To all those who enjoyed the first part of our guide to the delights of the North Kent coast, Cyclechic offers a heartfelt chapeau, or how you say, hats off! Hopefully our small taste of what Faversham and Whitstable have to offer encouraged a few of you to take a spin down this way, and we’d love to hear any discoveries you made, just log-in or register to make comments below. For part two we would like to take you for a stroll along the prom, prom, prom at Herne Bay, sample the spooky delights of the ruined church at Reculver, brave a man eating lion (stuffed) at Quex Park, and catch a film in a vintage cinema at Westgate on Sea. If you’re looking for directions, click here for a handy map that will take you to all along the North Kent Coast.
The Wine Room in Tankerton (take the first left off Marine Parade, onto Tankerton road, once you’ve taken in the breathtaking views of course). What it lacks in a sea-view, this thoroughly modern and inviting shop more than makes up for with its varied and enticing selection of wines, beers and ciders. If you’ve brought your panniers there are bottles to suit all budgets, but if you’re travelling light, take a pew and let the friendly and knowledgeable owner suggest a little something by the glass. Alternatively, the Tankerton Arms micro-pub is just a short walk away on the other side of the road. Similar in size and style to Furlongs in Faversham, it’s a cosy, inviting spot with lots of lovely local beers and ciders, and if you get peckish try their scrummy local cheese platter. Then it’s back to Marine Parade, down the Tankerton Slopes and off onto the Saxon Shore Way. This is the most picturesque route along the coast, and more importantly it’s flat, so you’ll be doing your legs a favour.
After the shabby chic delights of Whitstable, Herne Bay, the next town along the coast, offers a more traditional British seaside experience. It has a proper seafront, with a prom, a short pier, a bandstand, and a clock-tower complete with cannons pointing out to sea. If you need cooling down after your two-wheeled exertions, Makcari’s seems to have the ice-cream market sewn up with two cafes offering a bewildering selection of mouth-watering, waistline expanding, home-made Italian gelati. But if you want something more substantial and a little out of the ordinary, you’ll need to head back into town.
A Casa Mia, on the High Street, was named by the Guardian as one of the ten best pizzeria outside of London earlier this year, and you can read Marina O’Loughlin’s glowing review here. Unpretentious and welcoming, A Casa Mia serves Neapolitan style pizza, and the owner warns you on their website not to go in expecting your usual thin and crispy takeaway variety. It’s the only pizza restaurant in the UK to be certified by the notoriously strict Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, described by the Guardian as ‘the Neapolitan pizza police.’ The base certainly has more body to it and perfectly complements the wide selection of fresh, delicious toppings, some with D.O.P. certified ingredients for extra authenticity. If pizza isn’t your thing, their pasta and risotto dishes look equally enticing, as do their starters. Just don’t ask me about the dessert selection, I was too full to even look.
The Vintage Empire, a ‘40’s styled, retro delight of a place that bucked the trend by opening up after a charity shop closed down. The menus may be printed on ration books but there’s no skimping on the ingredients, and any fans of Bake Off will feel right at home. Sumptuous sponges, scones piled high with jam and clotted cream, Scotch Eggs, pork pies, and all washed down with lashings of tea served in pots with knitted tea cosies. As you float out the door on a cloud of nostalgia you’ll be humming ‘We’ll Meet Again’ and meaning it.
If you’d prefer some lighter but no less delicious fare, tucked away at the back of an unprepossessing arcade (The Mall) on the High Street is The Wallflower Cafe, a handy spot if you’re a visiting vegan. There’s something for everyone here, even veggie virgins. Fresh salads, hearty bean burgers, wraps bursting with crunchy goodness, warming soups, and tempting cookies and brownies, what’s not to like.
Your next stop, Birchington-on-Sea is a healthy distance away, and Reculver is a good spot to stretch your legs and rejoin the Saxon Shore Way. The King Ethelburt Inn is a decent pub if you need to rehydrate, but the main attractions are the old Roman fort, and the two towers of the ruined church of Saint Mary’s, a gothic delight straight out of a Hammer Horror film. Then it’s back on the sea wall until Minnis Bay where you turn off and head inland for a short while.
If you’re wondering when you arrive whether Birchington has a whiff of ‘Dad’s Army’ about it then you wouldn’t be far wrong as the town has some claim to being the inspiration behind the television show’s Walmington-on-Sea. If you’ve worked up an appetite though you may want to spin a mile up the road to Quex Barn, a showcase for the produce of Quex Park, a working historic country estate. Here you’ll be spoilt for choice and be glad of those panniers if you remembered to bring them. The butcher sells, among other things, native Sussex breed beef and Romney salt marsh lamb, there’s a deli bursting with locally produced cheeses, a greengrocer selling herbs from the Quex House nursery garden, fish straight off the boat, and freshly baked bread. Again, don’t worry if you’re travelling light, the restaurant is open daily for breakfast and lunch, and if you’re staying nearby, dinner on Friday and Saturday.
You might feel like an afternoon snooze after all that food and fresh air, but don’t leave without visiting the Powell-Cotton Museum and it’s amazing natural history dioramas. Just trust us on this one, it’s worth the trip just to read the story about Percy Powell-Cotton’s narrow escape from death at the claws of a savage lion, saved only by his grit, determination, but most importantly a rolled up copy of Punch magazine in his top pocket!
Well, you’ve earned a rest, and a little way up the coast, on the outskirts of Margate, you’ll arrive at Westgate-on-Sea. Here you can sit back in the comfort of the Carlton Cinema, a hidden gem (built in the Swiss-Gothic style apparently), and lovingly maintained by the current owners. Grab yourself a large bucket of popcorn and catch a movie, or if nothing takes your fancy, sidle next door to the bijou Bake and Alehouse and see where micropubs got started.
Next stop, Margate, a place so stuffed with food, drink, shopping and culture, it’s going to need a whole blog to itself, so watch this space.
0 Comments for “Cycling the North Kent Coast: The Cyclechic Guide (leg 2: Tankerton to Westgate on Sea)”