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Said to have been established on the profits of smuggling,
BROADSTAIRS is the smallest, quietest and most pleasant of Thanet's
three resort towns, overlooking the pretty Viking Bay from its cliff-top
setting. The town's main claim to fame, though, is as Dickens' holiday
retreat: throughout his most productive years he stayed in various
hostelries here, and eventually rented an austere dwelling overlooking
the bay from Fort Road, since renamed Bleak House (July & Aug daily
10am-7.30pm; Sept-Dec & mid-Feb to June daily 10am-6pm; £3) and opened
to the public. It was here that he planned the novel of that name as
well as finishing David Copperfield , and three rooms in the house have
been preserved as the author would have known them. There's more of the
same at the Dickens House Museum in Victoria Parade on the main cliff-top
seafront (April to mid-Oct daily 2pm-5pm; £2).
Broadstairs' train station is a ten-minute walk from the seafront up the
High Street; its tourist office is at 6b High St (April-Sept daily
9am-5pm; Oct-March Mon-Sat 9am-4.30pm; tel 01843/862242, ). The
comfortable but pricey hotel , the Royal Albion on Albion Street (tel
01843/868071, ; £70-90), cashes in on its association with Dickens - he
wrote part of Nicholas Nickleby here. There are several ivy-covered
establishments in Belvedere Road, behind the High Street: the Admiral
Dundonald Hotel at no. 43 (tel 01843/862236; £40-50) and the Hanson
Hotel next door (tel 01843/868936, hotelhanson@aol.com ; £40-50) are
both good value. There is also a youth hostel at 3 Osborne Rd (tel
01843/604121, ), a Victorian villa with a family atmosphere, just two
minutes' walk from the train station. For food , there are plenty of
fish-and-chip outlets and cafés along Albion Street and down Harbour
Street. If you're looking for a more congenial setting, Harpers Wine Bar
, also on Harbour Street (tel 01843/602494; eve only), serves moderately
priced fish and seafood dishes. For a popular and friendly pub , serving
the tasty Shepherd Neame beers from Faversham, check out the Neptune's
Hall , further along at 1-3 Harbour St.
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