50 ways to enjoy Kent's coast this summer - part four
Above: Food and drink on Kent's coast (Kent Life Magazine)
Above: Whitstable Oysters (Kent Life Magazine)
With all this activity going on, you’re going to want to find somewhere to stop and have a bite to eat and a drink. Here’s our guide to Kent’s coast for the food lover.
WHAT: The Crab & Winkle
WHERE: Whitstable
WHY: Seafood heaven
For seafood lovers, it’s got to be Whitstable, with its working harbour and fish market. Above the big shed of the fish market you’ll find the Crab & Winkle, named after the Crab and Winkle railway line, the first passenger steam service in the country, connecting the quayside and Whitstable with Canterbury. Stylishly informal, try and bag an outside table for the best view over the harbour, the wooden lifeboat station, the yacht club and out to sea.
From native oysters and scallops to monkfish, wild halibut and gilt head bream, this is English seaside food at its best, without a hint of chip or batter in sight.
CONTACT: Crab & Winkle, South Quay, The Harbour, Whitstable CT5 1AB
Tel: 01227 779377
WHAT: Picnic site
WHERE: Samphire Hoe
WHY: Great views
Samphire Hoe is the newest part of Kent, made from 4.9 million cubic metres of chalk marl dug to create the Channel Tunnel and described as a “place for people, and for wildlife.” Owned by Eurotunnel and managed in partnership with the White Cliffs Countryside Project, it makes an awe-inspiring lookout point.
As well as a stunning location for a picnic, you can enjoy a walk along the gently shingled beach, and even do a bit of sea angling. In summer, the pink of restharrow dominates, meadow pipits display over the grasslands, common blue butterflies are on the wing and adders and lizards bask in the warmth.
CONTACT: White Cliffs Countryside Project, 6 Cambridge Terrace, Dover CT16 1JT.
Tel: 01304 225649.
Email: paulholt@whitecliffscountryside.org.uk
WHAT: Enjoy a picnic
WHERE: Pick your spot on the coast
WHY: Al fresco and local
When the sun shines and you’ve planned a busy day of activities on the Kent coast, what could be better than enjoying a picnic in the fresh air? Even better, how about if someone prepares it for you, using local Kentish produce? Sarah Saunders and her team at Picnic Anywhere, just outside Tunbridge Wells, will take all the hassle out of preparing a sumptuous feast on the move, and even deliver it to you. Served in recyclable packaging, choices range from the Concert Picnic and the Champagne Picnic to the Canapé Box or the Play Box for the little ‘uns.
CONTACT: Tel 01892 752 002
Email: sarah@picnicanywhere.com
WHAT: Local beer
WHERE: Ramsgate Brewery
WHY: 2008 Taste of Kent winner Best Brewery
Eddie Gadd runs Thanet’s only brewery and this year won the Taste of Kent award for ‘best brewery.’ A family-run craft brewery, Eddie describes it as “very small and very busy” and he and his team use locally grown hops to create a true taste of the area by brewing both innovative modern styles and recreating old classics.
In the shop, you can pick up bottled Gadds’ Dogbolter and bottled Gadds’ No 3 to go with your al fresco lunch, as well as Gadds’ pint and half-pint glasses.
CONTACT: Ramsgate Brewery, 1 Hornet Close, Isle of Thanet CT10 2YD
Opening hours: Mon to Fri, 9:30am to 4:30pm, Sat 9:30am to 12:pm
Tel: 01843 86844531
Email: info@ramsgatebrewery.co.uk
WHAT: Get fresh at a Farmers’ Market
WHERE: Cliftonville
WHY: 2008 Taste of Kent winner ‘Best Farmers’ Market’
Cliftonville Farmers’ Market has got the lot when it comes to satisfying the food lover on a coastal day out. Based on the Oval Lawns around the bandstand, the Market was started in 2001 by the Cliftonville Residents Association and June Chadband is the driving force behind its success.
Open on the last Sunday of the month, 10am to 1pm, from June to September concerts are also held on the bandstand every Sunday afternoon, so visitors and locals can do their shopping, take a leisurely stroll along the clifftop, have a spot of lunch and then relax with an afternoon of free music – perfect!
