Travel Tales - Deal
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Oh how I love Deal.
Sitting between Sandwich and Dover on the Kent coast, it made an impression on me the very first time I visited, with its beautiful sea front, village feel and laid back vibe, I was surprised that so many of my friends in London had never ventured down.
I’ve taken a couple of day trips and stayed once before but this was all pre-pandemic.
High speed Southeastern trains to Deal arrive in under 1 hour 30 minutes, from London St Pancras International, to drive it takes around 1 hour more.
The appeal lies in the winding streets of historic Georgian townhouses, the vivid turquoise waters that lap the pebble beach and the big, open skies with the fluffiest of candy floss clouds.
It’s such an easy place to while away a few days spent wandering, shopping, eating and drinking (there are tons of lovely independents and a real sense of community)
The last time we visited was 6 years ago, the then, newly opened Rose was in its infancy and not quite up and running at full speed (I was, as it turned out, a bit too premature in my keenness to stay. As yet there was no bar and no restaurant beyond breakfast service and we’d made the mistake of coming early in the week so everywhere had closed signs hanging in their windows!)
Noted! This trip we arrived in time for the weekend, the sun was shining (intermittently) and it was Deal Pride so the streets were alive and the mood was joyful.
I have rounded up all of my favourite recommendations to save should you find yourself visiting any time soon …
STAY
Home was an air bnb in a building that was once a boy’s school, a light filled, 2 bedroom apartment 3 floors up, looking out over the rooftops of the town.
