Star of the sea
Above: Viking Bay, Broadstairs
Above: .
It’s not often one of our lovely Kent coastal towns get major plaudits in the national press. These days provincial towns would only secure big headlines for more anti-social reasons, or disastrous events like the recent terrible floods that decimated the Midlands, but the quaint town of Broadstairs has hit the big time for a far more positive reason, by being voted the second Best Seaside Town in Britain.
The competition was run by The Guardian newspaper, where readers nominated their favourites from which a shortlist of 10 was collated. Broadstairs ended up competing against places such as Brighton, Whitby in North Yorkshire, St David's in Pembrokeshire, Blackpool, St Andrew's in Fife and Kinsale in County Cork. This is a hard-hitting list, containing some of the busiest and most well-known coastal resorts in the British Isles.
And it wasn’t just up to Guardian readers to choose the winner. As with most public votes of this nature, a lot of sentimental and regional voting accounts for many unexpected results, but in this case The Guardian added even more kudos by inviting a distinguished panel to make the final decision.
Celebrity judges
That panel included TV celebrity chef Rick Stein, award-winning travel writer and chairman of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, Bill Bryson, and Dr Phyllis Starkey, MP, the chair of the government action group on the seaside.
St. Ives in Cornwall was named as the winner, a worthy choice, but coming out of left field was our very own Broadstairs, which should be royally proud to beat the likes of Brighton and Whitby.
Described by the rather discerning panel, Broadstairs has an ‘old fashioned feel to it’ with ‘a good future ahead of it’ and it also won acclaim for its ‘very strong feeling’ among residents.
In its subsequent feature on the competition, The Guardian commented that the town was far from a twee monument to nostalgia, with reference to its homage to its greatest known resident, Charles Dickens and the rows of brightly-coloured beach huts, sea water bathing pool and much-loved Punch and Judy show.
Broadtstairs won acclaim for its ‘very strong feeling’ among residents.
No it’s more than that, boasting a lively community which hasn’t yet been dominated by the day trippers from London. Those beach huts are still rentable from the council for a reasonable fee – whereas many other places would take the opportunity to make hay while the sun shone over the sweeping Viking Bay, and sell them off at ridiculous prices.
Narrow streets
Of course, being a seaside resort, the narrow streets that line the clifftops are dominated by fish and chip restaurants, and ice cream is well catered for, particularly at Morelli’s which has recently featured in The Guardian again and The Independent with outlets in Harrods, Selfridges in Birmingham and even Kuwait.
The Guardian has come up trumps again by highlighting Botany Bay in its ‘Rockpool Hotspots’ section and Viking Bay's Punch and Judy in ‘Old- Fashioned Delights’.
There are plenty of tea shops to refresh loyal locals and thirsty visitors alike, but another has gained prominence having been graced with the prestigious title of BBC Olive magazine’s 'Kent's Cutest Coastal Cafe'.
Viking Bay which has the distinction of sporting a Blue Flag Embracing the current trend for supporting local produce, Oscar Road’s specialties are home-baked cakes and local seafood such as crab and home-made pork pie from Ramsgate, jams and chutneys from Faversham, and breads and pastries from the local baker.
All these attributes would have had a major influence on the panel of judges, as did the crescent-shaped sandy beach of Viking Bay which, like many of the beaches, has the distinction of sporting a Blue Flag – one of many in this area of Kent.
Broadstairs only very recently received the Guardian award and has yet to capitalise on it, but it’s difficult to imagine that it will go overboard and lose its identity as an understated little English gem. It’s just not that kind of town, which again is one of its attractions.
Even without the award, which will put it more firmly on the map to encourage more visitors from London and the south east, Thanet council has plans to help improve tourism to the area and introduce new initiatives. Broadstairs, as part of Thanet, is included in the Thanet Greeter Scheme, the first of its kind in Europe. It is based on the Big Apple Greeter of New York programme introduced in 1992 and is a pilot that will spread to the rest of Kent to prepare for the 2012 Olympics.
Volunteer scheme
Basically, it is a volunteer, non-profitable scheme where local people guide visitors to make it more personable and friendly. With a community spirit that is pretty healthy, the greeters of Broadstairs should succeed in creating a warm, friendly and informative welcome.
And there’s much more for them to say about Broadstairs, with its recent TV appearances in adverts for wind farms and Churchill Insurance, as well as that second loveliest seaside town award.
Let’s hope the recent exposure doesn’t change the town too much, so that it retains the charming and unassuming character that the judges found so appealing.
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