KayF

We are thinking of spending a May Bank Holiday weekend seeing Dover Castle and the White Cilffs walk but wanted some ideas of where to stay. Dover sounds more like a jumping off point than a place for weekends. The town doesn't sound inspiring.

We will probably hire a car (we live in West London) and have already been to Canterbury, Rye, Battle, Hastings, Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Leeds Castle, etc so want to go somewhere different for the weekend.

So - a couple of nights in Dover or stay somewhere else nearby? Any attractive small towns about?

Thanks, Kay

Dr_DoGood

Your instincts are correct - Dover, common to most ferry ports in my experience - is a dump; it must be a result of it being a point of transit rather than a destination. However, the Castle, Pharos and Napoleonic Tunnels are all absolutely excellent and are well worth seeing.

So... where's nearby but pleasant that you've not already done?

If I was you I'd avoid Planet Thanet if I was you as it's a stretch to call it pleasant though Broadstairs and Ramsgate have their moments (Ramsgate rather more fleetingly than Broadstairs). Margate has little to recommend it.

I think the answer is one of three - Deal, Sandwich or Whitstable.
Given that Whitstable is on the north Kent coast on the other side of Canterbury to Dover it may be a little further from Dover Castle than you'd like. Which is a pity because it ticks all the "long-weekend" boxes (restaurants, boutique b&bs, pubs, walks etc).
I think your best bet is probably Deal - another great castle which would make an interesting comparison to Dover (they couldn't be more chalk & cheese), lots of great pubs and some decent places for food.

My suggesion then is to look into Deal or, if you don't mind a bit of driving, Whitstable.

Dr D.

KayF

Thanks for the suggestions. Do you know of any nice old pubs in Deal that have decent rooms? We're not after anything fancy, just clean and with some character would be good. Around £60-100 a night?

Thanks, Kay

Cholmondley_Warner

I've stayed here and was very happy:

http://www.dunkerleys.co.uk/

But there's a street by the seafront that has several devcent looking pubs, b&Bs and hotels.

Deal's lovely.

Whitstable is better (although one poster on here once complained that it was full of English people!)

Cholmondley_Warner

BTW Deal castle isn't one of those fairy tale castles. It was built after guns had been invented. So it's basically an artillery platform to fight the frogs.

http://providerfiles2.thedms.co.uk/e.../3060112_1.jpg

Dr_DoGood

Sorry Kay - can't help you. I'm a Man Of Kent by birth and still have close family and friends there so I've never had the need of accomodation when vivisting the county. Have you checked Tripadvisor - the reviews are generally pretty accurate (you can spot the axe-grinders and the proprietor-ringers a mile-off usually).

I was also thinking that, slightly further than Whitstable but still at no great distance is the delightful Faversham. The late, great Ben Haines once began a brilliant Faversham thread here many years ago in which he raved and raved about the town. I'll see if I can dig it up.

KayF

Thanks CW for the links. Deal Castle looks quite impressive to me but the hotel doesn't really do it for me. I think I'll do some checking on mileages and Trip Advisor. Dover is supposed to be the focus so staying a long way from there doesn't make much sense but it's still worth looking into Whitstable. I'll check accommodation in Deal too.

Any other ideas gratefully received.
Kay

Cholmondley_Warner

Whitstable is very short of accommodation. If you plump for it be sure you book. And book early.

CW - Channeling Fred Ponting for those old enough to remember the ads.

KayF

Just saw your post Dr D, any ideas are good and I can go from there. We find a lot of B&Bs in the UK disappointing but an old pub with decent rooms could be good, or even a chain hotel. At least you know what you're getting!

Kay

jamikins

Hi Kay...this comes just in time...we are looking for weekend trips to take my inlaws this summer, and this looks like a great idea!! Thanks!

Looking forward to meeting up next weekend!
J

hetismij

We stayed here once - www.cottageguide.co.uk/carriagehouse/ . They have two other cottages in the same complex. www.cottageguide.co.uk/oldforge/ and www.cottageguide.co.uk/stable-padbrook/ .

Lovely friendly owners, nice walks from the cottage and convenient for most of East Kent.

janisj

This place in Deal has some of the best reviews I've ever seen on TA http://www.numberonebandb.co.uk/index.htm

(and not just a few, over 150, so they couldn't all be ringers )

The gist of most of the reviews are a modern, luxury hotel experience in a B&B

Visiting Deal, Walmer and Dover castles will give you three entirely different experiences - each is pretty interesting on their own and being so close to each other are easy to do.

yasmar49

Kay

I concur with Dr Dodo. Faversham has some excellent B & Bs, and is set in amazingly unspoilt countryside. On the outskirts, if your pocket's deep enough, is a splendid (and friendly)Michelin one-star restaurant in a Georgian manor-house, where you can also stay. If you're into history the town has 500 listed buildings, mostly 15th and 16th century. It's off the main A2, but within three minutes' drive of the M2 Places to see include the Fleur de Lis Museum (town centre), the big parish church, the National Shrine of St Jude (should you be Catholic), the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale, just outside the town,the Creek, with preserved sailing barges, and the Oare Gunpowder Works Country Park (a mile west of the town). Just have a look at www.faversham.org for further information.
Best wishes and enjoy your break, wherever you go!
Yasmar49

Cholmondley_Warner

I wouldn't stay in Hastings for a big clock.

It's full of wrong'uns, dole moles and asbonauts.

hetismij

Those two sound very much like advertising to me - the second one certainly is. They are both first time posters.

I agree with C_W about Hastings. It has a nice area where the fishing boats are but for the rest it is not to be recommended.
I wouldn't stay in Faversham either. My SIL lives in a village nearby and Faversham is her nearest town.
Reeds (the Michelin Restaurant) has a waiting list from here to next year it seems, and Faversham itself is nice enough but not somewhere I would choose to stay.

KayF

Thanks for the info everyone, very helpful as always. We are leaning towards Deal but really need to do some planning and work out mileages. The traffic on a Bank Holiday weekend also worries me, it can be horrendous. We are not really Michelin restaurant types, more sitting on a wall watching the sea with fish and chips types. There is a pub/B&B in Deal on Trip Advisor which looks lovely and the Number One B&B (above) also looks nice.

Thanks so much everyone.
Kay

annhig

just chipping in, how about Sandwich?

it's closer to Dover than Whitstable and Faversham [though not Deal] and is very unspoilt, with great walks on the dunes.