The Edmondson Blog

Having to return home from Sicily early for Pop's funeral, I had the weekend in hand, so made my way down to the coast. I stopped off at Herne Bay for lunch (see picture of typical seaside fare) and a walk along the beach, before heading west to Whitstable and dinner at the Whitstable Oyster Company. Herne Bay has an old school seaside resort feeling to it, with working class families coming to the pebbled beach for the weekend, peeling off their football shirts (including baby Jimmy's) and frollicking in the sea, with tats all on show. Whitstable, on the other hand, has pulled itself together and it squarely focused on the middle class family (i.e. BMW-driving men who wear three-quarter length trousers and have silver tinted sunglasses permanently on the forehead): clapboard beach huts; locally brewed beers and expensive fish restaurants (being resolutely working class, I felt very out of place). The Whitstable Oyster Co. is excellent: juicy oysters followed by a whole sea bass washed down with a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc hit the spot. A return visit is definitely on the cards.