Ramsgate: Above and Below

One of my favourite sights - Ramsgate Harbour.

Yes, this was taken in December!

I have recently returned from a five-and-a-half week trip to Ramsgate, in the South-East of England, to spend Christmas with my family.

Returning home is always an odd thing after so many years living elsewhere. On the one hand, it is and will always be home and I feel comfortable as soon as I am there. On the other hand, it has undergone changes during my absence and so a part of me feels like an outsider.

Ramsgate Beach, the morning of New Year's Eve.

One of my favourite things about being back is the ability to walk... somewhere... anywhere! Living in Lexington, opportunities for walking are limited unless you first drive somewhere with a walking trail. I can walk in my small subdivision and then no further because there are no pavements to link us to the next subdivision, and so on.


But in Ramsgate, every morning I could go on a long walk through old neighborhoods, ending up at either the East Cliff or the West Cliff, then winding my way down to the harbour and back up through the town. A three or four mile walk with a dose of refreshing sea air. Walking is just easier and more pleasant there.

One of the windier days on the cliffs.

This time back in Ramsgate, I was pleasantly surprised to see that a lot of the old archway spaces alongside the harbour have been renovated and reopened into coffee shops, bars, and art galleries. In the summer, I expect it's a beautiful spot to sit and watch the boats come and go.

The Phoenix Queen - an artist's houseboat that resides in
Ramsgate Harbour

This was also my first time home since the opening of the wartime tunnels and so, a few days after our arrival, Nic and I made our way along there before they closed for the Christmas season.

The entrance to the Ramsgate Tunnels

Growing up in Ramsgate, I always knew about the labyrinth of tunnels that wound their way under the town and through the surrounding cliffs. Some - used by smugglers centuries ago -connected caves at Pegwell to long-forgotten outlets in Manston. Others were more recent - former railway tunnels, and those used as shelters during World War II. With entrances scattered around town, some intrepid explorers made their way down from time to time to see what remained.

The entrance shown in the photo was originally part of a railway tunnel, built in 1863 for the railway line that served to bring daytrippers down to the Ramsgate sands, dropping them off just feet from the beach. The railway line is now long gone, the main station having relocated to more than a mile away.

A replica of a typical family's living quarters in the tunnels.

In the late 1930s, as it became clearer that Hitler's advances in Europe would lead to war, the town's mayor put in a request to the British government that a series of shelters and tunnels be built beneath the town. Ramsgate's position on the coast made it a clear target. Despite several refusals, the go-ahead was eventually given and construction began. Although originally intended to provide short-term shelter, the tunnels would end up becoming home for many families, displaced by repeated air raids or the bombing of their homes.

For the last few decades, a group of dedicated locals have tried to get support for reopening parts of the tunnels as a museum. Finally, in 2014, the Ramsgate Tunnels opened. At present, a little over a mile of tunnels are open. It is hoped that more might eventually be cleared and made safe for visitors. Sadly, despite the opening of the wartime military HQ under Dover Castle, the secret wartime Navy base under Ramsgate (HMS Fervent) is expected to remain off limits for the foreseeable future.

The original signage for the tunnel railway.

The tunnels hold particular interest to me, not just because of their location in my hometown but also because of their connections with my dad's family. The museum features photos of his dad, who served in North Africa, and of other ancestors who were instrumental in the town's early lifeboat rescue service. Other family members operate the tea room, while another served as our tour guide.

After watching a short video, we donned our hard hats to walk the tunnels, viewing some of the entrances, reading the graffiti left by past generations, and hearing stories of life underground during the war.

Arklow Square Entrance

The tunnel beneath Victoria Road

After our tour, we walked home, taking the same route above ground that we had previously been taking below. Even if you're not local to Ramsgate, I'd have to recommend a trip to the Ramsgate Tunnels. The tour guides are incredibly knowledgeable and it really is a fascinating look back in the country's wartime history.

May Be Smaller Than They Appear

I've been putting off writing for several months because it always feels a little odd to be writing about a visit to my hometown from the perspective of a traveler. However, it is time to get back into the swing of things and today the topic is art.

When traveling, I always try to make time to find and view art that moves me, whether that is a trip to the Louvre or simply wandering through an exhibition at a local library. And over the years, I have typically found that it is the lesser-known pieces which inspire me the most. In fact, some of the most "sought-after" tourist must-sees are often the least impressive. During a visit to the aforementioned Louvre, some twelve years ago, we made the obligatory pass by of the Mona Lisa. When I finally was able to fight through the crowd, my first though was, "It's so small." The canvas is much smaller than you anticipate and, to be brutally honest, it's not that incredible a painting. My favorite part of the Louvre were the sculpture rooms; many were completely deserted and offered a delightfully peaceful opportunity to enjoy the art on display.

