Kent…the county with too many options on where to visit! In the end, I decided on exploring Broadstairs for a few reasons; I heard many good things about the town, there was sand rather than hideous pebbles and I found myself a gluten free afternoon tea…meeting my friend Amy and her two little boys, Peanut and Blueberry were the icing on the Kent cake!
I popped down from Bedford to Broadstairs on the train…it was quicker than driving and meant I could read a book…but in reality spent the whole time scrolling through instagram.
^^An English summers day!
Arriving into Broadstairs…I felt like I had stepped back in time…
…the band stand was raving…
…the town clock was ticking…
…kids watching a Punch & Judy show….
…families enjoying time together (where apple meant a piece of fruit rather than a piece of technology…ahh the good ol’ days)…
…couples enjoying a game or two…
…and a few having cuppa or forty winks on a rather overcast summers day in front of their rather girly beach hut.
Amy, Peanut, Blueberry and I started the day as we intended to carry on…
…yip by eating as much sugar as possible…Amy and I are sugar ninjas…that’s how we meet…well kinda of…we met while studying ACCA and then had various walks to Borough Market for fudge during our breaks…we both passed audit first time…
…so after a bit of ice cream for breakfast we were ready for the beach!
^^Peanut and my little ice cream boats (which was gluten free!)
I will be honest and say I was a tad disappointed with Morelli’s…it wasn’t as good as I thought it would be unfortunately.
We all headed down to the beach via a lot of steps…
…where the tide was out…
…I thought it would be a good idea to let the boys cover Aunty Kelly in sand…I won’t show those photos…let’s just enjoy the fact that I found a rather lovely sandy beach in England for once…okay this photo isn’t doing the sand any justice…
…it looks better here!
We had an afternoon tea booking (the boys first!) so we headed towards Bleak House via some beach huts…
…more…
…and more…
…and a few more.
Amy and I had done some research on Broadstairs that revolved around cake…so we knew we had to introduce the boys to afternoon tea…
…which they enjoyed…thankfully their English genes were strong…Peanut making himself a cuppa…
…and Blueberry…don’t let the South Africa rugby jersey confuse you…it was all about a cup of tea with 6 sugars!
Here’s a little flashback (eeek it’s a bit blurry…sorry!)…I met Peanut for the very first time in Konditor & Cook in London all those years ago…
…trust me when I say that Amy and I have based our whole friendship around sugar…Peanut and I relived our first meeting thanks to the help of Facebook at afternoon tea.
Here’s a photo of Amy’s afternoon tea.
And you guessed it, here’s my gluten free afternoon tea at Bleak House…yes the gluten free pastries were a tad dry but passable…
…the scones passed my scone test (they were easy to cut into, they didn’t break a tooth and they were yummy)…
…my fully dressed up to the nines scone!
Once we finished scoffing our afternoon tea at Bleak House, we had a little snoop around the hotel…we didn’t have many great expectations…
…but we were pleasantly surprised…
…we did find someone checking us out.
If you’re a huge Charles Dickens fan then a visit to Bleak House in Broadstairs is a must…
…you will find Dickens references all around the town…
…and I mean…
…everywhere!
After our afternoon tea, I waved goodbye to my Kent crew and had a little wander around Broadstairs to photograph…you guessed it doors!
I had a moment of divine intervention…I don’t know who was giggling more…
…the colourful door without some divine intervention…hello new instagram hashtag #thatyellowdoor
…I stumbled on a pretty little alleyway…
..where there were an abundance…
…of…
…beautiful…
…doors!
Travel Tips for Exploring Broadstairs, Kent
- If you intend to visit, catching the train and walking from the station to the beach only takes a few minutes – book your tickets via Red Spotted Hanky to get cashback
- We had an enjoyable afternoon tea at Bleak House in Broadstairs; they do offer a gluten free option which was okay (I’ve had worse) and costs £19.99
- Families were enjoying the beach so make sure you take your swimming togs so you can go for a swim – there were flags and it looked a really safe beach
- Bleak House was the home of Charles Dickens and is now a hotel with great views over Broadstairs so if you’re a big fan then this would be a fabulous place to visit and stay!
- Morelli’s is the famous ice cream parlour in Broadstairs; there isn’t table service and can be extremely packed so choose your arrival time wisely.
- Take flat shoes as there are a number of stairs and of course sand!
- You can check out my post on Dover Castle in Kent if you’re visiting the county.
- For more tips on Kent then take a gander at the Visit Kent Tourism page.
Have you visited Broadstairs in Kent before – did you love the little town and beach? Where else do you recommend in Kent to visit?
xx
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