A Weekend Wandering in Kent (part 6, Whitstable)

Having finished my last post on Margate in my previous post, we now move on to Whitstable. This was a remarkable day out in that we had done no research whatsoever so had absolutely no expectations of what it would be like, nor what we would do there. Firstly the weather was wonderful, which always helps, and secondly the town and its surroundings were beautiful. Our wander on this glorious day started at the harbour and took us west along the coast for a couple of hours, and then back into to the town.

Whitstable Harbour, Kent 

Whitstable Harbour, Kent 

Boats on the beach, Whitstable, Kent

Although the skies were clear, it was fairly cold so not that many people walking along the beach and sea front once we'd left the town. The beach huts looked wonderful in the winter sun, but none were being used today.

Beach huts, Whitstable, Kent 

Beach huts, Whitstable, Kent

Beach huts, Whitstable, Kent

Beach huts, Whitstable, Kent

A red boat on the beach, Whitstable, Kent

The beach, Whitstable, Kent

 The beach, Whitstable, Kent

The beach, Whitstable, Kent

We must have walked along the beach and shore line for a good few miles before turning back. We had hoped to find a cozy little café to stop at for tea and cake but weren't in luck as the only one for miles was closed for the season. On the return leg we were treated to a most spectacular sunset. In this picture it's only just getting going.

Sunset over the beach, Whitstable, Kent

The sunset also made for some lovely, enhanced colouring on the already beautiful beach huts.

Beach huts catch the sunset, Whitstable, Kent

And also on this overturned red boat.

A red boat on the shore, Whitstable, Kent

These houses reminded me a little of the Painted Ladies in San Francisco. What a wonderful view they must have.

 Painted houses, Whitstable, Kent

As we arrived back at the outskirts of Whitstable, the sunset became more and more spectacular. There was a well situated pub, The Old Neptune I think, where we sat down for a mulled wine and mince pie to watch the sunset. Pretty sure it was the one featured on the cover of Whitstable and Herne Bay Pubs.

Sunset over the beach, Whitstable, Kent

Sunset over the beach, Whitstable, Kent

Suitably refreshed we headed into the actual town for the first time in our visit where we found a pleasing selection of ghost signs, doorway mosaics and street art.

CELEBRATED ALES & STOUTS

Ghost sign, Whitstable, Kent

Doorway mosaic, Whitstable, Kent

 What struck me most about this piece of street art was the Crass logo in the middle of the girl's white dress. Took me right back to my rebellious teenage years.

Street art, Whitstable, Kent

This selection of ghost signs was a bit strange in that they almost looked as though they were recent additions made to look old, but I'm sure that's not the case and just looks that way because the wall behind has been recently painted.

WILLS's

STAR

CIGARETTES

WILLS's

GOLD FLAKE

WILLS's

FLAG

CIGARETTES

Ghost signs, Whitstable, Kent

To end my Whitstable post, here's another piece of street art which caught my eye, the Queen being pulled along by her corgies. The thing about this that amused me most was the fact that she is wearing trainers.

Street art, Whitstable, Kent

Thanks for reading. Comments always welcome. Still a few Kent instalments left to write so remember to check back in a few days.

A Weekend Wandering Around Kent (part 2, Margate)

Hot(ish) on the heals of part one of my Weekend Wandering in Kent blog post, is part two. Whereas part one covered Deal and Sandwich, albeit in small measures, part two covers Margate which was our base for the weekend. I ended up taking several pictures each day, sometimes as we were navigating our way out of Margate to visit other places, sometimes as we explored Margate. I definitely have too many pictures for a single Margate post so will split this into at least two parts.

Before I begin however, I have a bit of conundrum in terms of how I present Margate. Each day showed us different aspects to it. If I base my post simply on my experiences of the first day, then it would have been a rather sorry tale of a run down seaside resort, whereas if I include only what I saw on other days it would paint a much rosier picture. Therefore, I will share all my experiences, covering all aspects of the visit, so you will see me flipping between subject matter and different days, but hopefully still maintaining some cohesion. Still with me? Then let's begin ...

Unfortunately by the time we arrived in Margate it was quite a dreary day. After checking in, we wrapped up warm and headed down to the seafront. If I'm honest, our first impression was a bit of a sorry one, and we were wondering if we should have based ourselves elsewhere for the weekend. The weather definitely did not help as we navigated our way through litter strewn streets and dog's mess.

