At the end of the month I will celebrate one of those godawful birthdays with an "0" in it. On the weekend I was whisked away on a surprise (early) birthday trip to the coast of Kent. We travelled there by train and stayed in a lovely little hotel in Ramsgate.
On Saturday afternoon we caught the local bus to Broadstairs for a bit of a potter around. The coastline here is dominated by a grand-looking house (see above) perched on a cliff top, and it was only when I discovered a tourist information sign that I realised it is known as Bleak House.
Yes, Charles Dickens used to stay here when he came to Broadstairs. The original building, which dates to 1801, used to be called Fort House. It was extended a century later.
According to this website, "Here in a small study looking straight out across the sea, Dickens wrote the greater part of his most famous novel, David Copperfield.
Here he played with his children in the garden. Here he entertained his
intimate friends, men famous in literature and art. This was the house
that occupied a special place in his heart. This was the house that
inspired the title of one of his greatest works - Bleak House."
Apparently Dickens loved Broadstairs (I'm not surprised; it's gorgeous and quite upmarket compared to Ramsgate) and spent many summers here from 1837 with his family. In some respects the town is a bit Dickens crazy.
There's a museum dedicated to him (closed when I arrived, so I didn't get to visit it), a pub named after him (yes, I had a pint here) and there's a Dickens Festival held every year.
You can find out more via the Wikipedia entry and the official Bleak House website.
