How to choose the best Kent coast town for your summer day trip
Securing a UK summer holiday may be a losing battle now, but there are always day trips. And few places have captured the imagination this summer quite like the ‘Kent Riviera’. Under an hour and a half from London, via the high-speed train from St Pancras, this stretch of coast has long been popular with DFLs (Down from Londoners), as locals witheringly call the visitors who come to slurp oysters and stumble along the shingle beaches.
Each Kent coast town has a distinctive personality, from Whitstable with its working harbour and Margate’s art galleries and cocktail bars, to all-rounder Broadstairs and quaint Deal. Here we give an overview of four of the big-hitters to help you decide where to visit.
Margate
Formerly the ultimate faded British seaside resort, Margate’s renaissance, fuelled by the opening of the Turner Contemporary Gallery a decade ago, has been well-documented. The crowds hopping off the fast train tend to skew younger and it lives up to its long-term tagline of Shoreditch-on-sea, with galleries, coffee shops and basement bars scattered around town. With creative enterprises subject to lower rents than the capital, there’s a dynamism here that east London lost long ago. Hip, but still with a gritty underbelly, this is a town for late nights and latte art.
What to do
Beyond the classic seaside pursuits (including dazzling arcades, if you’re partial to a claw machine – and who isn’t?), Margate has arguably the most attractions of all the ‘Costa del Kent’ towns. The aforementioned Turner Contemporary gallery’s timely current exhibition The Tourists (running until September 26; free entry) examines the relationship between travel and ecology. Another arty stop is the relocated-from-London Carl Freedman Gallery, an industrial space adjacent to proud local Tracey Emin’s studio. Elsewhere, restored theme park Dreamland is the place for a spin on the waltzers or ride on a ghost train. The park is putting on a series of summer concerts and DJ sets, featuring Frank Turner and Sara Cox.
Where to eat and drink
Climb the few flights of stairs up to Barletta on the Roof, Margate’s moveable restaurant which also has an outpost at the Turner gallery and is popping up on a rooftop until the end of summer. It serves inventive small plates, fresh fruit cocktails and unbeatable sea views – don’t miss the spiced carrots with yogurt and hazelnuts, which are legendary around town. Elsewhere, Bottega Caruso is a rustic Italian spot, so popular that it’s fully booked until September. Luckily, they have a clutch of outdoor tables left for walk-ins, but you’ll need to arrive early to tuck into fresh pastas and parmigiana. For a lunch that feels more Tokyo than Thanet, pick up a sushi or bento box from Hantverk & Found.
As for pubs, residents love the Rose in June for its good selection of local ales and thai basil margaritas.
Best beach
Margate Main Sands is packed out in the summer, but walk a little out of town to Cliftonville for quieter beaches and the Walpole Bay tidal pool. Built in 1937, this Grade-II listed four-acre pool is a great choice for safer sea swimming.
For ideas on where to stay, see our full guide to the best hotels in Margate
Broadstairs
Margate’s neighbour offers a slower-paced seaside experience, though there’s no doubt the cool has started to rub off, with a number of inventive cafés and restaurants recently sprouting up. Despite the changes, there’s a timelessness to the town, where music still plays from the bandstand and families potter along the promenade. Sandy beaches are a pull for those who don’t enjoy Kent’s shingle stretches.
What to do
Broadstairs was a favourite holiday spot of Charles Dickens, and the author is celebrated at the Dickens House Museum, which is set in the cottage that was the inspiration for the home of Betsey Trotwood in David Copperfield. For groups, a round of crazy golf at Lillyputt’s is a must, with the loser obliged to buy everyone an ice cream from legendary gelato parlour Morelli’s – the dark chocolate sorbet is particularly good. Alternatively, try walking or cycling along a stretch of the Viking Coastal Trail up to Margate or down to Ramsgate. The full trail loops 32 miles, hugging the coastline before making its way inland through country villages.
Where to eat and drink
For the ultimate beach picnic, swing by takeaway hatch Flotsam and Jetsam, which turns out overflowing cones of fritto misto and chip butties slathered in lobster mayo. A few doors along (and from the same stable), the newly opened Wyatt and Jones To Go offers more refined dishes such as coal-roasted oysters and trout ceviche tacos, all packaged up in pretty white boxes. Bottles of ruby pink Kent rosé and wobbly slices of Basque cheesecake complete the picture.
A half-hour walk out of town is top notch bakery and café Staple Stores, which provides crusty sourdough for most of the area's top restaurants. Fuel up on pastries or porchetta sandwiches before strolling on to surfer’s favourite Joss Bay. For great coffee and cake more centrally, try Fort’s, which also has an outpost in Margate.
Stop for a pint at Neptunes Hall, a breezy pub with a large garden and an old faithful dog, Dallas, padding around. It has a large outdoor area and serves sourdough pizzas far better than they need to be.
