00:00The Whitstable Coastal Trail offers two circular walks extending either side of
00:11the town's harbour. The main loop heads eastwards around a site of special
00:16scientific interest designated marshland, but we're taking the Western Walk, a
00:21two-mile stroll passing some of the town's notable landmarks and, most
00:26importantly for us, accessible for prams. While spring is finally here, it's on the
00:33chillier side, so Alistair's still wrapped up. As the mercury rises, do make sure
00:39babies and children are dressed appropriately. From the Gorrell Tank Pay and
00:47Display car park, we make our way to a zebra crossing leading to the harbour. It
00:51can get busy on weekends especially, so make sure you arrive early if you want
00:56to bag a parking space. The harbour is the heart of the town and has been for nearly
01:04200 years. Built alongside the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, its purpose was
01:09less for fishing and more for bringing coal from the northeast to the south more
01:13cheaply. While the railway has long since gone, the harbour still boasts lots for
01:19visitors. So we're starting our trek at Whitstable Harbour, world famous of course
01:25for their delicious oysters that they've been farming here for centuries and a
01:30lovely day as well to enjoy a bite to eat. As you can see behind me, lots of
01:35places to eat along the harbour and such a lovely day in fact that Ali's decided
01:41he's gonna make a show. He had a sleep on the way here, he's four months old now and
01:46he's very keen to get involved so unlike the other treks we've been on so far, I
01:51think he's gonna be wide awake for a lot of this one. Leaving the boats and
01:55scavenging goals behind us, we head to West Quay. Built in the 70s to provide more
02:01spaces for boats, it also offers stunning views along the coast. Scenes which
02:07inspired local hero and art great, JMW Turner.
02:14Continue along and there's numerous hints pointing to Whitstable's oyster heritage.
02:22You can see beds close to the shore. The horse bridge, a slipway that allowed horse and
02:28carts to reach and load the catch is still visible as well as mountains of shells. Walk
02:37straight on for a quarter of a mile till you reach the only obstacle on the walk. The
02:43steps are steep so take extra care getting over them. On the other side, keep heading
02:50west past cottages along Island Wall for as far as you fancy. We decide to take a pause at West
02:56Beach before heading back. This seaside route has it all. Views, history, good food spots,
03:05all dotted along the way and for the most part, it's pretty pram friendly apart from those steps
03:11that we had to overcome. It's also the first walk that we've done with Ali where he's been
03:18awake for a large portion of it. So before we head on back, we're just going to take a moment,
03:23sit here and enjoy the lovely views.
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