Where is Wally?
There was more fun for us that afternoon, after exiting the park and admiring the view over Ramsgate beach and port we returned towards Broadstairs on our bicycles. This time we again cycled along the coastal path that we had taken a few hours before preferring to be near the sea rather than on the cliff tops. The crowds on the beaches appeared to have multiplied, the incoming tide certainly did not help, pushing the beach goers further to the back of the sandy stretches. It would have been a great place to play “Where’s Wally” (or Waldo to my US readers), the clothes, parasols and windbreakers adding to the colourful impression.
Crazy Golf at Lillyput
Back at Broadstairs right behind the little park, that overlooks Viking Bay Beach, is a small crazy golf course “Lillyput”. Jerome has taken a huge liking for a round of mini golf over the years and whenever we stumble onto one during our travels we try to play a game. Mini golf is a fun activity for everyone and although the aim is to have the fewest attempts at each hole it is has always been more about spending time together as a family than to win. Jerome, however, can be quite competitive and generally can get frustrated if he looses.
A Fun Round at Mini Golf
Due to the sunny, warm weather and the fact that it was a bank holiday Sunday, there were queues forming at most holes and we even jumped ahead a few times in order to return later when there were less people around. There were some exciting challenges, a small windmill with a turning fan obscuring the hole every few seconds being one example – but it turned out to be easier than expected. Jerome did lose in the end although he tried hard to not show his disappointment I noticed a short change of mood before leaving the mini golf course.
Stroll Past Bleak House to Stone Bay Beach
It was still too early for us to think about heading for dinner, as we had booked a table in the small local Thai Restaurant after we had attempted to go the evening before. Heading away from the busy streets and main beach we left our bikes at the cottage and strolled along towards Bleak House and Stone Bay Beach. I wanted to get a chance to look at the colourful beach huts that we had seen from the top on our visit the year before.
Colourful Beach Huts at Stone Bay
Stone Bay had a wide stretch of sand but the tide was still coming in making it a thin strip with the breakwater behind. Above the breakwater was a long line of colourfully painted beach huts. Some had murals, some stripes so we played a game deciding which was our favourite ones. Jerome clearly like the murals with perhaps the VW camper van as his preferred one, although all of us liked the octopus, and I found some of the stripes cool.
Beach Toys Left Behind
Strolling back across the sand we discovered a huge selection of items left behind on the beach. It seems crazy that people come to the beach buy buckets, spades, rakes, balls and other toys then leave them to be taken with the tide. We even found a brand new body board. It makes us wonder if people have read about the plastic pollution in the sea at all? We started to collect up as many items as we could gathering them into a collection and then decided to put them up on the breakwater so they would not be taken by the tide. The best items we took back to the cottage for the next guests leaving the rest in a safe place where either further visitors might find them or the refuse collection would take them the following week.
The Sun Setting Behind the Chalk Cliffs
We stayed on the beach until the sun descended behind the white, chalk cliffs, sending shafts of light into the puddles on the beach mirroring the colourful huts. Now hungry and keeping an eye on the time of our dinner booking we headed back to town. The Thai proved an excellent choice, which we all savoured, even Jerome who had not wanted to try the Thai cuisine enjoyed his meal. Sated we retired for more card games before bed at the cottage.
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