24h in Folkestone: Shoreline, Rocksalt and a controversial renaissance plan

Our time exploring Folkestone was an almost constant flow of food and drink. In the afternoon we wandered 10 minutes from Shoreline, along the boardwalk towards the Folkestone Harbour Line, and first grabbed some delicious tacos from The Taco Shed. The next stop was Chummys, a popular seafood bar in the harbour, buzzy and busy with an endless queue of people wanting anything from a little pot of prawns to a fresh scallop and bacon bap, sweet and salty and a little bit spicy from a dash of chilli vinegar. Then, even though it was a heavy grey sky and blustery weather, we couldn’t resist sitting in the garden of The Pilot Bar, a beach bar in a shipping container, built on the footprint of the town’s old pilot station. Deckchairs, bumper cars from old fairground rides, palm trees – and loved it. Next door to this bar is Little Rock, in another shipping container, the sister to Rocksalt, and formerly part of chef Mark Sargeant’s empire. Rocksalt was where we headed for supper, an early doors meal where the children could not have been better looked after. Beautifully fresh fish in crispy batter with peas and mash for them; scallops with crispy black pudding and chargrilled corn followed by roast skate wing, and a cod with chowder and leek powder for the adults.