We had beautiful weather yesterday, so to shake myself out of my doomsday mood I decided to go to Broadstairs, on the Kent coast. My specific goal was to have fish & chips at the Botany Bay Inn, overlooking the water, and then have a walk on the beach.
You may remember I've been to this spot several times. Dave and I took Olga there, and then -- in what wound up being my last trip before the pandemic struck -- I experimented there with my metal detector.
Well, this time I left both dog and detector at home. I kept it simple -- just me and the camera bag.
Getting from the Broadstairs train station to Botany Bay involves a walk of a couple miles, so that -- plus my time on the beach -- meant I got plenty of exercise.
The fish & chips, though, turned out to be a bust. When I got to the Botany Bay Inn, I learned that their gas supply was temporarily out so they had a limited menu -- basically pizza, pasta and a couple of sandwiches. I opted for a roast chicken baguette, which doesn't have the same nautical cachet as fish & chips, but at least I got to eat it overlooking the ocean.
I went down to the beach and returned the Henry Moore-like rock "sculptures" that I collected a few years ago -- they were just gathering dust in our house. Everything in its place, right? I also got to walk through the arch in the top photo, which I've never done before -- and then I walked back to Broadstairs via the coastal road, past the lighthouse and through town.
My train trip back was exhausting. A gang of boisterous 20-ish youngsters sat in the seats just in front of me, and they talked SUPER ENTHUSIASTICALLY and giggled and sang songs from Disney musicals. There were six or seven women and one guy. I'm guessing they're from some kind of drama club, based on their extensive knowledge of stage productions.
One pale girl in tattered black fishnet stockings insisted to the others that she had never seen a horse. "I'm from London," she said, as if that explained it.
Anyway, I know this makes me sound 100 years old, but by the time an hour and 20 minutes was up and we rolled into St. Pancras I was almost out of my mind. I had to come home and have a gin & tonic for medicinal purposes.
48 comments:
Thank you for the video, all wild and windswept and lovely. The layers in the cliffs almost look like cake layers. I like that "hedgeman" too.
I can imagine that train ride. I’d need gin, too. I’m from London? I would NOT have patience for that one. The trip, other than that, sounds so nice. The beach and views are breathtaking.
Do I remember John Gray of Wales had a connection via his former husband to Broadstairs? Your video makes me want to visit such a beautiful place.
Lovely for the theatricals to be enjoying themselves, but you should have travelled first class. I've seen more horses in London than perhaps anywhere else.
Now that I'm old, I often wish I could thank the people who were old around me when I was young for their patience and forbearance. And listen to their versions of certain episodes I remember now in a different light from how I felt about it at the time.
Sounds more like you were on a train with mid-teens. By 20 you would hope they would have learned a little consideration for fellow travelers. How truly annoying.
The topiary sculpture in that garden is amazing. Well spotted! I bet it receives many broad stares! It is surprising that you didn't join in with the happy bunch on the train. I can picture you now, grinning as you lead the singing of:-
Hello Dolly
This is miss Dolly
It's so nice to have you back where you belong
You're lookin' swell, Dolly
I can tell, Dolly
You're still glowin', you're still crowin', you're still goin' strong
The young people would have been a'clappin' and a hollerin', wowed by your authentic American accent and your showbiz demeanour.
I forget you're close enough to the coast to do day trips like this one, which sounds like the kind of day I like, walking on the beach. I'm glad you did it, and shared.
I love the photos of the beach. I want to get back to England again.
You and Mr. P. both got out and about and good for you! Trips like that are good for the soul as well as the body although riding in a train car with a drama group singing songs from musical might have just crushed your soul.
What a fun topiary!
What a magnificent video! So lovely and majestic! That really lifted my spirits. Thanks for a wonderful walk on the beach, Steve. I needed that!
WOWIE! THank you for the most excellent walk! Got to love big rocks that you can walk through- surreal and Kind of like a place Peter Pan might frequent. Wonderful area and the "bush" topiary is magnificent, What sort of bush can be trimmed like that? Nice that you took the rocks back to its mother but they were so cool I would have kept them- (I do tend to collect rocks, in the blood). Glad to see your walking legs functioning well after covid.Such wonder and delight!!
