hunting out hidden gems in whitstable with Southeastern Railways

 

 

As a child my brothers and I would take frequent trips with my dad to
the seaside as he has always had a slight obsession with the sea for someone
who grew up in London, and I always felt like we had that in common. There is
something quintessentially British about a seaside town that if you look closely
enough is slightly rough around the edges but holds charm and character. When
Southeastern Railway contacted me about finding ‘Hidden gem’ on their network,
my first thoughts were to head to Hastings for the day, sit amongst the boats
and enjoy the view. But my brothers reminded me of the old sweet shops and
adventures we had had on hot summer days down in Whitstable.

 

 

Whitstable lies on the Ramsgate line out of Victoria or Kings Cross if
you travel via the High-speed route. We opted for the slower train to give us
both the chance to catch up on work and have a gossip. The Town of Whitstable
itself is cute and had so many lovingly looked after shops and cafes. First
stop after getting off the train was to have a mooch around the vintage shops and
I have to admit I saw a jumper that caught my eye, but sadly being on a
clothing ban I had to walk away from the cosy knit. We got talking to the store
owner who told us of all the wonderful things to do in the area, but being
limited to four hours of daylight kind of cut our list down a little.

 

As we strolled down the main high street, people were friendly, chatty and
curious as to what we were snapping. We took a detour off the main high street
and stumbled upon what truly was a hidden gem: The Windy Corner Store, an old
shop turned into a beautiful café with amazing millionaires short bread and
even lovelier staff, who recognised me from my blog. It’s always nice to have
coffee when you know it’s lovingly made and is supporting small businesses.

 Outfit photos by Natasha Nuttall
 

After Natasha and I enjoyed a short and warming pit stop, we headed in
search of the beach.  My memories
are of small boats hulled up on the pebbly shore so I was really looking
forward to dipping my toes into the sea. I can’t not go to the sea and put my
feet in it, it’s a Masters tradition and even though it was freezing, it had to
be done. Both hungry and wanting some warmth we decided to hunt out a chip shop
and sit back on the beach with our fish and chips. Whilst we ate we were
surrounded by seagulls which made for an amusing meal.

As Natasha and I chatted I whipped out my watercolours and sketchbook
and did some quick doodling before the day’s light disappeared. It’s nice to be able to head back somewhere with fresh eyes and
really enjoy what a town like Whitstable has to offer.

We enjoyed finding hidden gems and I would love to hear all about your
favourite hidden gems with the hashtag #SEhiddengems.

sponsored post but all thoughts, opinions and photos are my own