A weekend in Whitstable

It has been forever since I went to Whitstable. My first (and only) trip was for my birthday, back in April 2013(!) - blog posts here and here - and I liked it, but I wasn't really wowed by it. (It seemed to take forever to get there on the train, which probably coloured things somewhat for me.)

Earlier this year though, Olly's brother was heading to Whitstable one spring Sunday to run a half marathon. And vaguely remembering the train issues we'd had nine years ago - and not wanting to get up at silly o'clock to travel to Whitstable on a Sunday to cheer him on - we decided to make a weekend of it.

   

First things first, accommodation in Whitstable is a lot more pricey than it was back in 2013. And this has to be because it's now a lot more trendy than it was back then, especially the foodie scene. That bit made us very happy, given we're foodies, but I didn't really want to spend upwards of £400 to stay over. So, we compromised and stayed in a cheap and cheerful studio at the bottom of someone's garden, which came in at £89 per night. It wasn't as convenient as when we stayed on the high street - the studio was about a fifteen minute walk away from the beach - but it was clean and cheap, and we only wanted somewhere to sleep, not hang out.

Which brings me to the food, always my favourite part of a trip. We had two epic dinners whilst we were there and, naturally, they were of the seafood variety. On Friday evening we headed upstairs in The Rock Lodge to have a rather scrumptious baked monkfish dish wrapped in pancetta with pesto gnocchi, capers and peas in a lobster bisque (pictured above). Starters were yum, too. (Downstairs on a Friday evening bands often play at The Rock Lodge, if you're in the mood to extend the evening.)

     

And then on Saturday we headed to the famous Wheelers Oyster Bar for their rather reasonably priced £65 9-course tasting menu (ten courses if you get the cheeseboard afterwards, which Olly did). You have to phone up to book Wheelers (and pay a small deposit), but it's worth it. The food was scrumptious, and I most enjoyed the wild turbot dish with fermented garlic risotto, white asparagus, allium flowers, buttered monks beard and parmesan (pictured below). Highly recommend if you're in town and can get a table. Plus it's BYOB (£5 corkage; there's an off license opposite).

In the daytime we feasted on fish and chips, oysters and ice cream. I had fish and chips twice and much preferred The Forge for them, which is where we also had oysters. (They were nice from Keith's Coffee Hut as well but The Forge had the edge.) Gelateria is the place to go to for ice cream. And if you want a drink on the beach, head to The Old Neptune.

    

If you're not eating and drinking, what else can you do in Whitstable? There's Whitstable Castle. We had a mooch around the gardens as there was a wedding on and we couldn't go in, and generally that's what we did that weekend. Mooched along the high street. Looked in some shops. Mooched along the seafront. Then on the Sunday, after the half marathon, we headed to a beach hut we'd hired to spend the day by the seaside with Olly's family. Quite a low-key weekend when we weren't feasting, and a very nice one at that. 

Have you been to Whitstable? x