The Once Affluent Town of Herne Bay

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Grandad
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The Once Affluent Town of Herne Bay

Post by Grandad »

We were getting a serious attack of ‘cabin fever’ after so many dull rainy and windy days that a break in the weather this morning prompted the short 7 mile excursion to Herne Bay for a breath of fresh air. Herne Bay, like Whitstable, is a North Kent coastal town whose heyday was in Victorian and Edwardian times after the railways came from London to East Kent.

The town still bears some evidence of earlier times most significantly its pier which stretched about three quarters of a mile out to deeper water to accommodate the paddle steamers that called here in the early nineteen hundreds. In 1978 the pier suffered extensive damage in a storm and in 1980 the link between the pier pavilion and the pierhead was dismantled leaving the pierhead isolated out at sea. For the next 30 or so years a newly built pier pavilion was used as a sports hall but this was also demolished in 2012 when that part of the pier was deemed to be unsafe. Hopefully one day we will have a new pier which will help to regenerate Herne Bay as a place to visit.

Although a pleasant enough place to live there is not much to recommend Herne Bay to the visitor but here are a selection of pictures along the seafront from this morning.

After parking the car this was the first image to catch my eye. The notice gives details of the months, days, and hours during which a lifeguard is in attendance and I must say they are not too frequent. :(
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Looking out to sea we can see the pierhead/landing stage isolated 3/4 mile from shore. Zooming in we see some of the North Kent Wind Farm some eight to ten miles distant.
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Walking eastwards past the pier we can see the relative position of that part that used to house the pier pavilion and to the right the entrance to a small mooring for light craft which was created in recent years.
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And this is looking back westerly towards the bandstand.
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To the west beyond the bandstand there are still some penny arcades, remnants of earlier times but apart from them, the seafront is devoid of trashy seaside fare.
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The North Kent Coast bounds the Thames Estuary and is not affected by the heavy seas that have affected our Atlantic and North Sea coasts. The sea defences are modest and can be clearly seen in my first two pictures of a low brick wall that extends right allong the front with gaps for pedestrian access and these have water proof gates that are closed if the need arises.

On a humorous note I spotted three things that made me smile :)

On the wall of the bandstand some wag had drawn a cartoon probably prompted by the recent high tides
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The car park specifically for trailor vehicles towing small boats is laid out with long parking spaces to suit the vehicles. Shame that the person doing the sign couldn't spell :lol:
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And finally, on the way out I noticed this bicycle secured to the railings of the local secondary school. Perhaps he took the wheels and saddle with him into school....Can't trust anyone these days :lol:
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:gg:
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Re: The Once Affluent Town of Herne Bay

Post by Horus »

Nice pictures Grandad :up perhaps someone just stole all the other bits :lol: :lol:

Now remind me again, what was the comedians name who used to live there? was it Benny Hill?
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Re: The Once Affluent Town of Herne Bay

Post by Grandad »

Not sure about local residents H. Harry Hills mother lives there and he is often in the town. Dave Lee, a lesser known comedian who was a warm up act for many better known entertainers, lived in Herne village just outside the town. He was well known locally for his charity, Happy Holidays, for sick, disabled and under-privileged children.

Sandi Toksvig has a house on the beach. But we are a bit thin on the ground for producing any of the great and the good locally. :lol: :lol:
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Re: The Once Affluent Town of Herne Bay

Post by Horus »

No it was someone more famous i'm sure :tk I'm thinking Benny Hill, Ronnie Barker, Tony Hancock or similar.
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Re: The Once Affluent Town of Herne Bay

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

Neat photos Grandad. Looks to have been an interesting day for a stroll out. Great area to walk with the large sidewalks. Not sure about the bike guy - guess he thought he really needed to make sure his ride was secure ;)

I know the feeling of being pent up due to crummy weather. It has been really terribly overcast here lately. Not foggy, just plain grey grey grey with no hint of sun at all. To make it worse I've had an awful cold - sore throat that went into my lungs and now I sit and cough. Been waiting for a sunny day to stroll out cause I'm really getting claustrophobic but it is so dismal looking I haven't ventured out.

