A walk in Ramsgate

Like I said in the earlier post; at one point in our Ramsgate stay I went out for a walk on my own to have a look around. These stairs led the way from the marina walk up to the top of the cliff above.

I had no real idea of where I was going, apart from that I wanted to find the house that Vincent Van Gogh stayed in when he worked as a teacher at an all boys school here in 1876, in the years when he was trying to find his way, before he devoted himself completely to painting. It’s really interesting to walk around somewhere unfamiliar on your own, it feels slightly surreal, but also adventurous? Maybe one day I should go on a trip on my own, just for a different experience. I remember decades ago, when I used to work on a magazine, and I had to go to Folkestone for the day to take pictures. It was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. Not for any reason in particular; just the strangeness of being somewhere new, with no one else to share it with.

Even as seed heads poppies are so beautiful - aren’t they?

A Victorian wind shelter being used.

I had no idea where I was going at this point. I just followed my nose. This flint stone church looked really impressive.

The Granville, a huge Victorian Gothic style hotel that was converted into flats in 1947. Apparently the tower used to be even higher, but got truncated at some point. So quirky!

This sign above the entrance to the Ramsgate Tunnels caught my eye. I mean, how could it not? The Ramsgate Tunnels used to be part of the Victorian railway, that went straight out of London to the Granville Hotel. In WW2, on today’s date in 1940, 500 bombs were dropped over Ramsgate, destroying over 1,200 houses, and as a result about 300 families moved into the tunnels, that had already been added to so it could function as an air raid shelter. People lived there for the next five years, turning it into a subterranean town with shops, barbers, an underground hospital, and it even held concerts. You can see old footage of what it was like here.

The Pulhamite rock garden on Madeira Walk, built to entice holiday makers to spend more time in the town. Pulhamite rocks are in fact not rocks, but rubble and cement put together to look like natural rock.

And to our 21st century eyes it’s obvious that they’re fake.

How’s this for a mishmash of styles? And why is the brown and pink house turned on an angle like that?

Getting closer to the Van Gogh house now. I thought this Art Deco (I’m assuming) block of flats looked cool.

And this former deli, now a house, looked interesting too. Look at all them vintage pendant lights innit.

Knitted ice cream bunting. Well I never.

Saw a few of these flint houses. This one was the cutest.

And, the colour of this pub got my approval.

Tadaa! And here it is - Vincent’s old digs. I don’t know if you can see them though the curtains on the ground floor, but there was a vase full on sunflowers there. Like an homage.

And from sunflowers to weeds. I was out for a lot longer than I though I would be, so I started on my way back to the house via the marina. You have to admire weeds for being able to grow pretty much anywhere, like through the cracks of the marina wall.

Time for reflection.

And finally, these strangers, having some fish and chips, with a seagull eyeing them up.