Whitstable for the day is it nice?

[EachandEveryone]

Its my birthday September and Ive never been to the beach from London. Is Whitstable nice? I was thinking going to the beach is it good swimming or not really? It will be pretty casual if we are going to the beach. Anywhere nice to eat that we wont have to get dressed up for?

I was just wondering the same thing! After reading about the summer special trains to the coast. I hope you get some replies : )

The beach is stoney not sandy so if you don't mind that you should be good. Loads of places to eat, in that it is a seaside resort, there is a lovely pub on the beach front and loads of places to just wander round. Lots of people will be in casual clothes, it is Whitstable!

I love it but it isn't really a swimming place, it is very stony. Nice pubs, art galleries, little shops, places to eat or you can hire bikes and cycle along the seafront to Herne Bay.

Maybe we wont go with our costumes under our clothes then 😃 jusr want to keep it cheap and cheerful really.

Whitstable is a nice place, great for walking by the beach, but possibly not the best beach for swimming, as it's quite shingly. Broadstairs has great sandy beaches, although they do have rockpools, so it depends on the state of the tide as to how good it is for swimming.

Whitstable has some nice places to eat, but they do get booked up, as it's quite a tourist town. Broadstairs also has loads of great places to eat, many of which are completely casual. There's a tapas place, Italian restaurant, Albion Hotel (bar menu type thing) and a great Turkish restaurant near the station which looks quite unassuming but we had a lovely meal there (this was Sept 2020 so hope it's still there!)

If you go to Broadstairs there's also a great Mini golf course which has a café doing drinks, sandwiches, cakes, ice cream etc.

Lots of people do swim off whitstable beach but look at the tide times first as the tide drops dramatically.

It seems to be the nearest beach to London Broadstairs looks too far for the day. It will be adults only we just fancy a change somewhere to mooch around.

Broadstairs is fine for the day! Where in London are you?

Whitstable is nice but to swim you need to be there at high tide. It's very pebbly.

You could also consider Brighton /hove, Eastbourne, Southend (sandy) , Hastings.

North London and not driving. Ive done Brighton too many times, Hove included.

Whitstable will be absolutely HEAVING on a sunny weekend. Plus as pp have said, the beach is shingly (and narrow).

Ramsgate is 1h 15 from St Pancras, big sandy beach, never too busy, lovely harbour, plenty of places to grab lunch.

You can get to Broadstairs in 1hr 20m from London St Pancras.

How are you getting a trian to Whitstable faster than that (the Whitstable train is the same line but the slower train so more stops and takes the same time as the faster train to Broadstairs!)

I think you can swim slightly up the beach in Tankerton. (Still stony but lots of people swim there). I think it's a nice place to go for the day. Not heaps to do, but easy to mooch around for the day. I live in N London and often go there from St Pancras.

Went to Whitstable earlier this year and while it was pretty there wasn't much there to walk around, although I think it would be nice if you were there to spend the day on the beach (stones) and in the sea and weren't looking for other entertainment like arcades etc.

Herne Bay has a bit more to it, like a pier and some amusements, but still small and not sure what the trains are like to there from N.London.

I'd try Hastings if you've had enough of Brighton.

We dont need amusements as its adults on a school day.

I live in Herne Bay, Whitstable is great for lunch, drinks, a wander round some of the independent shops in the town. The beach is stones and if the tide is out, no good for a paddle.

Herne bay is nice, but more geared towards kids. And again, a pebble beach.

From London I would definitely head to Margate. You have the best of both worlds. The train station is right on the seafront. Sandy beach, plenty of lovely bars and restaurants right there on the seafront too. The old town is beautiful, lots of little shops now. They are all pretty much the same travel wise.

Whitstable is so overrated. It has a stony beach and is tidal, in that when the tide is out, there's acres of mud. It does have beautiful sunsets though.

It has a high street that is not pedestrianised, so you have buses, cars and lorries thundering past as you look at the shops. It's a very long and dull high street.

I used to have a business there. It's either rammed (I can't understand why) or deserted.

Margate, Ramsgate and Broadstairs are so much nicer, with sandy beaches. My favourite is Broadstairs. It has a bit of character and feels like a proper seaside resort, unlike Whitstable.

@EachandEveryone you could try getting the train to Rye and visiting Camber Sands? It's an amazing beach and Rye is a lovely town. Pretty sure you can get a train from Kings X.

So were we when we went 😂

We just found it a bit quiet for us and we struggled to fill our day, as someone said above it's not your typical seaside town really. Although we weren't looking to sit on the beach so obviously would be different if you want to spend a few hours on the beach/in the sea.

Whitstable's ok, overrated I think and gets busy on a weekend. Fine for a day out though, plenty of places to eat, the (mostly stoney) beaches are as you'd expect and stretch along the coast quite a way. A few independent shops (a bookshop, expensive homeware, the usual gifts) at the top end but otherwise charity shops/tesco express /Iceland etc. The high street overall is fairly small.

If you just want an attractive sandy beach then the various bays near broadstairs are attractive.

Heading somewhere like Eastbourne, Rye, Hastings or Brighton is a good alternative. Not far on the train from London.

Whitstable is one of my favourite places but then I'm biased as have lived nearby most of my life and was actually there earlier today as we went on the boat ride to the seaforts.
The beach as others have said is pebbles and swimming really only possible when the tide is in.
Better beaches are Margate, Ramsgate and Broadstairs which are about and hour and a half on the fast train from St Pancras.
Folkestone could also be a possibility.... has a tiny bit of sandy beach, a large pebble beach and some great bars and cafes along the harbour.

Whitstable is lovely, but Camber Sands is lovely and sandy and looks good for swimming, bit of a walk if the tide is out. The very fampus Whitstable Oyster Company is not cheap, and probably booked up,