Liked the joke ;) :up
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Re: The Once Affluent Town of Herne Bay

Post by Horus »

I'm with you both on the cabin fever bit, it has been so wet & windy lately not to say really cold at times and I have hardly been through the door recently. Like LLL I have been laid up with a bad cold that went onto my chest (a bit unusual for me) then I developed a bad knee and even finished up with crutches for several days just before Christmas, so I have hardly ventured out other than for shopping. It is dark when I wake up and dark again by about 4 pm so it really seems to be dragging out this winter, so roll on some bright days to make me feel like doing something other than hibernate. :(
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Re: The Once Affluent Town of Herne Bay

Post by Grandad »

And today is apparently 'Blue Monday' :( Just to cheer you up ;)
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Re: The Once Affluent Town of Herne Bay

Post by Kiya »

Lovely looking photos Grandad :) ......I don't fancy that pebble beaches at all, I'm so used to the soft sand up here, just a shame the sand dunes have shrunk over the years.
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Re: The Once Affluent Town of Herne Bay

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

Blue Monday!! GHEEZZZZZZ!!!!!

I'm like Horus - either I'm copying him or he is copying me. I got a cold that went into my throat and chest, been battling a hip problem that has really gimped me us and right now just back from the Dentist due to a broken tooth AND to top it all off the weather couldn't be greyer. Don't feel much like moving at all these days.

Needing some SUN!
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Re: The Once Affluent Town of Herne Bay

Post by Grandad »

I picked up this thread because just a few miles east of Herne Bay is Minnis Bay, a nice little resort with a large sandy beach (to please Kiya :lol: ) and no seaside amusements, 'Kiss me quick' hats or smelly burger bars. My oldest son has a beach hut there and he and his wife often cycle along the coastal path on a nice day.

Nice afternoon yesterday so we went and joined them at the hut for a very good fish and chips lunch from the chippie in the nearby village. Just a couple of snaps that I thought might be of interest.

Whilst reclining in my lounger after lunch I spotted a tall ship about 3 miles out to sea. I just snapped it from where I sat so you have the railings as well. ;)
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After dragging myself up from a comfortable position I did zoom on to the ship for more detail but, without a tripod it is not too sharp.
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A bit of online detective work today tells me that it is the Training Brig Morgenster, from Holland. She was on her way into the Thames Estuary to join many other tall ships for the Royal Greenwich Tall Ships Regatta from tomorrow until Tuesday. Had I stayed at the hut or gone back today I might have seen more ships arriving.

There is a cycle hire hut near the beach and this four seater caught my eye as it passed us.
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Finally a group shot. I just sat the camera on the prom and hoped for the best, hence feet cut off and poor composition. :lol: Grandchildren are at Uni or on holiday in Skiathos so mum and dad can enjoy a day to themselves.....only to be intruded upon by 'the old folks' :lol: :lol:
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A postcard from Minnis Bay
WISH YOU WERE HERE ;) :lol: :lol:
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Re: The Once Affluent Town of Herne Bay

Post by Horus »

I wish I were there too Grandad, looks like you had a lovely day :up
I can remember those family bicycles, back in the day they were very popular in many seaside resorts and I used to love them :D
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Re: The Once Affluent Town of Herne Bay

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

Hey - you're all looking good! Proper tourists!! ;)

Love the shot of the tall ship. Am fascinated by them and do like seeing them whenever they come around.

Your bicycle photo brought a big smile. When my girls were about 9 and 10 we went for a summer holiday to a resourt town in the interior of BC. I rented them a 2 seater red bike very similar to the green one in your photo. They were small enough that I could sit between them but being in the middle put THEM in control and OMG they launched like Mario Andretti down the promenade pedaling like the wind. I remember yelling 'slow down slow down' and them giggling and pedaling fast and faster ...... I had no ability to turn it or stop them and people were jumping out of our way ...... !!! Still remember that day.

