Whitstable Sunsets – the best spots to experience them
By Whitstable
Whitstable is famous for two things above all: its oysters, and its sunsets. Through the summer especially, it’s hard to find an evening when the sky over the estuary doesn’t put on a show — great washes of colour reflected in the water, drawing photographers and quiet crowds down to the shingle night after night. Here’s why they’re so good, and the best places in town to watch one.
Why Whitstable’s sunsets are so special
It comes down to geography. Whitstable looks out north-west across the Thames Estuary, towards the Isle of Sheppey — and unlike most of the English east coast, that westerly aspect means the town watches the sun go down over the sea. The horizon is low, wide and open, with nothing to interrupt it; the light scatters across the water and the wet mud flats at low tide, doubling the colour above with its reflection below. It’s the same big estuary light that drew painters to this coast — the kind of sky J.M.W. Turner loved along the north Kent shore — and it’s why “#whitstablesunset” turns up thousands of photographs, most of them needing no filter at all.
The best spots to watch
A few tips
Check the time of sunset before you set out — in high summer it can be well after 9pm, and it’s worth arriving twenty minutes early, as the best colours often come after the sun has actually dropped. Low tide adds the reflected foreground on the flats. Bring something warm — the estuary breeze picks up as the light goes — and, of course, a camera. And whatever you do, don’t rush off the moment the sun’s down; Whitstable’s afterglow is often the best part.
If you’ve a favourite sunset spot of your own, do share it with us.