British summer time – Part I: Hiking from Margate via Broadstairs to Ramsgate in Kent
This is going to be the start of a little series that I’ll put on for you lovely readers of my blog, featuring those wonderful places I discovered over the years for a day or a weekend away in the United Kingdom in summer.
Many British seaside resorts have seen tough times. The British have always loved the seaside and towns like Margate and Ramsgate were once popular destinations for weekenders – until air travel became more affordable and drew visitors to other destinations. In the years that followed, their reputation suffered. But with many hipsters and artists fleeing the big city in favour of seaside charm in commutable distance to London, the formerly frowned-upon resorts are undergoing a renaissance.
The hike was organised by Colin from the Meetup group London Explorers and started bright and early, at 7:30 am at St. Pancras Station, from where we took the train to Margate. Once one of England’s most popular seaside resorts, the town became one of the hotspots for gang violence in the 1960s and 1980s and now sees an influx of creatives and hipsters moving to the seaside. We didn’t actually get to see much of the town since we went straight down to the beach. Colin’s plan was to hike along the beach as much as possible before the tide would come in and force us to move up. It was a lovely, sunny day but not too hot – in other terms, it was perfect hiking weather – as we hiked along the beach with the white chalk cliffs of Kent flanking us on the right. After more than five years in England, I have become accustomed to many things, including the fact that the decision on whether it’s hot isn’t made based on the temperature here but depends on the amount of sunlight. I was nevertheless a bit shocked to see people swimming in the ice-cold ocean on a day that measured no more than 15 degrees, while I was still wearing long sleeves.
As we drew closer to Broadstairs – located in between Margate and Ramsgate – the chalk cliff formations became increasingly stunning. Isolated pinnacles of chalk cliffs, seemingly eroded away from the remainder of the cliff by the sea, form part of a stunning scenery. At some point we walked through an arch in the chalk cliff and towards the beautiful Kingsgate Castle, on the cliffs overlooking Kingsgate Bay. It was built for Lord Holland in the 1760s as the stable block of his nearby country residence Holland House. Not long afterwards we arrived in Broadstairs, a very picturesque little seaside town with little alleyways and a lovely bay to which we headed for lunch.
After successfully defending our packed lunches against a bunch of rather aggressive sea gulls, Parul, Francois – both of whom I had just met on the hike – and myself decided to dip our feet into the water. Many kids were playing in the water, them too seemingly oblivious to the fact that it was toe-numbingly cold. It was a lovely vibe down at the busy beach, heaving with pale-skinned folk just like myself. With the obligatory post-beach ice cream from the delicious Chiappini’s in hand, we continued our hike towards Ramsgate, this time on top of the cliffs, which rewarded us with wonderful views along the coastline and over the ocean.
Throughout the hike, Colin kept reiterating that he was looking forward to the pub at the end of the hike, the Wetherspoons in Ramsgate. This became a running gag because apparently, Colin is very much drawn towards the Wetherspoons chain of pubs, which is known in England for being very cheap. We were all the more surprised when we found that this pub was right next to and overlooking the beach in Ramsgate and we were able to grab a table on the rooftop terrace. With gin and tonic being on offer for only 2.99 GBP (3.39 EUR), there couldn’t have been a better end to the hike than sitting in the sun overlooking the beach while sipping a delicious ginger & rhubarb flavoured gin and tonic, followed by fish and chips from the shop just opposite the pub for only 3.95 GBP (4.48 EUR). I’ll be back.
