| Our latest little venture is finally finished and available for your delectation. 98 Island wall is a 19th Century weatherboard fisherman’s cottage yards from Whitstable’s wonderfully bedraggled beach. Just an hour and a half from central London by car.
A small wood-framed house, which was once used by the coastguard, it is in the very centre of this charmingly wayward sea-side town with its excellent restaurants, fish market, cool shops and numerous little pubs. We’ve completely renovated the house, which is a conserved building, while trying to retain its wonky, original features, putting in all mod cons but keeping its slanted charms.
Over three small floors, there’s a living room, kitchen, two bedrooms and a new bathroom with a balcony, as well as a small, but perfectly formed and very sunny garden with a generous terrace and a barbecue area. So it has a double bed at the top, two singles on the first floor and a sofa-bed in the living room. TV, washing machine, dishwasher and all that jazz.
There are partial sea-views from the balcony and the garden and the shingle beach is a minute away, separated from the house by the tennis courts, which are available for hire. If golf is your game then the local course is 100 yards from the front door. The rightly famed Whitstable Oyster Fishery Company Restaurant is a three minute stroll along the shingle and our local pub, The Old Neptune, right on the beach is perhaps the most atmospheric in this truly charismatic town. Perfect for the wondrous sunsets over the estuary.
|
