
The sun’s out, the temperature’s continuing to rise, the weekend is in touching distance – and if you listen carefully enough; you might just hear the distant sound of Londoners slapping on their Factor 50 and frantically googling the fastest way to get to the seaside. But luckily for you lovely lot, one of those jobs has been done for you. Not the SPF-application part (obviously), but the rummaging through the internet to uncover the best beachy spots near London part. You’re most welcome.
Peacefully perched down on the Kent coast is a gorgeous little seaside town, offering charm and history by the bucket-load. Whilst its next-door neighbour, Margate, has been somewhat hogging the limelight recently (a sentence I certainly never thought I’d be writing when I was growing up there); Broadstairs is like Margate’s slightly quieter (and yes, okay – marginally less trendy) sibling. But it’s well worth visiting and spending a summer day, soaking up everything that this quintessential seaside town has to offer.
Things to do in Broadstairs
Broadstairs has everything you’d want from a seaside town, and then some. Boasting seven sandy beaches in total; there’s plenty of gorgeous spots to pop down a towel, build a sandcastle or splash about in the water. The largest and liveliest of Broadstairs’ beach offering is Viking Bay, but if you’re looking for a quieter spot, I’d recommend heading to Joss Bay or Stone Bay – both utterly gorgeous, but not quite as crowded.
Broadstairs is filled to the brim with wonderful, independent places to eat and drink – but Posillipo will top my recommendation list every single time. Get yourself a seat outside and watch the sun go down over the beach with a bowl of pasta and an Aperol Spritz in hand. You certainly won’t regret it.
There’s all of the other classic seaside activities available here. Hit the arcades, play a round of mini-golf, visit the bandstand, eat some delicious fish-and-chips, you know the drill. But something particularly special about Broadstairs is its literary links. It was, in fact, said to be Charles Dickens’ favourite staycation spot, and he rented a house there.
Bleak House was where Dickens supposedly wrote parts of several of his novels – one being David Copperfield. And the town and some of its residents apparently inspired characters and settings in some of Dickens’ works. Whilst Bleak House itself isn’t open to the public (although it’s worth wondering past it whilst you’re in the area because I promise it’s not quite as bleak as it sounds); you can visit the Charles Dickens Museum, which celebrates and showcases the writer’s long-standing links with the area.
Getting to Broadstairs from London
Broadstairs is in very easy reach of the capital city, with regular direct trains heading there from both London Victoria and St Pancras International – the latter being slightly speedier and taking under 90 minutes. The drive is slightly longer, taking approximately two hours from London. There’s plenty of pay-and-display parking near the seafront, but in peak season it does get pretty busy.