Day trip from London: London to Whitstable

This time last week I was returning from Whitstable, a charming coastal town, east of London. Being a bank holiday, the lovely Emma and I were more than happy to whisk ourselves away to spend the fleeting summer days by the seaside. We were lucky as the weather held up and stayed warm and sunny.

Aside from Margate, I've yet to visit another sandy beach in the UK. But Whitstable was charming. Maybe it was the last of the summer sun, maybe it was just the bank holiday weekend or maybe, Whitstable really is just that warm and welcoming.

Sandy beaches, sexy lifeguards, sun loungers, beach bars with amazing cocktails, ice cream every 100 meters, girls in bikinis and makeup, fit boys in budgie smugglers – you won't find any of this at Whitstable. What you will find is a long pebbly beach (similar to that of Brighton but minus the pier), lots of fresh oysters for sale, rows and rows of colourful beach huts, a pub with the best beach view in the country (I'm guessing!), a charming village high street, lovely sunsets and a chilled local vibe. To be honest, aside from the sandy beach part, Whitstable is my kinda beach.

Aside from the cute beach huts (which I'm now obsessed with and totally want to rent one come next summer), I just loved the vibe of the place - is it weird if I say it was 'homely'? We saw so many friends and families hanging out together in front of their beach huts or having a meal on the beach. It was comfortable, friendly and familiar - that's not the usual vibe I get from a beach so it was a pleasant surprise and made it difficult to leave at the end of the day.

We were there at low tide and boy, was it out...meters and meters away from the shoreline and I'd barely reached the edge of the water. For those with swimming, they could wade even further out and still only be knee deep in water. The water was calm, clearer (and warmer) than I expected - next time I'm taking swimmers!

We spent the day walking along the shore line, snapping photos of the colourful beach huts, exploring a bit of the town itself and of course, grabbed a bite to eat.

If you fancy heading down the coming weekend, here are some handy tips.

Tips for visiting Whitstable

• Try and grab a direct train from London Victoria rail station, it'll take roughly 1.5hrs so bring a book! 
• Whitstable is only half an hour north of Canterbury so you could travel from there too.
• To get to the harbour front from Whitstable station, just follow the signs, or easier still, follow everyone else...
• Whitstable is known for fresh seafood – oysters specifically – we ate at Crab & Winkle but in hindsight, it would have been better to buy freshly shucked oysters and fish and chips and eat them on the beach.
• Be sure to check out the charming Harbour street

• Bring flip-flops! It is a pebbly beach so not the best for walking barefoot! 
• Have an ice cream! You're on a beach, you cant not have an ice cream!
• Stay till sunset, its beautiful

I know not everyone is a fan of beaches, and with us entering Autumn, you might prefer a different day trip...in which case, have a look here...I have 10 other day trip ideas to choose from!

As always, if you have your own tips or experiences you'd like to share, do leave me a comment :)

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Day Trips from London: London to Bodiam Castle

Bodiam Castle

Its been a while since I've added to my Day Trips from London series but over this Easter long weekend, a friend and I finally took a trip to Bodiam Castle. I love that living in the UK I can just go and see a castle, built by a Knight, that existed almost 400 years before Australia was 'discovered' by Captain Cook, complete with moat, just like that.

The original bridge actually was from this grassy patch to the island in the middle.

Bodiam is a 14th century castle that was built during the reign of Richard II. Originally belonging to the Dalyngrigge family, it passed through several hands before it was donated to the National Trust in 1925.

Main entrance - wooden portcullis and family shields above

The exterior of the castle is intact (or has been restored) and as I approached it, it was quite the sight. I can understand why the grounds were landscaped in such a way, it would have made quite the imposing and intimidating impression. It does give the impression that it is bigger than it actually is.

Over the bridge, through the main entrance with the original wooden portcullis (quite rare) and up a side staircase to the battlements and I could see the whole interior of the castle. Only ruins remain, surrounding the green lawn of the courtyard. But with the help of a map, fireplaces and the markings of where the upper floors were, it was easy to glean life when it was a fully functioning castle.

The arched door way leads to the Great Hall

Facing the main entrance from the courtyard

The arches from the Great Hall leading to the pantry, buttery and kitchens

All the little details...

Dont forget to look up - Parts of Bodiam had 3 floors.

Looking out from the Retainers Hall to the courtyard

Possibly my favourite thing about the whole castle was the back entrance. Supposedly used for 'informal' access to friends, services and the like. I like to think of it as an early equivalent to the kitchen door used by friends today instead of the main house door. Except I'm sure that most kitchen doors don't have murder holes as a precaution.

Murder holes

Oh, did I mention its a photogenic castle? It was so easy to take good photos of it from every angle, almost no effort required ;)

Tips for visiting Bodiam Castle

 

How to get to Bodiam Castle

I think that the best way to get to Bodiam Castle from London is to drive. But due to Easter car hire opening hours my friend and I ended up taking a train to Maidstone and hiring a zipcar to drive there which worked well too.

The National Trust site does give various public transport options.

Food & drink

Bodiam Castle has a cafe near the carpark which serves a couple of hot meals, sandwiches, tea, coffee and cake. It has both indoor and outdoor seating. Across the road there is a Shepherd Neame pub Castle Inn which can serve as another option. Otherwise, if youre driving, why not take a picnic and eat there?

Nearby

There is a steam train station nearby Bodiam Castle, if you are looking for a full day out check out the Kent and East Sussex Railway website.
Why not take advantage of the beautiful countryside and take a walk along the public footpaths? I saw a couple of stiles and marked paths so with a bit of googling found this map.

Not a bad way to spend a day away from the hustle and bustle of London don't you think?

