Broadstairs - a Dickens of a place

Broadstairs - a little rough

I know that winter, January 22 to be precise, is not the best time to go to the seaside where the entertainment is more likely to be ice creams, buckets and spades in the sand and strolls along the promenade to enjoy the sea air.  We had a stiff, cold breeze that numbed the digits, snatched at ears, delivered frost bite to bald heads and created a desire to seek warmth.

What's that?

We walked from the car park to
the sea front and along the lower promenade beside the sand and admired the buildings, the beach huts and enjoyed the splendour of a wild sea that ignored the wishes of a populace needing a drop or tow of sunshine.  More like teetering on the desire to snow.

It was invigorating.

Lifeboat House

We walked up top the cliff top and looked at Bleak House (as one must) enjoying the whale shape lifeboat service building and watching for waves to splash the sea wall.  A young Seagull obliged by posing on the wall of the steps leading down and we saw plovers disappearing quickly on the hard driven along by the wind.  A stop at the Lord Nelson pub for a Guiness and a coffee was a necessary thing and after a wander through the streets and alleys simply enjoying the flint walls, the neat houses and feeling of being in a coastal town.  Quite pleasant.  We were dogless so a stroll was on the cards minus the need to remove doggy doos (as some irresponsible pooch owner had refused to do) and wander into the Dickens Museum.

Bleak HouseAdd caption

I like museums and will take or leave the commentary of the volunteers.  The old boy who played the part of museum host was fine but a little irritating spewing out information that really wasn't needed.  I felt like J in Three Men in a Boat trying vainly to enjoy his afternoon by the church wall.  We didn't get skulls or graves but we got endless drivelling trivia in and around the most useful information the old boy could tell us.  The idiot kept interrupting my thoughts about the writer's life and works and I lost the thread.  I had images of him in the ruins of his ancestral home with Harris singing comic songs on the rubble - that was a comfort.

However, irritating old boys aside, the place is worth a visit and the old boy knew his stuff.

And for those who want to reach the beach without walking the steps there is a lift.  I ask why?  Maybe wheelchairs to the promenade?

There are plenty of places to eat in Broadstairs but we chose a non-descript Fish and chip shop which had some well done wall paintings of fishy scenes.  Eating cod and chips in a warm place was a pleasure but the real pleasure was to have a wander around and casually walk the place and plan another visit in the better weather, maybe by choo-choo to avoid having to find parking for the car.  We can stay all day (I do not think there is a zoo)  and maybe walk along the cliff pathways.  One thing noted that makes Broadstairs a great place is that it is wheelchair friendly for those who want to use their electric mobility and take a long (virtual) walk.

We intend to pay another visit.

A walk to a Windmill

Detail of the Windmill

This Saturday was a day of cold weather after the heavy rain and high wind of Friday night. Still blustery with a the occasional sunny burst the idea of walking in the mud did not appeal so we pushed intrepidiness aside and decided on a trip to a paved area.  The result was a pleasant walk around Herne close and above Herne Bay, the village dominated by the restored windmill standing proudly against the skyline.

The Famous Butcher's Arms

There is a car park on School Lane and from there we set out on foot to explore the village.  Walk to the Canterbury road and you are faced with a wide area dominated by the imposing church and stroll down the hill toward Herne Bay (Toilets in the recreation and sports field) and take a look at Strode House.  Beyond is a turning that leads up the hill to the


Windmill which is open on Sunday afternoons, Thursdays, and Bank Holidays all at limited times.

Hidden Parts

We walked along the road from there to Hunter's Forstal and turning right when we jolly well felt like it seemed a good idea.  It was.  There was a road we could walk on and to the left some interesting footpaths we could take if we wished - the going was soggy so we didn't - and a good reason to return and explore the area later.

As it was we discovered we were on School Lane eventually leading into Herne and took a paved footpath beside the school to discover the charms of the older part of Herne, a row of cottages leading to the centre and two buildings of weatherboard, the second of which, must have required some very thin and strong, agile contortionists to build so close are they.  (By this time the light was so bad that pictures were getting difficult). The most amazing conglomeration of weatherboard buildings, Georgian and Victorian houses greet you as you wander around and it is a good idea for the visitor to search them out for themselves.

Forge Cottage

We walked up a little further with the dog wanting to travel all the way to Canterbury - Saar is not far away - but we were feeling peckish so we returned to the village aware that we had barely touched the sides and sought out sustenance.  Dog friendly Pub!  The Upper Red Lion, not looking its best in the winter murk but with a car-park creating a space before the church entrance it was most welcome.  Inside  it was cosy and we had an inexpensive lunch that hit the spot.  A pint of IPA for me and a good strong cup of tea for Sister and we were set up for the day.

It only remained to have a look at the church.  The entrance was a Gothic treat lined with naked trees reaching high and dark creating an arch that framed the spire and the door at its foot in a classical 'here there be Vampyres' fashion.

I have been to Herne in the Summer and I have to say the impression then is much different.  Two friends and I had a drink or two and some bread and cheese in the Butcher's Arms. Behind the Butcher's Arms there is an old tractor with a rusting plough covered partly in weeds, but then most places have their hidden parts.

Sheppey Crossing - Kent

Base of the old bridge

It was long decided that the old King's Ferry Bridge was due for a bit of help.  Having served the Isle of Sheppey for many years as its road and rail link it was obvious that increasing traffic,long delays, especially when the centre span was lifted to allow ships to pass underneath and if there was an accident or road closure.  The A249 was a four lane road from Maidstone to the Bridge serving Sheppey, Sittingbourne and the M2 motorway.  Sheerness as a port with a steel works and freight forwarding docks shipping goods of all sorts and cars became busier and the single link was becoming more of a bottleneck than a thoroughfare.

Something had to be done.

View of the new bridge

The result was that after all the planning in 2004 the new bridge was started. Changes to the road alignment  were started earlier and as
that progressed so the traffic got more congested.  However the bridge grew and soon an arch began to form resting on large concrete pillars, the road bed became more real and in 2006 the high span bridge was opened.  Many residents took part in a charity walk across it to celebrate the opening and today we cross it  ignoring the old bridge and taking the smooth ride over for granted.  The A249 and Sheppey Way is no more than another commuter road.

Curious Marsh Resident

Basically the Island is a mixture of commuters, farming, industry - witness the steel works - light industry and dockland activity with goods ferries crossing to and fro  Europe.  Farming is a mixture of crops and grazing with the odd chicken and fish farms.  In the past the largest employer was the Sheerness Naval Dockyard and the Summer migration of visitors to Sheerness and Leysdown.  Today, although Leysdown and Eastchurch see many visitors in the season the numbers are down from the heyday of the fifties and the sixties.

Norman, bird watcher.  Interesting man

The Island, a place of many interests such as Bird Watching on the Elmley Marshes and the RSPB reserve as well as that of Shellness and Harty is also a great place to walk the dog, take part in what the Americans call Skeet shooting, clay pigeons and of course sailing.





This year (2011) I am taking part in 365 a project designed to post a picture a day for 2011 - the project is based in Faversham and runs simultaneously with another in Canterbury as well as on Sheppey.  My initial take on it is to begin with the bridge and explore the island as if I have never seen it before; to look for new views of the familiar.  After four years of use the new crossing has become familiar.  I want to start by taking a fresh look.

Burnt out boat

We begin in the Winter.

The bleak appearance of the marshes in Winter gives way to color and activity in Spring and that is one of the things I hope to capture in my journey.