BROADSTAIRS

Those who have read the works of Charles Dickens, one of the most famous British writers of all time, will no doubt be familiar with Bleak House. This forbidding sounding name is the title of Dickens’ ninth novel, but it is also an actual house, located in Broadstairs. The house, originally called The Fort, was the seaside residence used by Dickens, and it was where he completed one of his most famous works, David Copperfield. Each year in June, the town hosts a Dickens Festival. For other events see here. Broadstairs is still a popular seaside resort, and extends from the northern reaches of Ramsgate to North Foreland, which is the easternmost part of the Isle of Thanet. The Isle of Thanet is no longer actually an island, although it was once separated from the mainland by the River Wantsum.

The Isle of Thanet is at the opposite extreme of Britain’s south coast from Land’s End, but is rather different in character, being much more built up. So there we are, it has taken me six months to blog my way along the entire south coast of England. We have cantered along the rugged cliffs of Cornwall, roamed around the rias of South Cornwall and the South Hams of Devon, fossicked for fossils on the Jurassic coast of East Devon and Dorset, sampled the island life in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Wight, marvelled at the naval history of Hampshire, had a jolly time in the resorts of Sussex and been dazzled by the white cliffs of Kent. But don’t go away, there is much more to come. Time to head up the East coast.

Map of the area.

Viking Bay, Broadstairs - geograph.org.uk - 39663. Photo by John Smitten, via Wikimedia Commons.