Birthday in Kent - Plan C
Thankfully, I hadn't set my heart on a birthday destination this year, although it won’t have been Canterbury. Originally I had booked Liverpool although my first choice would probably have been Scotland as the last three have been in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The road trip to Kent reminded me of the one in August to Lincolnshire and Norfolk. It’s rural, picturesque and pretty white.
Arriving in Canterbury we checked into Falstaff hotel and headed straight to Garage Coffee. Then the first of our excursions starting with Whitstable (Whitstabubble if I remember the advert from my childhood correctly) then Herne Bay, followed by Oscar & Bentleys for dinner. People were still doing the money off dinner offer so all the chain restaurants were booked out but we were pleased to find a lovely local business.
On my actual birthday it rained for the first time since Quebec in 2016. I still don’t recall it ever raining in the UK but 2020 is no ordinary year. We managed a stop in a tiny old village of Chilham and in Fordwich before going for heading for a reserved table at Kathton House in Sturry which was exactly what I hoped a birthday meal would be. I hit the jackpot this year.
Then we headed to Margate which I felt needed major investment but Curve Roasters provided some solace. I did have the Chas & Dave tune in my head all afternoon. From here it was Broadstairs and Ramsgate and then we came across a pretty delightful Westwood Cross shopping centre just before it closed for the evening. We decided on a fancy cocktail back at the hotel for the one and only drink out during this whole pandemic.
For the final day of the road trip, (the white cliffs of) Dover was top of the list via St Margaret. Sadly, it took until we arrived in Folkestone for me to realise that I’d lost my special necklace, an adored present for our 6th anniversary. I didn’t quite get over the shock of that to enjoy Folkestone but I was pleasantly surprised by it’s creative edge.
From here it was on to witness the ruggedness of Dungeness which in hindsight we should have just popped out, taken a picture of Prospect Cottage (Derek Jarman’s former home) and then driven to a nice restaurant for fish and chips. But we decided to get some from the recommended hut and it took them about 25 minutes to produce them while we did battle with the cold winds and absolutely no-one caring for face coverings. It was a shame to end the trip in this way. So we stopped in Tunbridge Wells and had a warm welcome and marvellous hot chocolates in Goupie.
