If there’s one thing we’ve learned about sleepy seaside towns in England, it’s that there’s always a murderer roaming around.
Whitstable Pearl is one of the latest British crime dramas to grace our small screens, debuting on Acorn TV in 2021. With two seasons in the can and a third on the way, let’s look at some of the Whitstable Pearl locations you can visit in Kent, just outside London.
Image Credit: Buccaneer Media Ltd
Where is Whitstable Pearl filmed?
Unsurprisingly, you can visit many of the Whitstable Pearl locations with a train ride to Whitstable train station. Whitstable Yacht Club, High Street, Whitstable Harbour, and Whitstable Beach are all right off the platform and featured as Whitstable Pearl locations for Seasons 1 and 2.
Whitstable Pearl Season 1 filming locations
Kent Events Centre
Closest station: Bearsted
If you’re trying to dine at The Whitstable Pearl, you’ll have some trouble. Interior scenes for Pearl and Dolly’s seafood restaurant were built in the Kent Events Centre in Maidstone.
Old Neptune
Closest station: Whitstable
The good news is that the Pearson’s Arms — which is actually the Old Neptune pub — is a legitimate watering hole in Whitstable. Located right on the beach, this old Victorian inn packs a crowd.
Beacon House
Closest station: Whitstable
Beacon House is a private wedding venue, but for Whitstable Pearl, it’s the place Pearl calls home. It’s along the shoreline of Tankerton Beach, which is also heavily featured in the show.
St Martin’s Hospital
Closest station: Canterbury East, Bekesbourne
On the outskirts of Canterbury, St Martin’s Hospital hosted the film crew and its interior was used for hospital and police station scenes.
Walpole Bay Hotel
Closest station: Margate
In the times when Whitstable isn’t looking too Whitstable-y enough for Whitstable Pearl Season 1, production has used Margate’s beaches and its Walpole Bay Hotel as a stand-in.
Image Credit: Patrick Donovan. Image Location: Dover, Kent, United KingdomKarl Hendon
Whitstable Pearl Season 2 filming locations
Dover
Closest station: Dover Priory
You’ll catch the chalky White Cliffs of Dover, as well as the town’s port, Western Heights, and Lydden Spout Battery in Season 2’s debut episode. The Citadel also returns for Season 2, this time as a police station; it was featured in Season 1 as a children’s home.
Sevenoaks
Closest station: Kemsing
St. Clere Estate, an event venue just outside of town, and Stonepitts Farm, roughly 2.5-miles away from St. Clere Estate, were both used as a Season 2 Whitstable Pearl location for Zelda St John’s mansion.
Nayland Rock Hotel
Closest station: Margate
The family-owned Nayland Rock Hotel brought Whitstable Pearl to Margate again, this time for scenes set in The Bradford Hotel.
Image Credit: Karl Hendon. Image Location: Whitstable, Kent, United Kingdom
Whitstable Pearl Season 3 filming locations
There’s no mystery behind one of Whitstable Pearl location for Season 3: Whitstable. We’ll have to wait and see where else in Kent the mystery series takes Pearl.
What to know about Whitstable Pearl
Follow a restauranteur-turned-gumshoe as she tries to solve a murder when she’s not serving oysters to the town of Whitstable.
What is Whitstable Pearl about?
Pearl Nolan is the owner of the Whitstable Pearl restaurant and a private detective in Whitstable, England. When her friend turns up dead under peculiar circumstances, Pearl begrudgingly works with DS Nikki Martel of the local police force to solve the mysterious death.
Who is in Whitstable Pearl?
Whitstable Pearl stars Kerry Godliman as the eponymous Pearl of Whitstable, Howard Charles, (Shadow and Bone), Frances Barber, Sophia Del Pizzo, Rohan Nedd, and Isobelle Molloy.
Where does Whitstable Pearl take place?
Whitstable Pearl takes place in Whitstable, England. The setting in the Acorn TV mystery series is a real town in southeastern England.
Image Credit: Lynda Morris Photography. Image Location: Whitstable, Kent, United Kingdom
Where is Whitstable UK?
Whitstable is a town in Kent’s Canterbury district, southeast of London. You can hop a train at either London St Pancras International or London Victoria train station and arrive at Whitstable railway station in 80 minutes without connections.
Will there be a Whitstable Pearl Season 3?
Yes, filming for Whitstable Pearl Season 3 began in Whitstable, England, in March 2024. Hopefully, we’ll see the first episodes debut before 2025 rolls around; Whitstable Pearl Season 2 was released all the way back in 2022.
Is Whitstable Pearl based on a book?
Yes, while you wait for Whitstable Pearl Season 3 to drop, read The Whitstable Pearl Mystery novels by Julie Wassmer. There are 10 books in the series so far, beginning with The Whitstable Pearl Mystery, Murder-On-Sea, and May Day Murder.
Visit your favorite English murder mystery sites by train
Whitstable Pearl joins Broadchurch, Happy Valley, Marcella, and a host of Harlan Coben mini-series (such as Fool Me Once) as one of our favorite British crime shows with filming locations around England. Download the Trainline app to purchase train tickets instantly and continue bingeing your current whodunnit using the free wifi aboard UK trains.
See also: filming locations for Netflix’s See How They Run
Header Image Credit: Buccaneer Media Ltd
