Whitstable is a seaside town in Northeast Kent, Southeast England. It is approximately 8 kilometres (5 mi) north of the city of Canterbury and approximately 3 kilometres (2 mi) west of the seaside town of Herne Bay. It is part of the City of Canterbury district and has a population of about 30,000. Whitstable is famous for its oysters, which have been collected in the area since at least Roman times. The town itself dates back to before the writing of the Domesday Book. Whitstable’s distinctive character is popular with tourists, and its maritime heritage is celebrated with the annual oyster festival. Freshly caught shellfish are available throughout the year at several seafood restaurants and pubs in the town.
In 1830 one of the earliest passenger railway services was opened by the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway Company, and in 1832 the company opened Whitstable harbour and extended the line to enable passage to London from the port. The railway has since closed but the harbour still plays an important role in the town’s economy.
The town has shingle/sandy beaches flanking the harbour, where sunbathing, swimming and water sports are popular. A notable feature of Whitstable is The Street, a natural strip of shingle on clay bank which runs out to sea at right angles to the coast, for a distance of about half a mile. It is the last remnant of the land to the north of the town lost to sea erosion over millennia. Located to the east of the harbour, The Street is revealed only at low tide, when it is possible to walk out along it as well as swim either side in safe, sandy bottomed shallows. A view of The Street can be seen on the hilltop lawns of Tankerton Slopes. The Slopes are home to the largest population in England of the rare Hog’s Fennel.
Whitstable Castle is situated on the border of Whitstable and the suburb of Tankerton. It was originally built as an octagonal tower in 1789 by Charles Pearson, the owner of a copperas company in the town and a future investor in the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway. However, Pearson later added to the building, developing it into a manor house. In 1836 the house, then known as Tankerton Tower, was bought by London businessman Wynn Ellis, who by 1842 had added a west wing, a bell tower and a lodge. The building had become known as Tankerton Castle by 1897, although it is now commonly referred to as Whistable Castle. Now managed by the Whitstable Castle Trust, the castle grounds is the only public park in the town and is a centre for community activity.
