Beach Huts we have loved - Kent & Suffolk

Here we go . . . .

Whitstable - working huts

Whitstable

Herne Bay

Waiting patiently at Aldeburgh

Southwold

Broadstairs

Kent Architecture new and old

We were lucky on our travels in Kent to be able to visit the newish Turner Gallery in Margate.  Had intended to cycle along the coast from Whitstable, but the good old British rain intervened and instead we 'car'ed it, visiting Canterbury cathedral while the rain persisted, then over to Margate for the Friday night late opening and 'enough blue for a sailor's shirt' in the sky at the close of the day.

So, Canterbury first:

Above and below in the crypt

and thence to Margate:

First surprise of the visit to Margate was this discovery that the Grand Old Duke and his 10,000 men were real:

This is the Turner Gallery website and these are some of our photos below.  The positon of the gallery right on the edge of the beach is amazing.  With huge floor to ceiling windows on the seaward side.  I seem to remember that it has been built on the site that Turner once lived or lodged.  Architect is David Chipperfield, same as the new Hepworth in Wakefield.

from side facing the sea

David Chipperfield's sketch

  
and later on our tour, in Deal,  having a certain attachment to piers, we strolled along the rather brutalist concrete pier (by Sir William Halcrow & Partners, 1957) to find a charming contemporary cafe recently built right on the end, where we enjoyed a late evening steak surrounded by sea and sunsets.

More info about Niall McLaughlin's cafe on Deal Pier (2008)

our B&B just along to the right

by Architect Niall McLaughlin

waiting for dinner at the end of the pier

just in time to catch the setting sun on the way back

and lets not forget the wonderful art deco style Deal shelters along the prom . . .

Oh it was nice to be beside the seaside . . .

What the Dickens

Dickens discoveries on our Kent jaunt . . .

COOLING 

on the beautifully gentle Hoo Peninsula between the Medway and the Thames

Deserted roadsides

Magwitch's marshes

One of the interior church walls

Did Charles sit on these?

ROCHESTER

with Great Expections again ...

Rochester Castle

Rochester Cathedral Crypt

Miss Haversham's house - suitably spooky!

BROADSTAIRS and David Copperfield ...

Another fine beach you've found for me Mr Hughes!

And we happened to arrive on the annual Dickens parade day !

and where is Bullseye?

Ahhh - DONKEYS ! ! !

Clocking up more coast

Aim is to 'do' the whole coast of Britain bit by bit.  This bit of the venture, booked entirely by Mike and full of brilliant surprises and wonderful bolt holes to stay covered the Kent coast in its entirety, a dip into East Sussex and a taste of Suffolk.

Image from (and don't 'click on coastline' - it won't work, just an image!)

Going to cover this in a few themed blogs, since that's how the holiday seemed to pan out.  There was the Dickens connection, the contemorary architecture, the battle scars, Romney Marsh Churches, the mind blowing Dungerness, Spike Milligan and Benjamin Britten.

Image from

B&Bkeeping details:

2 nights in Whitstable, Kent - The Front Rooms

2 nights in Deal, Kent - By the Beach

2 nights in Rye, East Sussex - Willow Tree House

2 nights in Aldeburgh, Suffolk - Number Six B&B

and you can read my reviews here:  Tripadvisor

Image from