Kids

Take Whitstable, for example (01227 275 482/www.visitwhitstable.co.uk): less than an hour and a half from London Victoria by train, yet more than a million miles aesthetically. Its cluttered harbour, sleepy town centre and shingle beach seem immune to the ravages of passing time. Grown-ups may fancy a local oyster or two at the famous Whitstable Oyster Fishery Company (Horsebridge, 01227 276 856).

The coastal path from here, along the grassy Tankerton slopes, takes you the 6.5 kilometres (four miles) or so to Herne Bay (01227 361 911/www.canterbury.co.uk). Here, Victorian summer gardens, a playground and intriguing World War II defence turrets, currently rusting like abandoned robots 11 kilometres (seven miles) or so out to sea, all add to the singular English seaside atmosphere.

Young TV addicts may be more amused by the promenade’s regular appearance in the first series of Little Britain, but sit them through a screening of The Dambusters before heading out and they’ll be blown away by a stroll to neighbouring Reculver, five kilometres (three miles) or so east of Herne Bay on the old Saxon Shore Way coastal trail. It was here that Barnes Wallace’s famous bouncing bombs were first tested in the shadow of ruined St Mary’s church, the twin towers of which are still used as a navigational waypoint by passing ships.

More military associations can be found in Ramsgate, where the white cliffs once overlooked the launch of 4,200 boats to rescue British soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk. One of those ships, the Sundowner – then commandeered by one CH Lightroller, formerly a senior officer on the Titanic – remains moored in Ramsgate’s Royal Harbour, and is open to the public.

The ultimate white cliffs experience is at Dover (01304 205108/www.whitecliffscountry.org.uk), the chalk walls of which are riddled with medieval tunnels that were expanded during the Napoleonic Wars, later serving as a nerve centre for the Allied campaign in World War II and finally as a defensive bunker during the Cold War-era nuclear panic. The tunnels are maintained by English Heritage and open to the public along with the castle above them. You can trace the Saxon Shore Way atop the cliffs to St Margaret’s Bay, just over seven kilometres (four miles) away, or all the way to Deal (01304 369 576, www.deal.gov.uk), 16 kilometeres (10 miles) away. The coastal path has sweeping clear day views across to France.

Margate (0870 264 6111/www.tourism.thanet.gov.uk) has suffered from the closure of its landmark Dreamland amusement park. Pressure groups are pushing for Dreamland to be reopened but it’s slated for redevelopment. Main Sands is a short hop over the tracks from the train station. There are more cultural diversions here, including the indecipherable, possibly ancient mosaics of the enigmatic Shell Grotto (01843 220 008, www.shellgrotto.co.uk).

Brighton (www.visitbrighton.com) is a town that more convincingly melds culture with carefree seaside frolics. Tacky Palace Pier (01273 609 361/www.brightonpier.co.uk), may be all arcades and funfair, but there are less jangling ways to amuse the family, such as the attractive wooden walkway, with its artists’ quarter. The Sea Life Centre (01273 604 234, www.sealifeeurope.com), Volk’s Railway, Britain’s oldest electric railway, running along the promenade (01273 292 718, www.volkselectricrailway.co.uk), and the excellent shops and restaurants, are other draws.

Broadstairs (0870 264 6111/www.tourism.thanet.gov.uk), is home to a Charles Dickens festival every June. The author, who visited Broadstairs regularly, is also the subject of a museum (2 Victoria Parade, 01843 861 232/www.dickenshouse.co.uk). His clifftop home, now a private residence called Bleak House, was in the news in 2006 when it was partially destroyed by fire.

For something a little closer to home, try Southend (01702 215 120/www.southend.gov.uk): bookish it ain’t, but it lays claim to the world’s largest rock factory as well its longest pier (2.2km, 1.3 miles) with a pleasure railway running from end to end). And with only an hour’s train ride between its beaches and central London, this is one summer break that doesn’t need to be planned weeks in advance.