Whitstable: North Kent Coastal Town Known for Its Oysters and Its Weatherboard Cottages
Whitstable sits on the north Kent coast, about six miles north of Canterbury and 60 miles east of London. The population is around 33,000. The town's oyster beds have been worked since Roman times, and the Whitstable Oyster Company continues to farm native oysters in the shallow waters offshore. The annual Oyster Festival in July draws tens of thousands of visitors. The harbour, rebuilt in the 19th century, retains a working fishing fleet alongside leisure boats. The town was the terminus of the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, opened in 1830, one of the first passenger railways in the world. The seafront is characterised by weatherboard fishermen's cottages along Island Wall and Sea Wall, painted in the pastel colours that appear on every postcard of the town.
The High Street runs back from the harbour with a concentration of independent shops, galleries, and restaurants that has made Whitstable one of the more fashionable small towns in Kent. Tankerton Slopes, the grassy cliff top east of the harbour, offers views across the Thames Estuary. The Street, a natural shingle spit extending into the sea at low tide from Tankerton, is a distinctive local feature. Whitstable station is on the line to London Victoria via Faversham, taking about 80 minutes, or to London St Pancras via the high-speed service from Canterbury West in about 75 minutes total. For those considering adult companionship in north Kent, Whitstable's rail links and the A299 Thanet Way connect it to Canterbury, the Medway Towns, and London.
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Whitstable sits on the north Kent coast, about six miles north of Canterbury and 60 miles east of London. The population is around 33,000. The town's oyster beds have been worked since Roman times, and the Whitstable Oyster Company continues to farm native oysters in the shallow waters offshore. The annual Oyster Festival in July draws tens of thousands of visitors. The harbour, rebuilt in the 19th century, retains a working fishing fleet alongside leisure boats. The town was the terminus of the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, opened in 1830, one of the first passenger railways in the world. The seafront is characterised by weatherboard fishermen's cottages along Island Wall and Sea Wall, painted in the pastel colours that appear on every postcard of the town.
The High Street runs back from the harbour with a concentration of independent shops, galleries, and restaurants that has made Whitstable one of the more fashionable small towns in Kent. Tankerton Slopes, the grassy cliff top east of the harbour, offers views across the Thames Estuary. The Street, a natural shingle spit extending into the sea at low tide from Tankerton, is a distinctive local feature. Whitstable station is on the line to London Victoria via Faversham, taking about 80 minutes, or to London St Pancras via the high-speed service from Canterbury West in about 75 minutes total. For those considering adult companionship in north Kent, Whitstable's rail links and the A299 Thanet Way connect it to Canterbury, the Medway Towns, and London.
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