Located on the north coast of Kent, and around 55 miles east of central London, is the town of Whitstable.
It is believed that oysters have been harvested at Whitstable Bay since Roman times, as evidenced by documents indicating that they were sent to Rome itself from here since circa 80 AD.
By around the 15th century, oyster fishing had once again become present in the town. However, it wasn't until 1793 that it took off significantly with the formation of the Company of Free Fishers and Dredgers of Whitstable. The company owns the freehold of the seabed, setting the area apart from other stretches of the coast typically owned by the Crown. At the company’s peak in the 1850s, it was sending up to 80 million oysters a year to Billingsgate fish market in London.
In 1829 brothers Charles and John Deane sailed from Whitstable for trials of their invention - the diving helmet. This marked the origin of the deep sea diving industry. In 1836 John Deane was part of a team that salvaged items from the wreck of the Mary Rose - the Tudor naval ship that sank in the Solent strait.
In 1860 the railway arrived at Whitstable. Today the station is situated on the Ramsgate branch of the Chatham Main Line. Trains to London typically take around 80 to 100 minutes, with some high speed services operating here.
By the early 20th century Whitstable's oyster industry went into decline, and was on the brink of closure by the 1970s. However, a revival has taken place in recent decades. This is marked by the annual Whitstable Oyster Festival (rebranded as Whitstable Rocks Oyster Festival in 2022).
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Filmed: 5th June 2023
Link to the walk on Google Maps: goo.gl/maps/RYT5CChWcr5vAYkQ7
Filmed on a Sony FDR-AX700 with a Zhiyun Crane 2 and a Sony ECM-XYST1M Stereo Microphone.
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Cantebury Road
1:10 Oxford Street
5:25 High Street
10:27 Harbour Street
13:53 Whitstable Harbour
18:02 Whitstable Beach