A nice outing on a gorgeous day. Too bad about the fish and chips. And couldn't you have just moved to a different seat on the train?
A sunny day out at the beach! A very different beach than those I am used to.
What a beautiful walk you had there. Love those white rocks and cliffs. Interesting ride home. I'm glad that medicinal gin and tonic helped!
Never seen a horse?? I see horses every time I visit London. The are everywhere. That really is a strange statement to make.
Except for the train ride home, that sounds like a wonderful day. I could really see the layers in those limestone cliffs. When I read that you wanted the fish & chips, it made me want some too. And like you, I'll have to settle for something else.
I am loving the topiary.
And, sad [or not] to say, I might have joined in with the singing.
Your video reminds me of walking on beaches in N. California and in Oregon with just the sound of the ocean and gulls.
Since my older daughter is currently a college professor and lives right across from the college, I know exactly what you mean. I'm frequently dealing with groups of loud students who all seem to be hankering for attention and "on stage" to impress each other. In my case, it would have required a couple amber ales. ;) Those are beautiful views of the water!
Did the topiary remind you of Lawn Boy?! That was my first thought!
I might have joined in on a few of the songs if they were from Lion King or other 90s Disney movies, but an hour and 20 minutes is an awfully long time.....
Riding on trains with enthusiastic children is exhausting. We were somewhere in Italy with a large group of kids, and the noise level was amazing.
OMGOSH, I would have had to have more than one gin and tonic after that exhausting train ride! or perhaps another trip back to that beautiful beach and solitude. Up until the train ride it sounds like a peaceful day.
Rest my friend, xx
Ha! I can imagine! For me it wasn't gin, but wine, that helped me cope with the visit of rambunctious small grandchildren after I got home from work. But I hear you! -Kate
The "hedgeman" is surprisingly detailed!
I just kept forcing myself to focus on my New Yorker, which wasn't easy!
Yes, his ex had a connection to Broadstairs. I never travel first class. I'm not sure it's even possible on these regional trains.
Yes! I can remember times when I was being boisterous with friends and suspecting that I was annoying people around me. It's just the age!
They MIGHT have been high-schoolers, but I think they were college students.
If they were singing "Dolly" (or Sondheim) I'd have been impressed -- but no, it was "Mulan" and "Frozen" and stuff like that.
Yes! Getting to the coast from London is quite easy. I could have gone to Brighton which is even faster, but I like a secluded beach.
It's here, waiting for you!
It was still good for my soul overall, I think! :)
Glad you liked it!
I think the topiary is yew, which can be trimmed with great detail.
No! It was pretty full, unfortunately.
Yes, much colder, for one thing!
It reminds me a bit of the beach in Oregon, with those towering rocks.
She had to be putting on her friends. It's not possible to live in London and not see a horse. Has she never walked past the Horse Guards on Whitehall or seen mounted police officers?
I didn't know these songs. They were from modern musicals like "Mulan" and "Book of Mormon," and although I saw the latter I don't remember any of the tunes.
Yes! It reminds me of Oregon too.
I just try to remind myself that I was that age once, and every bit as annoying.
Ha! I didn't even think of "Lawn Boy," surprisingly! These were indeed very '90s (and even more recent) Disney tunes, at least from what I could tell.
Working in a school, of course, I get a lot of that anyway!
Yes, it was actually a good day overall. :)
Whatever gets you through, as they say!
First class varies from route to route and operator to operator. We thought first class was very poor value on the Trans Pennines Express but it was quiet and extra we paid was small.
Lovely beach walk...giving us inspiration for our next visit to Kent!!
A place I’m never returning to
Perhaps it is the engineer in me who likes to worry about things not in my control but I would have a hard time just cutting loose for a walk on the beach with no apparent way back out except how I got there, always wondering when and how fast the tide would come roaring back.
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