More on Margate, and Ramsgate (and South Eastern Trains)

Margate Monstrosity

So looking back on our trip to the Kent coast - I will share some more thoughts of our visit.

Certainly Margate has attained a certain 'trendiness' but it is a long way from the genteel resort it once was and many of the people there seem to be short of money and the town by the sea exhibits many levels of neglect.

Ramsgate and Broadstairs are more bourgeois with probably wealthier visitors.

We were lucky with the weather during our weekend but without good weather for many families it would not be a great place to spend time - The Turner Gallery has helped raise the profile of Margate but for many people the idea of visiting a gallery is still anathema (and certainly not part of a beach holiday).

  Margate

A Mrs Booth- Shell Lady

Margate is trying hard to improve its' offering especially capitalising on the Turner connection (and Tracy Emin too) - we did the Turner Dickens Walk which was great.

We had two very nice meals there and our hotel was fine and very convenient for the Railway station (not over impressed with South Eastern Trains, when compared with other services we've taken - no buffet for example).

I'm not sure where Margate irony becomes something darker, Dreamland casts a shadow not only literally.

A rediscovered Dreamland

Art is all around

Cafe De China offered good value standard Chinese fayre and Giorgios (Italian) was really good

Great Chilli Beef here

A lovely Italian restaurant 

A smashing desert

Ramsgate

It's nice to use local transport and we had a trip on 'The Loop' a bus (£4 day ticket) which operates across Broadstairs, Ramsgate and Margate - decided to get off at Ramsgate, much 'classier' resort with Teashops as opposed to Caffs and a Royal harbour where you can take boat trips and some nice boats  are 'docked.

Fascinated to see the Sundowner and also a nice picture/poem combo..

Sundowner history - rather moving

The boat

The Beach - sandy

Shanty provides a nice message and picture by the name challenged  Aad Fokker

We had a nice break for Tea/Coffee and sandwich at Corby's then back on the Loop..

oh yes and the walk

Well I did mention a Turner Dickens Walk

The walk is well sign-posted 

Here it is..

A walk - the route had TD signs too

Quart in a Pint Pot.

The map tells us to look out for the interesting architecture of a pub - here it is

Quart in a Pint Pot Pub

Turner Mosaics

Near the pub are some Turner influenced  mosaics

One of the mosaics - inspired by one of J M Turners seascapes perhaps 

The Windmill

Draper's Windmill

Definitely struck lucky when we got to Draper's Windmill which was having an 'open Day' we got there before the action began and one of the volunteers gave us a lovely little tour, explaining how it all worked and the background to the restoration.



Sadly few windmills now in Kent and the school where one of the leading lights of the project was headmaster is now an 'Academy ' and apparently not really that interested in making the most of this valuable (educational) resource

St Peter in Thanet Church

After quite a walk (parallel to the railway line) and at the end of many graves we eventually arrived at this church, St Peter in Thanet - there's been a church here since 1128.

St Peter in Thanet- a big old graveyard too 

One of the Dickens scenes in mosaic form 

Dickens Mosaic

Just across the road there are Mosaics depicting scenes from Dickens' novels by Martin Cheek

You can find out more about the mosaics here.

Crampton Tower

Crampton Tower Museum 

In Broadstairs near the railway station there's a museum in what was Crampton Tower.

Thomas Crampton,  was an English engineer born at Broadstairs, Kent, and trained on Brunel's Great Western Railway he was born 6 August 1816 and died  19 April 1888.

 Crampton was the designer of  the Crampton locomotive and  many engineering interests including the electric telegraph and  Channel Tunnel for which he designed a boring machine.

Strangely his locomotives had much better success in France, Germany and Italy than they did in the UK.

The Dickens House Museum 

Dickens House

At the end of the walk by the beach we saw the Dickens House Museum (but only from the outside), in fact we'd seen his birthplace in Portsmouth a couple of years ago, seems history around Dickens is a bit of a money earner - then we caught the bus back to Margate.

Broadstair- The end of the walk and back on The Loop