Bearing Herne Bay In Mind

My God today dawned as one of the coldest days we've had this winter with a very severe frost. We were still determined to get out for a run, wearing at least three layers and gloves, and it did feel glorious to be out in the sparkling early morning light.
The instant we got back we decided it had to mean a trip back to the coast to make the very best of the second fabulously sunny day in a row. This time my brother suggested an excursion to Herne Bay via Whitstable and Tankerton. 
We didn't actually stop at Whitstable but did take the chance to alight at Tankerton for a brief respite in our journey. The second we stepped outside the car we instantly encountered what felt like an arctic wind - it really did fell like opening the door to a blast freezer. We only managed a quick walk along the seafront before we had to head back to the car and put the heater on to its maximum setting to stave off the possibility of frostbite!
Arriving in Herne Bay we parked the car and headed through the Palm Court which includes its very own clock tower (my main image is a view back along the seafront esplanade towards it with our ursine friend - an imaginative way to disguise a litter bin - in the foreground) and towards the town's truncated pier - which is where nearly all of my images were captured.
After a windblown and bone crunchingly cold amble to the head of the pier, where I took my first extra of the currently shuttered "Hook A Duck" stall, we managed to locate the minuscule be-hutted "Beer On The Pier" where we received a lovely warm welcome from the proprietor when we ordered our pints of pilsner. She was more than happy to chat and even introduced us to the pair of pigeons and five sparrows who regularly frequent this tiny establishment to scoop up the crisp fragments that she delights in feeding them. We even got to eavesdrop on a table full of regulars busy chewing the fat - in particular disparaging comments about another local landlord!
After enjoying our pints it was time to head back out into the artic wind for what we assumed would be a final stroll along the pier - with my second extra image being of an ice cream parlour, which was rather remarkably still open at this time of year, and my last image being a view a line along of currently closed retail huts where I managed to capture some passers-by just as they appeared in the gap at the end for the frame and a seagull that had landed on one of the roofs.
We then took a final amble along the seafront past the amusement arcades and then back on the pier where we were delighted to discover that one of the little huts was still serving hot bagels (we settled on ham and cheese) which we had al fresco shielded against the biting wind by a glass partition as the sun shone. 
We still had time on the way home for a quick pint at The Plough in Langley. A lovely end to a great day - I'm so glad that my brother got me to bear Herne Bay in mind!