With this welcome surprise of summer weather in September we thought we’d use the opportunity to visit the beach. Although it was sunny it wasn’t too hot so would be a good time to avoid the crowds.
I’ve never visited Broadstairs before (even though I lived in Canterbury for 2 years!) and my boyfriend hadn’t been since he was younger so I was looking forward to exploring somewhere new (what with all our holidays abroad being cancelled this year).
It was a really nice drive from Essex. That might be a strange thing to comment on but having long stretches of smooth A roads with little traffic made me feel like I was on a road trip in a Hollywood movie. Plus, the way the sat nav said “follow Carrrnterbury road” was an added bonus.
We parked at Joss Bay- parking is £5 for the whole day and you can use the My Ringo app. We walked across Joss Bay up to a concrete wall which we climbed up and walked round on. At first we thought this path would take us all the way round to Kingsgate Bay- which it did- but was a sheer drop into the water. So we turned back round to Joss Bay in a walk of shame as the surfing locals probably expected us to.
It was only a 5 minute walk down the cycle path above the bay to get to Kingsgate Bay. It was quiet, one other couple and a few dog walkers. The castle above was like something out of game of thrones- very impressive. I took a quick dip in the sea which was freezing! I love the sea (I don’t like sitting round the pool on holiday) and knew it would be my last chance this year.
After drying off we went for lunch at Captain Digby’s a restaurant and bar with a view of Kingsgate. The portions were huge and the seafood linguine was delicious (including the biggest muscles I’ve ever seen!).
After lunch we continued down the cycle path to Botany Bay. Now Maps in iPhone says this is a 40 minute walk- it took us 10 minutes from Captain Digby’s.
As the tide was in we wouldn’t walk through the cliffs but it was still a beautiful view. I’d definitely like to return next summer on a warmer day (and be able to stay in the water longer than 2 minutes).
Overall a great day out- beautiful beaches that can be enjoyed as a walk in cooler weather or a proper beach day with towels and suncream.