Running away to sea : Minnis Bay

Yesterday I ran away to sea! I haven't been to the  seaside since we moved in  December  despite  being almost on the Kent coast ( we're only 5 miles from Whitstable). I did a bit of research on  where  the train station was nearest the coast   and decided on Birchington -on Sea which turned out to be an excellent choice. The train journey was just over 20 minutes and cost  only £4.30  buying online, bargain!  I'd packed  sketching gear but I spent  most of my time walking. I was lured by 'Beach avenue' which did indeed lead down to the coast in 5 minutes but  taking the long way round on the esplanade beneath  splendid grass-topped cliffs    meant it was   about half an hour before I ended up at  Minnis Bay  , the main sandy beach. There were  families outside their beach huts, small children   building sandcastles and exploring  the rock pools , a lovely feel to the place. I continued walking along the esplanade as I'd spotted the disintegrating sea defences from a distance (  great inspiration for  quilts) .  Having reached the end I had to climb up onto the cliff top path with lovely banks of coastal plants . The sky looked threatening and I was hungry ( I'd been walking nearly 2 hours by this point)  so headed to the Minnis Bay brasserie for a  beer and spot of lunch.  A bit of bad  but enjoyable sketching from a bench and then I headed back to the station by the most direct  route , about 20 minutes . A lovely day out - planning to go back with Ian next week as part of his recuperation.

While walking along the cliff top path there were loads of cyclists and   families who'd hired ' Surrey' bikes which looked like a lot of fun if hard work.   Reculver was visible on the horizon and is a place I've long wanted to visit , for both it's history and wildlife but it was a further 3 miles walk.  I thought about bringing my bike on the train but it's large and unwieldy. So today I visited the bike shop in Faversham looking at folding bikes  and  they're putting comfortable saddles on a  couple of them so I can test ride them on Monday! It opens up all kinds of possibilities for  explorations.