My husband had a similar experience several years ago in Brussels, when he felt obliged to locate the Mannekin Pis, only to later call me and disappointedly note how small it was.

But back to art and my recent trip to Thanet. One of the primary local controversies over the past few years has been the use of exhorbitant amounts of taxpayer money to build the Turner Contemporary along the Margate seafront. Regardless of whether you approve or disapprove of its construction, let alone its architectural design, the Turner Contemporary is open and claims to be doing a booming trade educating the artistically starved Thanet residents.

Margate's Turner Contemporary

Before traveling home, my family decided that they should visit the museum to see what all the fuss was about. After all, it seemed wrong to criticize unless they had seen it for themselves. This led to a disgusted phone call from my mother, not to mention an equally disgusted letter from my young niece, both of whom shared the verdict that if this was modern art, it could go back to where the sun doesn't shine. My mother then insisted that I visit it, to see if I agreed with her assessment.

And so I found myself walking along the Margate seafront one cold January morning, my mother and another niece in tow. Fifteen minutes later, we were walking back the other way. Yes, that is how long it took us to explore the artistic treasures of the Turner Contemporary (including a restroom stop).

So what exactly did I find inside? I was fairly excited since the local media had been promoting a new exhibition, Walk by Hamish Fulton (on display until May 7, if you feel so inclined). I needn't have bothered. Upon entering the museum, my eye was drawn to what, in retrospect, was the only piece on display worth seeing - Rodin's The Kiss. The only problem with this was that I saw an incredibly beautiful bronze of the same piece in the Rodin Garden at Stanford just a few years ago. Still, this was in a rather nice setting, in front of a large circular window with views across the English Channel.

Kissing by the Sea

I attempted to explore this floor further only to find a locked door, the bathrooms, and a classroom where there appeared to be some sort of workshop going on. Upstairs, then.

Upon arriving upstairs, we encountered a wall with several arrows painted on it, informing us of the  distance and direction to London and Eastbourne. Further round the corner was the exhibition: a large wall painted with random facts about walking. On another wall was a television screen showing a video of people walking around and round in a square on Margate beach. Hmmmm..... In the middle of all this, sat a member of staff who did not acknowledge us but instead continued to read her book. We tried the doors to the other galleries but they were also locked and again, the incredibly unhelpful staff made no attempt to interact with us.

So that was our very brief (and oh so uninspiring) visit to the Turner Contemporary. I saw much more of artistic merit on the walk from the bus stop to the museum, than I did inside this multimillion pound structure's walls. (For the record, my mother was even more furious, proclaiming that it now contained fewer exhibits than it had on her previous visit).

To be fair, we later learned that the main gallery was locked in preparation for an upcoming exhibition of Turner seascapes. All the same, the most popular part of the museum was the tearoom. During my six week visit, I encountered many people who said they love to visit the tearoom but have no interest in the museum.

Fortunately, I did come across some much more interesting and inspiring art a week or so later, during a blustery walk along the Ramsgate seafront. Bordering a large area that is currently under construction, I came across a series of murals dedicated to the town, all painted by local artists, both amateur and professional. From paintings by schoolchildren to a piece charting the history of the town library, destroyed by arson a few years ago and now rebuilt, the artwork here was personal, full of life, and showed the interaction of art and local community. Sadly, I did not have my camera with me and I flew back to Kentucky the next day, but I hope it is still there on my next visit as it represented what I feel art should be.

Where It All Started

Ramsgate Harbor

If I'm going to have a blog about my travels, and some of my favorite places, it makes sense to start with where I grew up. If you look at a map of the UK and find London, then follow the coastline out to the tip of the southeastern point, you find Thanet. Once an island in its own right before the channel silted up, Thanet is still affectionately referred to by residents as Planet Thanet.

Ramsgate, my hometown, is on the south side of the isle. Above you can see the harbor, marina, and part of the old Regency period coastline. It's from this harbor that I used to gaze across the English Channel toward France, dreaming of places I would one day visit. It's from the harbor that I watched the little ships return from Dunkirk in their reenactments of the World War II evacuations. The harbor remains my favorite place to visit when I am home, but to this day I wonder if it is because of the area or because of the freedom the sea promises.