For a start there is the plethora of very lively public houses. At a time when pubs in the UK are disappearing at a reported rate of eight every week, in Whitstable town centre there are many thriving establishments. By far the most iconic is the Neptune, sitting out on the shoreline and with front row seats for the most astonishing sunsets at the end of a sunny day. Equally, the Neptune is the first line in defence against biting easterly winds, driving rain and crashing waves. One word to the wise, while the Neptune is a great drinking pub; it is certainly not a gastronomic experience.
The Neptune stands guard over Whitstable
Oysters etc
For authentic Whitstable food, the visitor cannot go far wrong by visiting the Whitstable Oyster Company restaurant at Horsebridge on the harbour. Here a visitor can eat oysters that have travelled no more than 100 metres, fish that were swimming in the estuary just hours earlier and vegetables that have grown on the fertile Kent soil. Like many of the restaurants, the Oyster Company supports local producers, even down to the choice of wine – in this case, the award-winning Chapel Down wines, sourced from nearby Tenterden.
This is the posh way of eating in Whitstable, however. For a truly back-to-basics, pick-your-own experience there is nothing to beat going down to the quay and buying fish and shellfish direct from the Crab and Oyster shed. Or just a bowl of seafood from Wee Willie Winkle.
The fish market
The harbour market, right next door to the fish market, is testament to the local population’s desire to promote local sustainability. The little cabins house artists and artisans, selling a range of goods from cakes, cheeses, jewellery and art, which even includes a Royal Academy artist.
Whitstable Central
Whitstable town centre is a strange mix of eclectic art and tacky seaside paraphenalia. The little artist’s galleries, the Cheese-Box and the wine shop on Harbour Street are all examples of the lack of uniformity in the shopping area. But then, incongruously, there is a Costa Coffee, and you have to wonder what the owners of the numerous, and very good independent coffee shops, have done to annoy the town council.
The coffee shops and restaurants are a huge draw for locals and visitors alike. Windy Corner Stores, on Island Wall is a fantastic example of a coffee shop that bucks all trends. A large range of national and daily papers are scattered on the front table, available for all customers to read.
The coffee at Windy Corner is great and served in a range of mugs and cups, so the question ‘tall’ or ‘grande’ becomes immaterial. The breakfasts are expansive and full of choice. The only rule is that portions will always be enormous.
Tea and Times is another coffee shop, and this attracts a younger set. The two-storey building is home to a range of magazines and books that can be browsed as you enjoy the coffee, teas (a huge range) and cakes, including a strange but tasty custard and apple cake. Most of the customers seemed to be budding writers, scribbling furiously in notepads or tapping away on lap tops as they drink herbal tea or double strength macchiato.
Further up the high street, Samphire does all things for all people. It is a high class restaurant in the evening, serving delights such as Kentish beef, salsify gratin and salt marsh lamb, but it reverts to café during the day time.
To counter some of the eating and drinking, we went on a 10-mile walk to Herne Bay and back. We were tempted to book a place on the Greta – an old Thames Barge that has a heroic past as one of Churchill’s ‘little boats’ that helped with the Dunkirk evacuation, and now sails visitors around the Medway.
The Oyster festival gets into full swing towards the end of July, and this is the event that has put Whitstable on the map. Thousands of visitors flock to the Kent town, and it is amazing that it has managed to avoid becoming a victim of high prices and weekend-only residents as a result. Much of the charm of Whitstable is the fact that it continues to be a working port. The fact that a view across the Medway is hindered by a huge aggregate store is a blessing, and possibly the reason that wealthy Londoners have not yet bought up every fisherman’s cottage and artist’s gallery.
The occasional Ferrari and Porsche suggest that the London influx has begun but at the moment Whitstable retains its rustic charm, and rather like oysters it is a place that will stir wild passion in some and a steady aversion in others.
