We spent 3 days exploring the tip of the Kent Coast. Sunny beaches and seaside towns. The perfect english staycation.

With covid ruining a lot of a holiday plans, we decided it was too risky for us to head out somewhere for the end of the summer sun, so we took a chance on the Kent coast and headed there for just 3 days. Leaving from Essex, it wasn’t long before we were in the county and we added a detour via Canterbury to get some extra exploring in.

Day 1:

Headed to Canterbury first for a wander and lunch. Our Airbnb arrival time was after 3 so we thought it was best to take a few hours getting to our final destination. Super cute city – with expensive parking, but worth it for the quaint streets and buildings. Even the chain restaurants are in cute, pretty buildings – always a good sign! The cathedral is one of the main attractions but it was closed off due to renovation work, so we just admired from a distance. It looked beaut from the outside so if you get a chance to visit when things are more open, I’m sure the choice to explore the inside of the cathedral couldn’t be a bad one.

Canterbury is a good spot for shopping lovers too, all of the high street brands plus plenty of Vintage and Charity shops for bargain hunting.

For lunch we headed to Pork & Co. Hidden down a smaller street this pulled pork loving eatery. All dishes come stacked high with delicious pulled pork and with the optional side of Mac N Cheese, we knew it wouldn’t be anything but amazing.

After lunch, it was time to head to Ramsgate for the coast and our Airbnb. First up was checking into the Airbnb (always so exciting) and then after dropping our things, we headed off down to the town centre to see what was around. The main centre of Ramsgate is pretty small so everything is closely compacted which is good when you’ve not got long to explore! A loop around the harbour and a stop off for a drink finished us off for the rest of the afternoon. We headed back to our Airbnb for dins but if you’re looking to eat out theres plenty of options from a famous Italian – Alexandra Ristorante Italiano, the Royal Harbour Brasserie with 360 views from its restaurant or your british classic, Fish and Chips takeaways.

Day 2:

Day two had us up bright an early and if you get a seaview room, waking up to see the sunrise is a must. After breakfast and packing a picnic we did a 45 minute-ish walk along the sea wall (unfortunately the tide was in too far to walk along the sand) for a lovely stroll to Broadstairs before heading down to beach. We crashed on the beach for most of the afternoon (a proper September heatwave!) and it was even warm enough to venture into the sea to cool off. The beach was a lovely sandy beach with a cafe, clean public toilets and even deckchair hire. The only down side were the manic seagulls – a classic British seaside experience, so we were careful with our picnic and kept the food in the bag and we survived. If your thinking of opting for a takeaway fish and chips it might be worthwhile hiding somewhere off the beach if you want to keep hold of your food.

Late afternoon once the sun had started to lose its heat, we headed into Broadstairs itself for a wander. If you’re a bit of an ice cream lover like me, then the 1950s style parlour is definitely worth a visit. Morelli’s Gelato is all about traditional, homemade gelato and you can either do the takeaway service or sit in, and treat yourself to something more extravagant like a sundae! Ice cream accomplished, we strolled back to the Airbnb but this time, we were lucky enough that it was low tide and this cut back the time as we were able to walk across the sand, all the way up into Ramsgate.

After a de-sanding and a clothing change we headed for dinner at Little Ships Restaurant in the harbour. We had drinks here the night before and the food seemed delicious so it only seemed right to come back and see for ourselves! The menu was fairly small (possibly covid related) but still a good selection of options. Our starters varied from Crispy squid, to a traditional prawn cocktail and a goats cheese and red onion tart. All so so good and such good portion sizes too. Mains were also tasty – a catch of the day, beer battered cod and chips and a chicken escalope. I did have my eye on the mussels but unfortunately they were all sold out, so if you make it and you try them, let me know what you thought! Totally stuffed after two courses so no desserts sadly. We headed back to our Airbnb after dins for a nightcap. There were bars around which were open – even on a Tuesday night, so if you’re looking for somewhere for a drink there were plenty of places around!

Day 3:

Our last day of our mini-cation and we headed out after leaving our lovely sea view apartment to a spot further along the coast than Broadstairs. Joss Bay was recommended as a lovely beach spot so we parked here and wandered along the coast to Botany Bay. The walk was only 20ish mins along the viking trail but if you’re more interested in beach chilling, I’d go straight to Botany Bay as it was a little bit nicer! Although it wasn’t as hot, the beach is fairly sheltered (and very few seagulls, yay) and it was warm enough to paddle. If you’re visiting when the tide is out then its worth taking a wander along the beach through the cliffs, but be careful of the tide times as it can change quickly and there wasn’t a lifeguard.

Mid afternoon we headed to our final stop of the trip, Margate for a picnic lunch and a wander before peeling off back home. Definitely the biggest of the seaside towns we visited, with more things to do like arcades and more restaurants/bars and cafes. It wasn’t my fave stop of the trip, but worth a drive through for a coffee or food in one of the restaurants near the front.

The Kent coast really is the perfect spot for an English staycation. If you’re thinking of going to any of these spots or have been, I’d love to hear from you, just leave a comment below!

lots of love,

Han