Kent: Hastings and Folkestone

For our second and third day trips of the extra long weekend, we made our way to Kent, the borough next door but still two trains away. 

First stop: Hastings 

First impressions that there were an awful lot of student tour groups wandering around. Because as it transpires, Hastings was home to the epic Battle of 1066, a tidbit I got from revision for my Life in the UK test. I'm not sure Hastings is quite the place you could spend all day in as a student tourist...

 

 The Seaside was beautiful in an understated way including these fishermen's huts:

 

 

 

 

Final stop: Folkestone

Folkestone is a town bent on artistic revival. It's not without its charms and after a brief potter through the Sunday trading hours, we took a long walk down the coast.

 

 The Folkestone mermaid: exactly the same size as the original in Copenhagen and equally impressive (read: not really at all). The only upside is that this lady was not surrounded by a million tourists. Go Folkestone!

 

 It appears that Frank still does not love the water:

 

 Folkestone pod landing?

 Boop!

 

 

 I must admit that I was rather taken with Folkestone. The sun being out makes such a difference. Regardless, our little four-day journey was at its end. The upside though: all of these towns are easily accessible via London. So if you're looking for a day trip to the sea and want to avoid the crowds of Brighton, you can't go wrong. Unless it's raining, that is.