What’s going for it? I’m an old hand at Whitstable. Not as old as some of the seadogs nursing pints in the Neptune. But I’ve been coming here since the days when, if fortune smiled, you might spy the elderly Peter Cushing – then the town’s starriest resident – pottering along the high street. What a difference 30 years makes. My latest trip confirms that Whitstable has reached stage four of gentrification. We’ve had the Shabby Artists stage, the Cute Vintage Shop stage, the Actually Quite Posh Delis Have Opened stage. Now some serious money has arrived: The Building Of Fancy New Houses That Look As If Their Owners Have Watched Too Many Episodes Of Grand Designs stage. This lot aren’t content with discreet renovations of weatherboarded fishermen’s cottages. They want swagger. They want bling. I hope it’s not the town’s downfall. The place still, just, manages to balance quite-posh delis with men’s outfitters from the age of Perry Como, and its community is still as strong as they come. Its working harbour, graced by a gravel processing plant, is still wonderfully unpretty. Long may it continue.
The case against… On the threshold of change. Already too cutesy for some. Holiday and weekend homes have brought hefty cultural change.
Well-connected? Trains: two an hour to Faversham (8 mins) and Margate (22 mins); one or two an hour to London St Pancras (75-81 mins, but sometimes longer). Bus: to Canterbury (30 mins, every 10). Driving: 20 mins to Canterbury, Margate in 30 mins, the M25 in 45 mins, Ashford in 40 mins and Folkestone in 45.
Schools Primaries: Joy Lane, Whitstable Junior, St Alphege CofE Infant, St Mary’s Catholic and Swalecliffe are all “good”, says Ofsted, with Westmeads Community Infant “outstanding”. Secondaries: the newly named Whitstable School was previously “good”.
Hang out at… The much-lauded Sportsman is just outside town, but JoJo’s in Tankerton is my favourite. You’ll also find me in the queue for fish and chips at VC Jones.
Where to buy The centre, with its long trailing high street, has alleys and passages of 18th-century townhouses and weatherboarded cottages, plus a great grid of small Victorian terraces around St Peter’s Road. Island Wall and the waterfront prom are most sought after. The fanciest homes are along Preston Parade in Seasalter, and Marine Parade up the hill in Tankerton; in Tankerton itself, though, you can escape the crowds – some great early 20th-century homes. Large detacheds and townhouses, £500,000-£1.5m. Detacheds and smaller townhouses, £250,000-£500,000. Semis, £250,000-£650,000. Terraces and cottages, £220,000-£500,000. Flats, £160,000-£450,000. Rentals: a one-bed flat, £650-£800pcm; a three-bed house, £825-£1,450pcm.
Bargain of the week A three-bedroom postwar terrace, £235,000 with milesandbarr.co.uk.
From the streets
Emma Soutar ‘Try the beach at high tide with a doughnut soufflé from The Forge.’
James Styles ‘Bad points: gridlock in summer; crazy house prices in centre. Good thing: lots of independent shops.’
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