Ramsgate and Dover

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Just to give you an idea of where about these two coastal towns are, here is a map. Ramsgate is the red dot. Dover is a bit further down South.



Now if I had had my kids with me, we would have headed for Margate, as we have done so many times in the past. Margate has a huge funfair all year around. It's a town I used to go to often as a kid.

But this particular day my companion and I headed for Ramsgate.


'Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century and is a member of the ancient confederation of Cinque Ports. It has a population of around 40,000. Ramsgate's main attraction is its coastline and its main industries are tourism and fishing. The town has one of the largest marinas on the English south coast and Port of Ramsgate has provided cross channel ferries for many years.'

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It took ages to find a place to park. The streets are quite narrow and parking spots well taken already. So we left the car here and walked to the beach.



On the way we saw a post man delivering mail:




Accidentally took a photo of this Goth guy, but he smiled, so I don't think he minded:




Suddenly heard this very loud engine noise and lo and behold a plane flying very low, just above us:




I couldn't get over the thatched roof cottages and houses in the area:




And so to the beach area. It was quite a cool, windy day, so there were not many people on the sand. Non actually. But I could see that it was a nice sandy beach, that in mid-summer must be very well used by people.










These stairs lead us to the road above. We didn't take them:




There is quite a lot of construction going on near the beach front right now. We asked and were told that the city is building apartments (flats) just in front of the water front. They should be real nice when they are finished, but for now, they are hidden away by large, tall planks of wood, which have many paintings nailed on to them. This certainly brightens up the whole area:




There were many, many large paintings, some were very good indeed. but just to give you an idea:







These town houses fascinated me because I couldn't quite work out how they were built. They seemed to be built partly into the wall behind it. I've never seen this before




Boats tied up until they are needed:




And so after quite a long walk, we made our way back for a bite to eat (fish and chips of course!):

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The first time I ever went to Dover was on a school trip when we all went to see the Castle. I remember how much I enjoyed that trip and how creepy I found the castle! Apart from the Castle I couldn't remember much about the town itself, so wanted to see it again.

'Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings. The town is the administrative center of the Dover District and home of the Dover Calais ferry through the Port of Dover. The surrounding chalk cliffs have become known as the White cliffs of Dover'.

I think most everyone has heard of 'the white cliff's of Dover'. Here is the song:

[youtube]The first time I ever went to Dover was on a school trip when we all went to see the Castle. I remember how much I enjoyed that trip and how creepy I found the castle! Apart from the Castle I couldn't remember much about the town itself, so wanted to see it again.

'Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings. The town is the administrative center of the Dover District and home of the Dover Calais ferry through the Port of Dover. The surrounding chalk cliffs have become known as the White cliffs of Dover'.

I think most everyone has heard of 'the white cliff's of Dover'. Here is the song by Vera Lynn:

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We saw this town on a separate day to when we went to Ramsgate. Driving in I could see the wonderful blue of the Sea and of course the famous White Cliff's of Dover:











In the distance I could see the Dover Castle on the hill:




We found the harbor and parked the car there:




We asked for directions and the fasted route to get to the Castle and were told to just go by the beach front and walk up, go down an underground tunnel to the other side and there it will be. Just a 10 minute walk. This was way off the mark!

Anyway we started to walk, and realized only too late that we should have driven there instead and parked on the castle grounds. Still, it was a nice walk.

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We were lucky to have such a nice warm day, and I really liked the way the buildings on the sea front were all the same white washed kind of color as the cliff's.




When I saw this French ship it reminded me of Kerouac for some reason





I saw that something was built into the cliff's. I kept trying to make out what it was and the purpose of it. Someone told us that in the old days the King and his soldiers would look out over the sea from these well camouflaged rooms to see if any enemies were approaching over the water ways.







This tells us the sad story of 58 people who died in 2000:



An explanation of their deaths - 'the 58 Chinese who were found suffocated in a lorry in Dover, Britain on June 18. In court, the only 2 survivors of this tragedy relived the last desperate hours as 54 men and 4 women suffocated around them when the air vent was shut in order to evade the authorities. They described how they pounded on the side of the lorry and screamed for help as they gasped for breath and how they kicked at the doors of the sealed truck as the air ran out during their hellish journey.'



