I’d been meaning to visit Deal for years, and finally took the train to meet a friend and explore it. I hadn’t been before. The sky was tentatively clear when I got ready that morning, and the possibility of a day without rain was already exciting. I finished my coffee, found my shoes and headed out for a day by the English seaside.

Lunch came first

Once we arrived, there was blue sky and no rain. We didn’t have an itinerary. All I really knew about Deal was that it was on the coast, and our plans were to explore, eat and perhaps buy an ice cream. I had no expectations beyond seeing what we could see. Getting lunch was definitely a priority.

We ate at The Lane, and I thought the food was excellent. I had a gorgeous peach iced tea and three massive pulled pork tacos. It was a really nice lunch, and my verdict at the time was ten out of ten. I was properly full afterwards, but still excited to go out and walk. There were no rain clouds in sight, and I kept hoping I hadn’t jinxed that by saying it aloud.

Sunny, pretty and very windy

After exploring, I thought Deal was pretty, cute and quaint. Yes, I was going to use quaint. I was having a great time. There was something about a sunny English seaside town that felt perfect to me, especially after a long, dark, grey winter. When the sun came out in England, it felt as though life began again.

The other feature of the day was the wind. My hair was doing whatever it wanted, and there wasn’t much I could do about it. We kept walking and headed back towards the centre, while I tried to remember the British word for what I’d normally call downtown. There was still beautiful blue sky, sunshine and a very noticeable sea breeze.

Pale corner house and narrow street in Deal beneath a clear blue sky
A street view from my day in Deal, before heading back towards the town centre.

Could I imagine living there?

Back home, I realised how much I’d liked Deal. My partner and I both worked from home, so our work didn’t tie us to one particular place in England. When I went on a day trip, I often found myself wondering whether it could be somewhere we’d live next. Deal had made a good first impression.

That was all it was, though: a first glance. I knew you didn’t really know a place until you lived there. I liked the small shops, businesses and cafes, and the food we’d had was really good. The town had seemed open and clean, and it hadn’t been very busy. It wasn’t quite tourist season yet, so I didn’t know how that would compare with summer.

The wind was the thing I wasn’t sure I could get used to. It had been warm and sunny, but that didn’t remove the sea breeze. I could love the day out and still have a question about what living on the coast would be like for me. Overall, though, I thought Deal was lovely and wanted to go back.

A castle for next time, and a mug for now

On the way out, I realised there was a castle. Whoops. I hadn’t known until we were leaving, so that would have to be something to do on another visit. This trip had been an introduction to Deal, and I’d already found something I’d missed.

I did come home with a purchase. In one of the little artisan shops, I’d seen a mug shaped almost like a bowl. It was an odd shape, and I loved it. Did I need another mug? Absolutely not. I wanted it anyway, so now I had a new bowl mug.

It was nearly dinner time, but I was still full from lunch. I’d also had a delicious hazelnut or Nutella iced coffee, and the caffeine was making itself known. I needed to make some food, although a cuppa to celebrate my new mug was tempting too. It had been a slightly all-over-the-place day, but I’d had a great time. Deal was somewhere I wanted to visit again.

Watch my first day exploring Deal on the Kent coast.