Whitstable Beach Cottage - Local Information

Seasalter Village and Beach

Seasalter is steeped in history and dates back to the Iron Age when salt evaporation made the area wealthy. It's also mentioned in the Domesday Book as "Properly belonging to the kitchen of the Archbishop of Canterbury".

Seasalter's most colourful period in history was in the 18th Century when it became a profitable smuggling centre and home to the infamous "Seasalter Company" a smuggling 'fraternity' which was active for over a century and which became one of the most profitable smuggling organisations of the time; one of its 'members' leaving over £20 million pounds in 1812, a fortune of over £200 million in today's money.

Being a quiet and isolated hamlet, located just far enough away from the Customs officers in Whitstable, goods were often landed along the beach near the Blue Anchor Pub (now the Oyster Pearl), at what's known as Blue Anchor Corner, where goods could be spirited away inland across the marshes or sent down river to London.

Today Seasalter's beach side is still not too far removed from that quiet hamlet, with just 40 odd homes on the seward side of Faversham Road, they are a mixture of residential and holiday homes with several well known celebrities having homes locally.

Famous for its sea views and sunsets, Seasalter provides open sea views with easy access to the beach and is popular with both locals and tourists alike, it's also popular with fishermen and bird watchers and is the home of the Seasalter Sailing Club, the bays' flat water and predominately offshore winds providing perfect conditions for catamaran racing.

The Seasalter Levels on the landward side of Faversham Road resulted from the draining of the marshes in the 1750's and are a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Local Nature Reserve. Partly managed by the RSPB, Seasalter Levels provide a haven for migratory birds and waterfowl and form part of the North Kent Freshwater Grazing Marsh (which is listed under the European RAMSAR Convention of Wetlands of International Importance), and the sheep grazed here produce the distinctively flavored Seasalter Salt Marsh Lamb. The levels have recently been subject to a massive restoration project due to be completed in October 2024 as part of the LIFE on the Edge project. The project includes the creation of new topographic features aimed at improving the habitat for wildlife, particularly for wading birds such as lapwing and redshank, respectively classified as Red and Amber under the UK Red List for Birds (2015). Features created will help manage and retain water in fields, resulting in shallow pools with muddy margins that provide suitable habitat for wading birds to forage for invertebrates in soft, damp soils.

To the east our Local Pub is the Oyster Pearl, which provides good food and local beers. A little further away and to the west there's also the Michelin Starred Sportsman Restaurant, which continues to serve excellent food in a traditional pub setting.

If you prefer to cook for yourselves, then Seasalter has a local Co-Operative food store that's well stocked and also keeps local produce, plus there's a post office and general store in Joy Lane and just down the beach is Waldens store, which is open during the holiday season.

Whitstable Town & Harbour

Whitstable town is just 10 minutes away by car, or about an hour's stroll along the beach.

These days Whitstable is a thriving town with an active working harbour surrounded by restaurants and interesting shops. Whitstable boasts a traditional High Street with many national brands represented, plus a collection of eclectic and interesting shops and galleries plus there's a great selection of pubs and restaurants, so when you want to eat out you'll be spoiled for choice.

Whitstable Native Oysters have been famous since Roman times and Oysters have been grown commercially here in Whitstable for hundreds of years (you can see the Oyster beds and the barge that marks the Oyster grounds from our beach house, you'll also find Oyster shells galore scattered along the beach). Well managed Oyster fisheries and clean water produce great Oysters, but just after the Second World War after a succession of cold winters and suffering badly from water pollution, the Whitstable Oyster Industry was on the brink of extinction.

Now thanks to the efforts of the Seasalter Shellfish Company, you can taste Whitstable Native Oysters once again and it looks like Oysters have a healthy future. You could say that Whitstable's success as a town is very much linked to the Oysters renaissance and it's no coincidence that the town's economy always seems to do better when the Oysters are thriving and you can very much see this in evidence now.

For lovers of Music, Food and Culture, Whitstable's annual summer Oyster Festival is rapidly becoming a Kent tradition and for 2017 runs from the 22nd - 28th July.

Faversham

To the east is Faversham and like Whitstable it's an ancient town steeped in history, both nautical and more famously for brewing. Shepherd Neame are Britain's oldest surviving brewers and still have their main brewery in the town, producing some excellent local beers.

For over 900 years there's been a market in Faversham, making it the oldest market in Kent. Market days are Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. There's also the Best of Faversham Arts, Crafts and Food Market, which is held in Preston Street on the first Saturday of each month and a Vintage and Antique Market, which is held on the 1st Sunday of each Month.

Faversham also holds it's Nautical weekend at the end of July and hosts the Faversham Hop Festival in September. The Hop Festival is an annual free two-day family event with a big emphasis on music, with several stages set up in the town and local pubs.

Canterbury and Further Afield

Six miles to the South is Canterbury, with its Cathedral, beautiful old buildings and extensive shopping it's a magnet for visitors from home and abroad. As you would expect Canterbury is very busy in the summer months, but you can still find quiet spaces and unexpected history within the towns City walls. A world heritage site, Canterbury has a wealth of history to explore. There's also the Marlowe Theatre and some excellent restaurants to enjoy.

Further afield the towns of Thanet provide many more places to visit, Herne Bay, Broadstairs, Margate, Ramsgate and Sandwich are all in easy reach, so there's no shortage of places to go or things to do during you're visit.