Getting nearer to the Castle, more uphill walking to do:



And there it is:



On the way back we have lunch and then take some time to sit down and marvel at the blue of the water and the sky:

[mich64]

Really enjoying your journey Deyana, the photos are wonderful. The thatched roofs are quite enchanting.
Cheers,
Mich

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Thanks, mich.

[mickthecactus]

Where you had the stairs and houses built into the wall- that was originally a railway line and terminus where holidymakers used to come in to and be right on the beach.

My great grandfather was a wealthy fishing boat owner in Ramsgate (he owned 3 at one time and I have a model in a case of one of them). When he died in 1936 he was thought to have been murdered for his money as he was found on the ground with a head wound. However, what had happened was that he had gone for a walk wearing metal tipped shoes, slipped on cobbles and split his head open. He is still wel known in Ramsgate and when I went into the museum a few years ago to find out more the curator immediately knew where to look and produced the newspaper report of the time.

[mickthecactus]

Dover Castle -



A view from the top of the castle -



Interior views -

[mich64]

Thanks Mick, the area is absolutely gorgeous. I now definetly think we will have to plan a trip to England in the coming years. I had no idea how beautiful Dover area was. We often fly over it when heading to Paris but now I think we will have to plan a vacation there. Just so lovely.
Cheers, Deyana and Mick

[mickthecactus]

If you look on the map you can see Broadstairs right by Ramsgate.

We were there in February (winter by the sea!).

Here's some pics -

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You have such an interesting history, mick. Thanks for telling us more about these towns. Knowing the details just makes them more intriguing. I just love your photos of Ramsgate and Dover. And of Dover castle, the view from the top is really good. The inside of the castle is really something to see. I enjoyed viewing your photos.

[mickthecactus]

You're welcome Deyana.

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Except for a few architectural details, the southern coast of England looks very much like the northern coast of France -- I wonder how that could be?

The weather when you went, deyana, is the "correct" weather for the area. Whenever there is bright sunshine, it seems unusual and weird.

In Dover, at least some of the time, you should be able to see the coast of France.

I like the art on the walls. Imagine how depressing it could be if all of those wall were blank.

[mickthecactus]

If you mean the one above Francos Canadian it seems slightly incongruous for a pizza shop........

[spindrift]

I've really enjoyed all the photos. This is an area of England that I do not know at all. Broadstairs looks exceptionally picturesque.
Deyana you must have spent most of your time in England travelling around. What are your overall impressions? Would you like to return and live in the UK?

[Deleted]

Kerouac, yes, I have heard that the coast of France can be seen on a good day from Dover. A few years ago I took a ferry over to France and I kept looking out for it.

Spin, I don't see myself living the UK permanently again. But I may stay over for longer periods of time at some point. My overall impressions are that things just keep on changing, nothing stays the same. Even five or six years can make a big difference to a place. Glad you enjoyed the photos.

[patricklondon]

Ramsgate has another claim to fame, as the home of the architect Pugin, who designed much of the Houses of Parliament and was a great campaigner for the Gothic Revival and all things mediaeval:

www.landmarktrust.org.uk/news/grange.htm

[Deleted]

That's interesting, thanks for the link, patrick.

[joanne28]

I spent a couple of days visiting a friend in Broadstairs in March. We did a cliff walk from Ramsgate to Broadstairs and were blessed with a lovely sunny day. Broadstairs is very picturesque. It also is very Charles Dickens-oriented, as he spent time there and there are plaque everywhere saying he lived there for 6 months or a year or whatever. There is a house which inspired his book "Bleak House". Very interesting and fun.

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Charles Dickens is well represented in the Kent are I found. Joanne, how long did it take to do that cliff walk from Ramsgate to Broadstairs? Was it an easy thing to do?

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I looked at all of these photos again and enjoyed them even more the second time.

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You know I love ya.