Your day does look to be a neat and relaxing one! :) :) :)
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Re: The Once Affluent Town of Herne Bay

Post by Kiya »

Lovely photos Grandad :) you all look though your enjoying yourselves & of course the sunny weather :)

I love seeing the tall ships..... when we get the chance to, great looking ships :)
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Re: The Once Affluent Town of Herne Bay

Post by Grandad »

Although handheld, I was disappointed with the picture of the tall ship. With the lens at max 200mm the camera selected auto settings of 1/1600 sec, f6.3, and ISO400.

My 18 - 200 lens is only a Sigma so I don't expect too much from it. However, yesterday afternoon I set it up on the tripod and at the 200mm end took pictures varying the aperture from f5.6 to f22. There was a noticeable difference through the range and the very best results were achieved at f11 (at this aperture and light the camera selected 1/125 sec, I had already preset ISO400)

I only mention this because cheaper lenses probably have some optimum setting and it would appear that I will in future get the best results if I set to 'A' and select aperture f11. If this results in a fairly long exposure, this can be speeded up using a faster (higher) ISO.
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Re: The Once Affluent Town of Herne Bay

Post by Horus »

Problem is though Grandad, higher ISO equals potentially more noise, I would stick with the longer exposure times on a tripod.
Last night was the first meeting of the new camera club season, but I did not bother going :urm: Maybe I am becomming a bit jaded with it all and the new itinery seems a a bit samey, or it may just be that as my mate Mick is still on holiday I have no one to gee me up a bit, (he is still new to photography so is very keen) there again it may just be that I am starting to feel rather knackered. ;)
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Re: The Once Affluent Town of Herne Bay

Post by Grandad »

Horus wrote:Problem is though Grandad, higher ISO equals potentially more noise, I would stick with the longer exposure times on a tripod. ;)
Very true H and a subject that is very distant will not show movement if even something like 1/30 is used. Different story though for moving subjects nearer to the camera. I think the bottom line is to always use a tripod when using a long lens.....
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Re: The Once Affluent Town of Herne Bay

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

I still liked the photo of the tall ship ;) ;) ;)
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Re: The Once Affluent Town of Herne Bay

Post by Grandad »

You are too kind LLL ;) :up :lol:

Horus I wonder what sort of result you would get with your 26x lens in the X-S1? You may have shown some results earlier but ai don't know where to look.

Contrary to my earlier comments about EVF finders, I am again considering a long lens Fuji bridge camera. This really is on the basis of your very detailed considerations when deciding between the HS50 and the X-S1. Have not decided yet but I am drawn to the HS50 with its 1000mm equivalent lens. Such a lens for the Nikon would cost well into four figures. I have read your post and accept that the EV has slightly fewer dots and the sensor is smaller but they are down to about £220 so very good value. Still pondering on that one though. :lol:
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Re: The Once Affluent Town of Herne Bay

Post by Horus »

Go for it Grandad, at that price you will not be dissapointed and the HS range are extremely good cameras for the money. They have stopped manufacturing the X-S1 for no other reason than they cost too much and Fuji are moving into the mirror less SLR cameras market and are only keeping their consumer range bridge cameras, although you can still find stocks if you want one.
To give you some idea of the image you could expect from each camera, if the first image you took of the ship was as seen so to speak, then with my X-S1 handheld I could see everyone on deck and on a tripod the colour of the clothes they were wearing. With the HS 50 also on a tripod you would see the ropework on the sails :o although in both cases you may experience some haze due to air conditions. ;) and of course as I explained previously a not quite so sharp an image with the HS50 as with the X-S1 due to the smaller sized sensor, but to be honest at that sort of zoom on any camera you would not be expecting perfect shots.
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