Journey home from East Kent

After breakfast in a souless chain we say farewell to the beach.  Some youngesters are paddling, look carefully!  Envy! 

We stop and have a walk by the sea at Herne Bay.  This Victorian resort is verging on genteel.  The pier has been truncated.  Look closey and you can see it's surviving end on the horizon.  Like many Victorian piers it was beset with problems, closed in the mid nineteenth century and then collapsed. 

In 1837, Mrs Ann Thwaytes, a wealthy lady from London, donated around £4,000 to build a 75 feet clock tower on the town's seafront.  It is believed to be the first freestanding purpose built clock tower in the world. 

Amy Johnson, (1903 – 1941) was the first female pilot to fly alone from Britain to Australia. Flying solo or with her husband she set numerous long-distance records during the 1930s. She flew in the Second World War as part of the Air Transport Auxillary.   On 5 January 1941, while flying an Airspeed Oxford for the ATA from Prestwick to RAF Kidlimgton near Oxford, Amy went off course in adverse weather conditions. Reportedly out of fuel, she bailed out as her aircraft crashed into the Thames Estuary near Herne Bay.

The crew of HMS Haslemere spotted Amy's parachute coming down and saw her alive in the water, calling for help. Conditions were poor; there was a heavy sea and a strong tide, snow was falling and it was intensely cold.  Lt Cdr Walter Fletcher, the commander of Haslemere, dived into the water in an attempt to rescue her.  However, he failed in the attempt and died in hospital days later. The current pushed Johnson closer to the ship. A sudden swell sent Haslemere lurching foward; the crew was unable to pull it back in time and the ship's stern crashed down on Amy who was sucked into the blades of the propeller. Her body was never recovered.

A memorial service was held  in the church of St Martin in the Fields on 14 January 1941. Walter Fletcher was posthumously awarded the Albert Medsl in May 1941.itThere is still some mystery about the accident, as the reason for the flight is still a government secret and there is some evidence that besides Amy and Fletcher, a third person (possibly someone she was supposed to ferry somewhere) was also seen in the water and also died. Who the third party was is still unknown.

It has been more recently hinted her death was due to friendly fire.  In 1999 it was reported that Tom Mitchell claimed to have shot the heroine down when she twice failed to give the correct identification code during the flight. He said: "The reason Amy was shot down was because she gave the wrong colour of the day [a signal to identify aircraft known by all British forces] over radio." Mr. Mitchell explained how the aircraft was sighted and contacted by radio. A request was made for the signal. She gave the wrong one twice. "Sixteen rounds of shells were fired and the plane dived into the Thames Estuary. We all thought it was an enemy plane until the next day when we read the papers and discovered it was Amy. The officers told us never to tell anyone what happened."

Now it is time for the long drive home.  We are looking forward to being reunited with our bunny but have really enjoyed pur time in the South Eastern corner of our country.  

Day 4 Trip to Broadstairs on the train

The Premier Inn is next to the station and it is only five minutes to Broadstairs on the train. We wander towards the sea and discover Dickens House Museum.   Charles Dickens had a long connection with Broadstairs from 1837 to 1851. The museum is housed in the cottage that was Charles Dickens’ inspiration for the home of Betsey Trotwood in David Copperfield. David’s description of Betsey's cottage with its square gravelled garden full of flowers, and a parlour of old fashioned furniture still fits today.  But we arrive at beer o'clock, so the museum is shut. 

There is a row of houses and shops from the same era overlooking the harbour.  It is very picturesque. 

The town lies above a harbour with cliffs on either side. It has seven bays of golden sand, which are (from south to north) Dumpton Gap, Louisa Bay, Viking Bay (below) Stone Bay, Joss Bay, Kingsgate Bay and Botany Bay.  North Foreland rises between Stone Bay and Joss Bay.   In AD449 the Viking Hengist actually landed near Ramsgate at Pegwell Bay. Today there is a replica Viking long ship on display at the site. This replica was actually rowed across the North Sea in 1949 and landed at was then called Main Bay in Broadstairs It is now renamed Viking Bay in honour of this event.

The Shrine of Our Ladye Star of the Sea was an old chapel on the cliffs.  Dating back at least to the 1350s, the two towers of the chapel were a major landmark for sailors in the area. 

The Chapel of St. Mary is all that remains of the shrine and is the oldest building in the town.  It is now a micro pub and book shop.  Funky! 

We visit The Thirty Nine Steps next.  No prizes for guessing the nature of the memorabilia here!  This is a great, busy little pub and the Adnams Ghost Ship is heavenly.  

