Broadstairs Castle, formerly part of the estate of Lord Holland but now converted into private residences. Broadstairs has a very mild maritime climate. The town is situated from both Dover and Canterbury, and about from the M25, London's orbital motorway. The town is also served by Southeastern train services to/from London, via either North Kent and Medway or Canterbury and High Speed 1. It is unusual in that trains to London can run either way through the station. As a seaside resort, the economy is mainly based around tourism; there are hotels and guest houses on and near the seafront to
Bleak House, Broadstairs in which it is situated. Charles Dickens spent summer holidays at Fort House in the 1850s and 1860s and it was there in that "airy nest" above the harbour that he wrote "David Copperfield". Fort House was dubbed Bleak House in the early part of the 20th century. Somebody asserted that it was the Bleak House referred to in Dickens' 1853 novel, and the name stuck. There has been much dispute over the truth of the claim. Some people believe that the house from which Dickens took his inspiration is far distant from Broadstairs. What can be certain is that