Best beach
Visitors have the choice of seven beaches in and around Broadstairs. Its main sandy sweep is Viking Bay, which has surfboards and striped deckchairs for hire, but bring any food on the beach and expect a reenactment of Hitchcock’s The Birds – this time featuring seagulls. Close by but quieter (in terms of both gulls and people) is Stone Bay, flanked by brightly coloured beach huts. Walk further along for the chalky cliffs at Joss Bay and Botany Bay.
Read our expert's guide to the best hotels on the Kent Coast
Whitstable
The town that oysters built. You don’t have to love bivalves to enjoy Whitstable, but it helps as they pop up everywhere, from seafood shacks to fine-dining restaurants. There’s even an annual oyster festival (this year over the August bank holiday). Like Margate, Whistable has experienced a full-on revival in recent years, though rather than artists moving in, it has attracted stressed-out Londoners keen to slow down and upsize, with the resulting feel more community-focused than hip. Be warned that on peak summer days, and particularly during the oyster festival, the town can feel fit to bursting.
What to do
The working harbour is many day-trippers' first port of call for the obligatory oysters, to peruse the gift shops housed in fisherman’s huts or simply watch the fishing boats set sail. A few minutes’ from the harbour, Whitstable Castle is also worth a visit, for its pretty gardens and cream tea served in the Orangery. Stretch your legs with an hour and a half walk along the coast to the slightly faded but more traditional seaside town of Herne Bay. Back in Whitstable, make time to explore the excellent shops, including Ruskin for Scandi-style fashion and the long-standing Gatefield Sounds for vinyl records.
Where to eat and drink
Lunch at the wonderfully low-key Michelin-starred restaurant The Sportsman along the beach in Seasalter is probably out, as these days you have to book months in advance. Do put your name on the waiting list though – with the ‘pingdemic’ you never know when a table might become available. In the centre of town, Wheelers Oyster Bar has been thrilling visitors with beautifully prepared fishy plates since 1856. The seafood keeps coming at the Lobster Shack at the harbour, where grilled, buttery crustaceans are served up in casual fashion, accompanied by paper napkins and sachets of ketchup. A little off the beaten track, David Brown’s Deli serves excellent lunches (get the fish finger bun and ham croquetas if they're on) out of a shed in a caravan sales yard. Pub-wise, it’s hard to look past the Old Neptune, a white timber-clad fisherman’s pub right on the beach.
Best beach
The atmospheric main shingle beach at Whitstable is a winner, studded with weathered wooden groynes and old fisherman’s boats. Stay to watch the sun sink into the sea if you can – the sunsets are often fantastic here. Walk along West Beach towards Seasalter to lose the crowds and marvel at the plush glass-fronted beach houses that dot the way.
For ideas on where to stay, see our guide to the best hotels in Whitstable
Deal
Deal is a little more genteel than other Kent coast towns, sitting aloofly down the coast towards Dover. Pastel-coloured Georgian townhouses line the seafront, overlooking the large, pristine pebble beach, but it’s certainly not saccharine – behind its pretty facade the town was a notorious smuggling port in the 18th century. On a clear day you can see France. In fact, you're so close to Calais that you might get a text from Vodafone welcoming you to our nearest neighbour (like this panicked writer did).
What to do
If you’re visiting on a Saturday, arrive early for the market, which sells vintage goods alongside flower and food stalls. The town has a thriving antiques scene – search for top buys at Deal Antiques and Le Petite Brocante or head to Mileage for well-curated retro finds. A more modern homewares shop worth a look is Hoxton Store. Walkers should stroll an hour along the promenade, dotted with benches dedicated to lovers of this stretch of coast, to Kingsdown. Reward yourself with a pint and portion of chips at the Zetland Arms, which has pub benches right on the beach.
Where to eat and drink
Alongside the traditional cafés serving afternoon teas, Deal has an emerging foodie scene. The big star is chic hotel and restaurant, the Rose at Deal, where excellent plates of potato rosti topped with trout’s roe and supersize chicken schnitzels, make up for the sometimes patchy service. Opposite is Frog and Scot, a French bistro offering a new spin on duck à l'orange – do also pop along to their wine bar and shop, Le Pinardier, a few doors down. If you’re after fish and chips, the Middle Street Fish Bar (01304 364738) is a locals favourite (note that it only opens Wednesday to Saturday). Enjoy a decent brunch and brilliant views at the Deal Pier Kitchen, a glass box of a restaurant perched right on the end of the pier.
Best beach
If you don’t mind stones, the shingle beach at Deal is certainly lovely enough to set up camp for the day under a parasol. The beach slopes into the water so you don’t have to swim far out to get a decent depth. Just wear swimming shoes to avoid sore feet from the pebbles.
Read more: A complete guide to the best hotels in Kent
