Hannah here: My mister and I recently celebrated 9 years of marriage. Whoa. 9 years! Its quite unbelievable to think that we've been together for so long, but quite a privilege too. Its still the best decision we’ve made. Still, things get better year after year. We still can’t quite believe our luck.

We haven’t done a very good job of celebrating recent anniversaries though, often remembering on the morning of the day itself, and smiling sheepishly at each other about our joint forgetfulness, simultaneously relieved that we are both as crap as each other. We always make it up to each other somehow, but this year, with the added incentive of exploring our new surroundings, we booked a night in a B&B to celebrate; our first night away from Frankie-Rose.

We decided to explore Broadstairs and stayed at the wonderful Belvidere Inn. I loved everything about it; the decor, the friendly owner, the location. It's full of moody greys and old antiques and original artwork and my stylists head went on overdrive taking photo's before I reminded myself I was on holidays and forced myself to put the camera down! We basically ate and drank our way through Broadstairs, finding some utter gems. It is well worth a visit if you haven't been already.

God it was good.

A whole night on our own! Sleeping beyond 5am! Whole hours sat still, in one place without being climbed on or screamed at! Wine! Sunshine! Fireworks!

We toasted our marriage and our kid. And we talked. How are we feeling about LIFE at the moment? When should we have another kid? Hang on, do we want even want another kid? Shall we f*@k the rent off and live in a tent for a year? What's the best way to cook mackerel?

5 reasons to visit Broadstairs

With wonderful sandy beaches, and the acclaimed annual Folk week, Broadstairs has always had a lot to offer visitors, but its suffered, like most British seaside towns, at the mercy of the cheap package deal to Magaluf, and the more often than not deserved perception that a trip to the Kentish coast offers little more than boarded up shops and soggy fish and chips in the rain. But, following the wider revival of the East Kent coastline, things are looking up for Broady, with a swathe of exciting new openings. In case you needed further persuasion, here are five great places to visit in Broadstairs.

1) Viking Bay.

There aren't actually that many sandy beaches in kent, but Viking bay boasts a Victorian crescent of sandy heaven. Its reached by an impressive, if a little domineering, set of white stairs carved into the cliffs, topped with the board walk, and lined in quaint beach huts. This sandy beach is the epitome of the English seaside, complete with old fashioned ice-cream parlour, Victorian tidal pool and little boats bobbing near the harbour.

2) Belvidere Place.

The description by its convivial owner, Jilly, as “just our house really, with a load of old tat in it” belies its evangelical reviews and swathes of reverential visitors. This relaxed gem of a B&B in Broadstairs is decorated in hues of moody greys, antique furniture and original artwork. This is where we spent our anniversary and it is indeed a very special place, very welcoming, very stylish, and it serves a bloomin lovely breakfast.

3) Samworth and Mee.

Opened last year on a road adjacent to the beach, owners Carla and Steve serve fuss free, simple food, well cooked, with fresh local ingredients. I can highly recommend their lobster roll and chips with a cold glass of house white, eaten on one of their outdoor tables- a perfect nosy people-watching spot.

4) Wyatt and Jones.

Another exciting foodie opening in Broadstairs directly overlooking the beach and serving gorgeous food and wine. Stylishly decorated with mismatching bevelled edge mirrors and open kitchen, the vibe is chic and relaxed. Our locally caught fish was cooked to perfection.

5) Broadstairs Fireworks

One of the most memorable quirks of Broadstairs, is that the council puts on random fireworks on weekday evenings over the beach. A weekend would make more economic sense in terms of attracting tourists but nope. I love it. Especially because the random weeknight fireworks coincided with our anniversary, and, post prandial, we were able to sit on the beach, cuddled up, and enjoy a surprisingly impressive fireworks display. Bravo, Broadstairs.

More info and links

Belividere Place

Samworth and Mee

Wyatt and Jones

You have to wade through the Broadstairs council website to find out about the fireworks

Broadstairs folk week is the 8th to 15th August

We wanted to take a boat trip but ran out of time. You can visit the seal colony, wind farm, sea forts, Beaches and Bays.

Cross posted with the Huffington Post

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