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Sandy seaside escape to Margate

This morning I was pleasantly surprised to find that Timeout had mentioned Margate as an escape from London. I did just that a couple of months ago. I was tired (shock-horror!) of my commute, the pushing, the bumping, the crowds and general routine, and wanted to escape for a bit to somewhere with a bit more space. I didn’t know I'd end up at Margate. I was looking for a place that involved a long-ish train trip, wouldn’t be expensive, and would land me somewhere fairly central so I could walk around rather than take another mode of transport.

Click to expand

And so it was that Margate popped up and Margate was where I had this view while munching on fish and chips.

It just so happened that Margate was my first sandy beach experience in the UK! Take that Brighton! When I arrived the tide was out, way out. No one was swimming, it was still a bit too cold for that, and it looked like mainly a few of the locals were out and about. But it was perfect. Lots of space, chilled vibe, just what the doctor ordered.

By the way, why is it such a pleasure to walk along the beach just out of reach of the lapping waters edge? I don’t know, but for me, it was instant relaxation.

Old market square

It was definitely the 'off' season, the main strip had that quiet, shuttered up feel to it, the arcades mostly empty and the new 'retro' funpark not yet, but I could imagine it on a hot summers day, full of beach goers, sun seekers and swimmers. I walked along the beach till I reached a set of steps leading up to the old town centre which was busy with locals and just begged to be explored. You can imagine, little shops selling antiques, tea varieties, household ornaments, books and a few cute cafes.

Cute little tea shop

Just love the name of this antique shop

But Margate is not just about the seaside, arcades or funpark. Its home to a curious little site, a good 10 minutes walk from the centre of town...the Shell Grotto...

No-one knows who built it, why it was put there or anything about how it came into being. There are theories of course but not one knows for sure. The shells come from all over the world, which makes it more interesting. It piqued peoples curiosity since it was found and has been open to visitors since. If you look closely, a lot of shells have been 'signed' by visitors. I found one that was dated 1866 - now that's really old graffiti!

Back then the grotto used to be lit by gas lanterns which is why the natural shell colours don't show anymore. This pic sort of gives you an idea of what it would have looked like.

The grotto also has a small display of shell art, history and other info before you descend into the grotto. These two carved shells are just gorgeous don't you think?

So, next time you want to escape London for a day, keep Margate in mind, you're bound to come back relaxed.

What do you do to escape your 'daily grind'?

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Day Trips from London: London to Blenheim Palace

After moving into my new flat last year and during the period of unpacking, I decided to take a break and visit Blenheim Palace in a spectacular accomplishment in procrastination. My floor was still full of boxes that I kept tripping over, I still had no bed (where would we be without air mattresses?) or wardrobe for that matter - and yes I was going all wrinkly to work in the mornings, but what the heck, it was high time for another edition of Day Trips from London.

I spent 6 hours (no, that is not a typo) travelling to Blenheim Palace and back. Blenheim Place is the current home of the Marlborough family. As it happened, only a few days before my trip, the 11th Duke of Marlborough passed away, but the house was open as per his wishes.

Blenheim Palace is most famous for being the home and birthplace of Winston Churchill. Walking around the Palace and its gardens, its hard to imagine this being a current home for anyone.

First impressions

My first reaction on seeing it from the outside was that it reminded me of Versailles (no doubt, if i'd seen Blenheim first, I'd have thought Versailles looked like Blenheim). It is a grand structure built from Oxford sandstone, its russet colours deepening and lightening as the clouds scuttled across the sky. From the forecourt, I saw the first Ai Weiwei installation in the Great Hall - a massive chandler held up by a support beam overhanging the hall.

Ai Weiwei chandelier in the Great Hall at Blenheim Place

Inside the Palace

When I first walked in, it was hard no not gaze upwards and take in the height of the Great Hall and the painted ceiling. Ai Weiwei's chandelier installation dominated the space and glowed with light.
I wandered through the Churchill Exhibition, through halls with painted portraits of current and previous members of the Marlborough family, through the room Churchill was born, state rooms and a grand dining room. It was really hard to imagine this Palace as a home. Some of the more modern family portraits did help but it still seemed strange to me.

Ai Weiwei's art installations were sometimes glaringly obvious and some not so much. Modern art is not really my thing so I think the impression was lost on me sadly.

See the flag? That is the 'rent' paid to the Queen each year.

The Palace grounds

The grounds are unending. I confess that I only saw a small part of them opting instead to make a beeline for the cafe and indulge in a cup of tea and some yummy scones while looking out at the formal gardens with the fountain tossing and turning in the wind. When I headed back out, the rolling hills, lake and bridge were so picturesque, I couldn't help but stop to capture the scene. Can you see why Churchill was inspired to paint here?

How to get to Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace is just outside of Oxford in the small village of Woodstock. Oxford is about an hour and 30 minutes from London Paddington rail station. From Oxford station you can catch the S3 bus which will drop you just outside Blenheim Palace gates. The bus ride can take about 40 minutes depending on traffic. On weekends the bus comes 10 past and 40 past the hour.

If you don't fancy the long trip, driving there will take you about 1.5 hours and there is parking on the grounds of the palace.

The Long Library - during times of war, this was turned into a recovery room for injured soldiers - just like Downton Abbey.

A little money-saving tip

Buy your ticket to Blenheim Palace on the bus to get 30% off! And if you fancy visiting Blenheim Palace again, convert your ticket into an annual pass for free return visits. I LOVE it when places do that because 1) it encourages a repeat visit and because of that it 2) allows you to take your time and explore bit by bit instead of rushing around trying to fit everything in.

Whats the most extreme thing you have done to procrastinate?

P.S In case your curious, here are a few other day trip to Windsor Castle, Henley-on-Thames and York. 

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