As regular readers will know, I'm a bit of a sucker for ghost signs, and this building fitted the bill perfectly, still sporting most of the lettering from its previous use as a depository.

F.L.Pettman Ltd., Depository, Margate, Kent

You only need to do a quick internet search to see what the Margate Lido looked like in its heyday. Sadly today it's less than a shadow of its past.

Margate Lido, Cliftonville, Margate

Margate Lido, Cliftonville, Margate

Margate Lido, Cliftonville, Margate

Margate Lido, Cliftonville, Margate

As promised, this post will move around in content quite a bit, so from the run down lido we now move on to something a bit more uplifting ... ghost signs and doorway mosaics in the old town ... and some sunshine.

Doorway mosaic, King Street, old town, Margate

Not sure whether the ornate, blue section of the mosaic below is a more recent addition, or whether it was part of the original. I assume the clear section in the middle is there to allow some light into the basement below.

Doorway mosaic, King Street, old town, Margate

And above the this mosaic, a wonderfully preserved sign showing the shop's former use.

Ladies & Gentlemen's Tailor

and Breeches Maker.

H.B.SMITH

Old shop sign, Kind Street, old town, Margate

I was not sure whether to include this as a ghost sign as it seems to have been very recently renovated, however it tells a story and on closer inspection above the brightly painted signage is a sign for

STUPPELL Hair Cutter

Ghost signs, old town, Margate

A closer inspection of the signs reveals the hairdresser's sign in its full glory.

Ghost signs, old town, Margate

Old town, Margate

Another beautifully preserved shop sign, this time for

Clothier

T.W.STIGANT

Hosier

Old shop sign, King Street, old town, Margate

The final picture from part 1 or my Margate post is of street art in the old town.

Street art, Margate

I have plenty more pictures to share from Margate, and also other places we visited over the weekend, so stay tuned folks for further instalments.

And if you missed my earlier post in this series, here's the link to the one I wrote about Deal and Sandwich.

A wander around the Essex coastline (part 2 of 3) - Mersea

The second post in my series of three from the Essex coastline features Mersea. This day started out very grey and wet, but was livened up by a fantastic breakfast of drop pancakes and bacon, washed down with fresh orange juice and extra strong coffee, in the Art Café in West Mersea, after which the sun came out, allowing us to embark on a dry but windy walk.

Boat off West Mersea, Essex

Beautiful colours on this small boat, tied up on the beach as we continued our wander around the coast.

Painted boat on Mersea, Essex

As we walked around the coast we saw boats of all shapes and sizes, with some appearing marooned in the grasslands but all with elevated gangways, suggesting that at high tide they are actually in the water and only accessible by means of these walkways.

House boats on Mersea, Essex

Despite being low tide, these boats are most definitely in the water.

Jetty on Mersea, Essex

As if the houses in this next picture were not perfect enough, the name of the road, City Road, grabbed my attention too as I couldn't really think of anywhere less city like.

City Road, West Mersea, Essex

Father's Day - a trip to Swanage

I had a wonderful Father's Day this year, which involved a day trip to Swanage with the family. For those readers from outside the UK, Swanage is a seaside town on the Dorset coast. It's just that bit further and requires just a little more effort to get to than the larger places like Bournemouth, Weymouth and Poole, and as such always seems less busy. We arrived so early that there were even some free car parking spaces left. The weather on arrival wasn't great, overcast but at least not raining. Having left so early we had not had time for breakfast at home so, allowing just a few minutes for the kids to say hello to the sea, we found a cafe and tucked into some rather excellent breakfast rolls and coffee.

Swanage beach - overcast and deserted

Swanage beach, sunny but still deserted

Fortunately as the day went on, the weather became better and better, and lunch on the hoof, we climbed up the hill overlooking Swanage and around the coastal path to Durlston Lighthouse.

Durlston Lighthouse

The walk around the cliffs and back must have taken a couple of hours. We were in no hurry and had plenty of time to watch the sea and the birds. On returning to the town we had sufficiently built up our appetites again, and of course had to have the obligatory fish and chip supper before heading home. To avoid repeating our inbound journey, we took the ferry across from Studland Bay on the way home.

Waiting for the ferry from Studland to Sandbanks