But a storm in 1897 brought the rollercoaster’s life to a premature end. It proved a popular stop-off point for the paddle steamers bringing passengers along the Kent coast from London.Ī huge hit when it opened in 1881, it included a rollercoaster and even a theatre. The old Ramsgate had a short life but you can still see where it stretched into the sea. While you buy your parking ticket, a look out to sea will reveal where the wooden Ramsgate Pier once stood – jutting out to sea for some 550ft. Today it’s a nondescript car park with no indication as to what it once was. The pool itself has long since been filled in. It was demolished in the years that followed.” People were going abroad for guaranteed sunshine so they decided not to repair the pool and closed it down. “The council baulked at the price,” explains Nick, “and they realised, at the same time, the holiday market as a whole was changing fast. That’s the equivalent of in excess of £780,000 today. Thanet council got a quote to fix the problem – it came to £63,000. It affected both the drainage and refilling of the pools. The faults were serious and discovered by the end of the 1975 season. Thousands would flock to enjoy the water during weekends.īut, like so many such destinations in the county, the boom of cheap foreign package holidays saw holidaymakers scrap UK seaside jaunts for Spain and Greece and the guaranteed sunshine they offered. An outside swimming pool and boating lake, complete with selection of ascending height diving boards, Alongside it sat a sprawling cafe. It was here the Marina Bathing Pool complex was sited and opened in 1935. No sooner have you parked, you are walking on a historic site.īecause the unprepossessing car park which sits there today was once one of Thanet’s foremost attractions. It is reached by a steep slope – Marina Road – which comes off the cliff-top Victoria Parade. We start our walk back through time by parking in the car park at the far end of Marina Esplanade. You will be walking through an area once alive with industry and entertainment – a scene of train crashes, a lost pier, mysterious fires and one of the most unusual wartime retreats for an entire town.Īnd it will answer a key question which has perplexed many over the years – namely why is Ramsgate’s main railway station, upon which it relies for its steady stream of day-trippers – just so far away from the town’s most popular areas? The walk spans from the enormous split-level Royal Victoria Pavilion pub – better known simply as the town’s Wetherspoon’s – past 100-year-old lifts, a multi-million pound development, an intriguing network of underground tunnels rich in local history and along to the car parks which line the front but once played host to restaurants and outdoor pools. The Royal Victoria Pavilion - now Weatherspoon's biggest pub While the town still has its challenges, it can now once again compete with the likes of near neighbours Margate and Broadstairs. If you haven’t already, rediscovering this stretch of Ramsgate allows you to see a revival which – while not to everyone’s taste and far from complete – has breathed new life into the area. The crashing of waves was almost drowned out by the tuts from locals wondering where it had all gone wrong.īut today things have changed.
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