With a population of just over twenty two thousand, Broadstairs is the perfect combination of small town ethos and big city dreams. It helps that Broadstairs is one of the most attractive seaside resort towns in the country but, coastal beauty or not, it is difficult to deny Broadstairs its due credit.
To be fair, it is hard to think of a better location for a seaside resort than the famed Isle of Thanet. This little locale is world famous for its gorgeous scenery and, owing to that beauty, it is often referred to as the "jewel in Thanet's crown". Broadstairs itself is worthy of just as much acclaim, however, and most people aren't aware of the fact that the town has been around in some capacity for over a thousand years. It was 1080 when the town of Broadstreet officially came into being but, naturally, in those days it was nothing like the town that it is now. Most critics will point out that Broadstairs didn't truly become the city we know until it installed its first pier, since its dependence on the coastline has always defined its characteristics. If this is what decides Broadstairs' true origin, though, the city would still be rather old; by 1440 there was already the archway that would become Broadstairs' first pier into the ocean.
What is curious about Broadstairs' long and storied history is the fact that the town never had a very sizable population until after World War II. In the 1700s the population of the city was a meager three hundred. To be fair, a lot of this had to do with the fact that an enormous and incredibly detrimental storm hit the town in 1767 and it nearly tore Broadstairs to the ground. The sad part is that this was right when Broadstairs began to come into prominence for being one of the best sites for fishing in the entire United Kingdom. This is a rather odd and unfortunate instance that helps to support what many people have assumed about Broadstairs for quite a while: Every time the city is about to spring into massive prominence something happens that brings Broadstairs back down to Earth. While it may be a case of looking at the bad while ignoring the good, it is hard to deny the countless times in the history of this venerable city when it was poised on the brink of international success and was quickly shot down in a tragedy that it could have never prevented.
Either way, the current population of Broadstairs holds strong and most people agree that the town is doing as well as it ever has. Perhaps the curse is broken. Perhaps there was never a curse at all. No matter how you look at it, though, the fact remains that Broadstairs is a gorgeous town that is worth visiting at least once in your life. Other seaside resort towns claim flashy appeal that comes off as tacky but Broadstairs is your best bet for a genuinely good time.
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