St Pancras Station

For today’s jaunt, we started with a short bus ride to St Pancras Station.

Le Pain Quotidien

As we were early for our train, we went into one of our favourite haunts, Le Pain Quotidien, where we had breakfast. This is our first visit to this cafe since before the pandemic.

Breakfast
Photo by Tigger

We had porridge (each a different sort), croissants and, of course, coffee.

At AMT Coffee
Photo by Tigger

We still had an hour or so to wait for our train so we went to the upper level of the station and to AMT Coffee which has a tiny upstairs seating area where we sat. I like these sorts of quirky places.

Aboard HS1

We went down, then up again, this time to the platforms served by the HS1 service. When our train came in and had emptied of arriving passengers, we went aboard. HS1 (“ HS” for “high speed”) runs part of the way on the same fast rail-track as the intercontinental Eurostar trains and reduces journey times to Kent accordingly. In addition, these trains are supposed to be better for the environment than older rolling stock.

Crossing the Medway

When we cross the River Medway, we know we are in Kent and have been for several miles.

We reached Whitstable at about midday and were picked up by a relative in a borrowed car. We were thus transported to Swalecliffe.

Mr Beano Cafe

Our first call was at the Mr Beano Cafe for lunch.

Seasalter sea wall

After lunch we were driven to Seasalter. The low-lying land is protected from flooding by a sea wall. We walked some way along this, battered by a strong, gusty wind.

The name Seasalter derives from the village’s importance in the Iron Age as a producer of salt.

Bale out!

Our relative had another appointment but drove us back to Whitstable where we baled out of the car at a red light!

Oxford Street

We walked along the main road which, I believe, it called Oxford Street.

War Memorial

We took in the usual sights, such as the war memorial,…

The Peter Cushing

…the old cinema, now a pub named after actor Peter Cushing who used to live hereabouts,…

The Playhouse Theatre

…the theatre,…

Church of St Alphege

…and the parish church, dedicated to St Alphege.

Foreman’s Alley
Photo by Tigger

We saw, but did not explore, some intriguing narrow passages.

Reeves Beach

We visited the beach, this section being called Reeves Beach. The sunshine had brought people to the seaside but it was too cold for bathing. A lot just stood around as though not knowing what else to do.

Advertising lamp oil
Photo by Tigger

This shop still displays old signage advertising, among other things, lamp oil.

Elliott’s

We found a cafe called Elliott’s and shared a pot of tea therein.

Old Police Station

Although it was still early for our train, we started slowly towards the railway station. On the way we spotted the old police station.

Church of St Peter

We found another church, this one dedicated to St Peter.

Stream Walk

We now happened on a path with a sign indicating that it led to the station. The path is called Stream Walk and is composed of a series of concrete slabs. It weaves charmingly in curves left and right so even without the information panel, you might guess that the path has been made by covering a stream. That stream was called the Gorrell and its course was diverted but when it goes now I do not know.

Evangelical Church

The path crossed several roads and at one intersection, we found yet another church, this one called Hamilton Road Evangelical Church.

Arriving at Whitstable Station

Stream Walk led us to steps and thence, as promised, to the railway station.

Waiting for the train

The waiting room was locked up so we had to find seats on the platform and wait in the cold.

Aboard the train

Our train was one minute late and we were glad to go aboard out of the cold,

At Gillingham, a horde of football supporters boarded the train, so many that all seats were taken and people were left standing. Then the singing and shouting started. Fortunately, they quietened down after a while and the rest of the journey to St Pancras was relatively peaceful. There was of course a crush at St Pancras when this horde left the train and made for the escalators. Tigger cleverly diverted us to the lift whose existence was seemingly unknown to them, allowing us to descend without being jostled.

EL & N

Before making for the bus, we stopped off at EL & N for coffee. After this agreeable pause, we went to the bus stop from which a 214 bus (too crowded for photos) carried us up the hill to the Angel and home.