Our walk today was a short one.  We had stayed overnight in Whitstable and wanted to do a couple of miles in the morning, before heading back home.  We started where we left off the day before, at Tankerton, just outside Whitstable.  The promenade was lined with beach huts.  We wondered how much they cost.  We had our answer by the end of the walk.

Although this was a quiet Bank Holiday morning, it was not without its excitement.  A catamaran capsized in the sea.  At first, the yachtsman tried to help himself.

Then, another catamaran came along and offered to assist.  As far as we could tell, the offer was declined, probably with a degree of embarrassment.

But then the local lifeboat crew came along and righted the stricken vessel in no time.

Apart from this bit of action on the high seas, the walk was a quiet one.  Between the wind farm turbines we could see Shivering Sands Fort, a Second World War Maunsell anti-aircraft fort.  The towers were built on land, and then floated out to sea, some 10 miles offshore.

As we reached the end of a row of beach huts, we saw one for sale.  This hut was an end-of-terrace property in poor decorative condition, with excellent north-facing views to the adjoining litter bin and south-facing views (with added smells) to the local sewerage works.  All that could be ours for just £22,500.

A short distance on we passed a curious sign:  “NATURISM IS NOT CONDONED ON THIS BEACH”.  The sign was right next to a dog litter bin.  This bin was so full that a small overflow pile had gathered on the wall next to it.  Had the Council deliberately left the overflowing bin to further dissuade naturists from using this stretch of beach?

Someone had scratched out the “T” of “NOT”.  Presumably they mean to complete their mischief by painting a “W” in its place…

As we continued on, we approached the town of Hampton, a suburb of Herne Bay.  Hampton was once the village of Hampton-on-Sea, but this village was lost to the sea through coastal erosion.

As it started to spit with rain, we reached Hampton Pier.  It was just to the west of the pier that the old village of Hampton-on-Sea stood.

It was low tide and rocks were exposed around the head of the pier.  It was possible to go scrambling over them, but we opted for a quick drink at the nearby pub instead.

It was only a short walk today, but every mile counts when the end goal is to walk the entire coast of Britain.

Points on this part of the walk (copy and paste the co-ordinates into Google Earth):

• Start of walk at Tankerton:  N 51° 21.919 E 001° 02.983
• Beach Hut for Sale:  N 51° 21.955 E 001° 03.745
• Naturism Sign:  N 51° 22.125 E 001° 04.294
• Hampton Pier:  N 51° 22.376 E 001° 05.933

Walk #30 Statistics:

• Date of Walk: 27 August 2012
• Walk #30 total distance covered: 2.88 miles
• Coast of Britain Walk Total Distance Covered: 232.62 miles
• CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO INTERACTIVE MAP!!!