable. The cafe, Arby's was a small building close to the Blean Woods, a popular area for camping. The lady serving me was friendly and helpful. I had an Americana coffee and a sausage and bacon toasted roll.
I proceeded with my walk and managed to catch a bus to Whitstable. Buses in this area are run by Stagecoach
I arrived in Whitstable around noon and got off the bus by the harbour. Whitstable is famous for shellfish, particularly oysters and whelks. Interestingly one of the families who are still farming the shellfish after many generations originated from Sheringham, Norfolk. The family moved as fishing for whelks and oysters was no longer productive on the Northern Norfolk coast.
I continued to walk along the seafront despite the "biting" wind. There are many narrow streets, interesting wooden and brick buildings, pubs, independent shops.
I visited the town Museum which tells the history of Whitstable, the fishing, fires and the Canterbury to Whitstable Railway. The original locomotive Invicta is the prime exhibit of the museum.
Many of the pubs in the town host live music and open mic evenings. One of the pubs, The Peter Cushing, is a Wetherspoon pub. Wetherspoon kept many of the original features of former Art-Decor cinema. It was worth just going in this building to admire the restored cinema. Unfortunately I was unable to have my lunch there as it was so busy inside and there were no spare tables. Instead I went to The Coach and Horses which is a 19th Century coaching house. I had a pint of the Shepherd Neames ale with a burger, chips and salad.
There is interesting street art in Whitstable with the tag Catman including interpretations of art masterpieces
Sunday January 4th 2026
The day turned out to be sunny, although the air was cold.
I travelled by bus to Herne Bay as my nephew Richard now lives in the seaside town. I had a break between buses in the pretty seaside town of Tankerton. Tankerton's Marine Parade runs parallel with the beach. There is a grassy area between this street and the beach.
I had taken the 401 bus service to Tankerton's Priest and Sow. There is a small house by the bus stop which is a cafe. I had a coffee and a toasted tea-cake. This cafe only accepts cash, which is quite rare in 2026. Many people still think accepting cash is better than card payment especially as anything relying on computers can be a problem when the computer or Internet connections fail.
I then travelled to Herne Bay on the 400 bus at 11.08 and arrived outside the railway station at 11.27. While I was waiting for my nephew, I had a coffee in the Hat Hats cafe next to the station's booking hall. Like many stations on the southern railway network, Herne Bay Station is well looked after, clean and tidy.
When Richard arrived, we walked through the Memorial Park to the Central Parade (promenade). The promenade has a large bandstand, which has cafes and shops, a large clock tower, a pier and a break water. We walked along the breakwater and I took some photos. The wind was so strong, the waves of the sea splashed the walkers and anglers.
Richard and I had a baked potato and a beer for lunch in the Sussex Shore Wetherspoon pub. After lunch I returned by bus and then walked back to the hotel.
No comments:
Post a Comment