CONTACT: Cliftonville Farmers’ Market, 37 Devonshire Gardens, Cliftonville, Margate CT9 3AD
Tel: 01843 226033
Email: Kchadband@yahoo.co.uk
WHAT: The Coastguard pub
WHERE: St Margaret’s Bay
WHY: Drink like Bond
Bond fans regularly make the pilgrimage to St Margaret’s Bay to visit his creator Ian Fleming’s old house, which he originally bought from Noel Coward. After you’ve stumbled back over the pebbles from seeing where Bond’s creator lived, you can have a quick half and a bite to eat in The Coastguard pub, which regularly wins awards for its pies and cheeseboard and was best Kent pub in 2006. It’s also said to be the closest English pub to France
CONTACT: The Coastguard, St. Margarets Bay, Dover CT15 6DY
Tel: 01304 853176
E-mail: thecoastguard@talk21.com
WHAT: The Sportsman
WHERE: Seasalter
WHY: Fresh from the sea
Close to the seafront and the Saxon Shore Trail, The Sportsman at Seasalter is very popular with walkers. The first evidence of an inn on the site dates back to 1642, but the surrounding area of Seasalter is much older and appears in the Domesday book as belonging to the kitchens of Canterbury Cathedral.
Today’s Sportsman is a splendid gastro-pub opened by Stephen Harris, co-owner and chef and his brother Phil in 1999 and majoring on local produce. There are two menus. The first is chalked up on the board and changed daily depending on the ingredients that come from the farms, boats and game dealers. The second is a tasting menu (not available on Sat or Sun), which include classics and new ideas and is served with the restaurant’s own unpasteurised butter and home-made seasalt.
CONTACT: The Sportsman, Faversham Road, Seasalter, Whitstable CT5 4BP
Tel: 01227 273370
Email: contact@thesportsmanseasalter.co.uk
WHAT: Quex Park
WHERE: Birchington
WHY: Local produce and history combine
A great day out if you’re on the coast near Margate is to visit Quex Museum, House and Gardens in Quex Park, south of Birchington. Home of the Powell-Cotton family and its extraordinary collection of treasures, Quex Museum was established in 1896 by Major Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton to house natural history specimens and cultural objects collected on expeditions to Asia and Africa.
If all this history makes you hungry, Quex Park is passionate about Kent produce and as a producers of its own meats and some vegetables, has opened Quex Barn Farmers’ Market and now offers a butchery, fishmonger, a café, fresh fruit and vegetables, home-made bread and a wide variety of Kent jams and honeys.
CONTACT: Quex Park, Park Lane, Birchington CT7 0BH
Email: quexpark@btconnect.com
Tel: 01843 841119
WHAT: Bell Hotel
WHERE: Sandwich
WHY: Riverside setting
Arguably the most complete medieval town in the country, Sandwich is one of Kent’s jewels and makes a fascinating day out if you’re ‘doing’ the Saxon Shore Way. The Bell Hotel has been part of Sandwich life since Tudor times – there’s been a Bell Inn on The Quay, overlooking what would have been the harbour, now the River Stour, since about 1300.
The present listed building is mainly 19th century and if you feel like treating yourself, The Place at The Bell is an attractive brasserie and bar offering a relaxed and informal setting for light meals featuring local fish and seafood, salt marsh lamb, vegetables, salads and herbs from nearby farms.
And if you fancy staying over, all 34 en-suite bedrooms have been recently redecorated and upgraded.
CONTACT: The Bell Hotel, The Quay, Sandwich CT13 9EF
Tel: 01304 613 388
Email: reservations@sandwich.theplacehotels.co.uk
WHAT: Fresh seafood
WHERE: Eddie Gilbert’s
WHY: 2008 Taste of Kent winner Best seafood retailer
Jonny Dunhill opened his fishmongers last September and, just six months later, scooped ‘Best seafood retailer’ in the 2008 Taste of Kent awards. So if the smell of the sea has inspired you on your coastal travels, Eddie Gilbert’s is the place to head for locally caught fresh fish and shellfish to take home and cook for supper.
In the pipeline are plans for a deli, offering local meat, vegetables and herbs, and a seafood restaurant.
CONTACT: Eddie Gilbert’s, 32 King Street, Ramsgate CT11 8NT
Email: jonny@eddiegilb