About three miles east from the pier at Herne Bay are some fantastic rock-pools. They cover a large area and are entirely made up of weirdly flat boulders, so it looks a platform game. You can happily spend time jumping from boulder to boulder, or playing games to work out the quickest way to the sea without stepping on the sand. The boulders are covered in weed though, so be careful you don't slip.
Best of all, there are lots of little rock-pools between the boulders with crabs, anemones, little shrimp-things etc. And the flat boulders provide the perfect standing platform to watch them all.
The whole place was totally deserted on a warm Saturday in June - a hidden gem!
Once you head back to Herne Bay, Ernie's Plaice does excellent fish and chips (eat on sea-front) or you can have a classic Knickerbocker Glory sat in one of the kitschy red booths at KC's Ice cream parlour. Their chocolate-orange ice cream is especially nice.
Turn right (as you face the sea) and walk along the sea-front, then down onto the beach when it finishes. Rock-pools are about 3 miles from the centre of town at low-tide only. Or you could drive to Reculver Lane and walk down from the church car-park (much closer).
It's got the authentically cheesy name, the friendly Italian (?) family running it and, like nearly everywhere in Herne Bay, it is quite full of old people. Fish and chips are super fresh and the clean, but a bit dull, cafe bit looks out onto the sea (via a main road).
Herne Bay is generally worth a visit. A lot quieter than Whitstable, the demographic skew also means that there are alot of funny charity shops, old fashioned fruit and vegetable shops and a cool icecream parlour, just down from Ernies.
The beach is good for a blustery walk along shingles and it is a lot less crowded than Whitstable can get.
77 Central Parade, Herne Bay Telephone: 01227 366 471
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