Herne Bay Pier (Nigel Chadwick) / CC BY-SA 2.0
If you thought that a pier was just a place on which to buy candy floss and pull silly faces in the Hall of Mirrors, then you’d be wrong. Britain’s piers are a central part of this country’s seaside heritage, and have much more to offer than a quick fright and spun-sugar-induced indigestion. Herne Bay Pier, for example, was the first to install a permanent roller-skating rink, providing a play and practice area to roller-hockey teams competing at international level.
In fact, so dear is Herne Bay Pier to its locals that they are holding a party on 12 March to celebrate the century-long love affair between community and pier. The pier’s pavilion—home to the roller hockey rink—is scheduled to be demolished, with a new roller-skating rink to be built at nearby Greenhill, so what better way to send her off than with a Party on the Pier?
Herne Bay’s Party on the Pier is one of a number of special events in the UK kicking off British Tourism Week on 12 March. Piers all over the country will be joining in the week’s events under the encouragement of The National Piers Society. At Herne Bay Pier, there will be a whole day of roller-skating-themed events, including roller-hockey workshops, a roller disco, artistic skating workshops, a tombola, and a roller derby—so if you’re in the area, why not roll on down and check it out?
