Gallery: seeing Broadstairs in black and white
Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside!
I do like to be beside the sea!
John H. Glover-Kind, 1907
Let’s have a few days by the sea this summer, we said. Let’s enjoy walks on the beach and cliffs, ice creams in the sunshine, maybe even paddle in the sea!
But of course the British weather had other ideas. So while we did enjoy our few days away this week, and did indeed go for walks and eat ice cream, sunshine was in very short supply. As a result many of my photos of our destination, Broadstairs in Kent, work better in black and white than in the original colour. So here is a small selection of them for this week’s theme-free Monochrome Madness, edited with Nik Silver Efex Pro.
A former fishing village and haunt of smugglers, Broadstairs was popularised as a seaside resort by Charles Dickens and also by Princess (later Queen) Victoria. It has retained a lot of its earlier buildings alongside more recent typical English seaside features. Its central beach, Viking Bay, was originally known as Main Bay. It was renamed in 1949 when the Danish government commemorated the 1500th anniversary of the AD449 Viking invasion of Britain by constructing an authentic Viking ship which sailed from Denmark to Broadstairs.
Early morning in Viking Bay
Eagle House, Viking Bay
This building was originally the HQ of the Coast Blockade. In 1815 Major Percy, aide de camp to the Duke of Wellington, was sent by the duke straight from the battlefield to report the news of victory at Waterloo to the King. He landed here with the captured French Eagle standard and was fêted all the way to London, hence the renaming of the building as Eagle House.
The Clock Tower in Victoria Gardens
Rocks between the beaches of Viking Bay and Louisa Bay
Pebbles and sea, Viking Bay
Rain clouds offshore, Viking Bay
Sunlight on the water, Viking Bay
The sun did finally come out, on the morning of our departure!
Paddling in Viking Bay
Detectorist on the sands of Viking Bay
Dog enjoying a game of fetch in Louisa Bay
Beach huts, St Mary’s Bay, seen from the cliff walk
Beach hut detail, Viking Bay
I last visited Broadstairs in July 2024 when all these photos were taken.
18 Comments
grandmisadventures
beautiful pictures! I love how the lack of color in the water brings out the play of the surf and the bubbles
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Meg 🙂 That’s one of the qualities I like in B&W photography, it often makes you notice details you wouldn’t be so aware of in a colour image.
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Alison
I don’t think you can plan anything in the UK around the weather! There’s always lots to see and cosy pubs to shelter in. The photos look quite majestic in black and white
Sarah Wilkie
Ah yes, cosy pubs – we found a few of those!
Sue
Mono was a great choice,given the weather…
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Sue, it did seem that way 🙂 But I hope to be able to share some colour images from the trip too soon!
Leanne Cole
It may not have been ideal weather wise Sarah but you got some great images. I love photos in bad weather.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Leanne – the weather may not have been ideal but we still had a good time and yes, there were plenty of photo ops 🙂
thehungrytravellers.blog
Some wonderful shots of very familiar places. Familiar rain clouds too, as it happens 😂. As others have said, this is a set of shots which really lent itself to the monochrome style. The sun glinting on the waves is particularly striking.
Sarah Wilkie
I thought you might recognise some of these spots Phil – glad you enjoyed my take on Broadstairs 😀 It was lovely to finally meet up with you both, and on your home turf too!
thehungrytravellers.blog
Yes it was a good evening indeed!! 😀
Anne Sandler
Loved these in black and white Sarah!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Anne 🙂
Monkey's Tale
Black and white seems so fitting for these, especially given your weather report. Maggie
Sarah Wilkie
Yes, that was pretty much what I thought when I started to review my shots, although as I said to Margaret I do have a few more colourful ones to share in due course 😀
margaret21
I’m guessing your photos woud have been mainly monochrome even if you hadn’t made that choice. It’s been a very black and white sort of week,hasn’t it? I particularly like the Paddling Picture.
Sarah Wilkie
That’s pretty much spot on Margaret, although I did get a few shots that were quite colourful – to be shared soon hopefully 🙂