Next we have a short walk beyond the station to the smallest micro brewery cum pub in the country.  

It is named The Four Candles in honour of Ronnie Barker who is said to have been inspired to write the famous Four Candles sketch whilst on a visit to Broadstairs to see his comedy partner, Ronnie Corbett.  Corbett had a holiday home next to the Charles Dickens public house and just along from H. E. Harrington's general ironmonger business that is famed for stocking everything you could possibly need.
Barker, who wrote under the pseudonym of Gerald Wiley, is known to have noticed Harrington's wide and diverse stock. This gave him the basis of an idea that he then developed into the classic 1976 Two Ronnies BBC sketch that starts with a customer who walks into a hardware store and asks the shopkeeper for "fork handles".
The premises now known as The Four Candles pub, was a hardware store for many years, before going through other, briefer, incarnations as a florists, delicatessen and exotic meat shop.

Mike gives us a very warm welcome and has a great rapport with the contented band of drinkers.  The ale is really good.  Read more at Mike's great website here http://thefourcandles.co.uk/

I snap a photo of the site in the old days.  

We have to run to get the delayed high speed train which is a lot of fun.  

We arrive just in time for a lovely sunset.  

And then it's back to the Fez via fish and chips! 

Day 4 in South East, Second day in Margate

Today we take a wander in the Old Town.  The museum has limited opening and is shut today.  His is a shame, it would be nice to see if there is anything there about JMW. 

Above is The Tudor House, also shut, but presumably exactly what it says on the can!  Pretty, anyway! Next time! 

The Shell Grotto is open and quite interesting.  The earliest reference to it's discovery appears in an article in the Kentish Gazette of 22 May 1838, announcing the forthcoming opening as a public attraction. 

It has remained in private ownership ever since.  The grotto is an ornate subterranean passageway, the surface area of the walls and roof is covered in mosaics created entirely of seashells, totalling about 190sq metres of mosaic, or 4.6 million shells.  The Grotto is a Grade I listed building and is open to the public for a small fee.  There is a cafe and shop attached.  

The age and purpose of the grotto remain unknown. No scientific dating has been undertaken to my surprise.  In addition, the purpose of the structure is unknown, and various hypotheses have dated its construction to any time in the past 3,000 years. The theories include:

It was an 18th or 19th-century rich man’s folly

It was a prehistoric astronomical calendar

It is connected with the freemasons. 

To me, it has a spiritual component.  It reminds me of the baños arabes in Spain, and my own theory is that,  unbeknown to historians, Moors arrived in Britiain and constructed this subterranean Mosque. 

In front of the Premier Inn is a pool, which I assume is for sea water swimming but later discover to be a boating lake. Silly! 

An evening in Margate, Day 3 continues

T o N finds his favourite micro pub!   The Fez, on the High Street, is run by the lovely and knowledgeable Phil from the North East.  Situated in an old style shop (what I would call a 'proper shop'), which probably retains it's original disressed floor, the cosy space is all decked out with 50s furniture and gadgets.  It is great fun and the beers are in very good condition. 

Third Day in the South East Corner: Margate

Here is today's route.

We start off in St Leonard's with coffee and croissants at Jempson's, a local firm which has done well for it's self.  I can see why.  The shop combines the new with the traditional and succeeds.  If only all high street shops were like this.  

Next we visit the corner where T of N grew up.  The college has dissappeared, perhaps new housing will take it's place.  

We take a break at Canterbury, but on this occasion only have time for a picnic by the river. The huge cathedral tempts us but the seaside beckons, another time. 

Yes!  Here is our view from the Margate Premier Inn.  Not too bad!  

After a cup of tea we set off across the gorgeous beach to the Old Town. 

The Turner Contemporary Gallery is the tall white building the middle of the photo above, on the horizon. 

http://www.artfund.org/what-to-see/museums-and-galleries/turner-contemporary

Follow the link above for information and better photos of this wonderful gallery which opened in 2011 and has done wonders for Margate.  This once run down sea side town is clearly beginning to blossom and on the verge of becoming something great. 

Below is the view across the sea from Turner Comtemporary.  This view would have been enjoyed by the great J M W Turner himself as he frequently lodged on this very spot in Mrs Booth's Guest House.  

Joseph Mallord William Turner was born in Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, London in the spring of 1775.  His birthplace is just one block away from The Courtauld Institute of Art where my own Art Historian studied.   All British people have heard of JMW who is now considered the painter 'of light'.  His landscapes could be described as the forerunners of impressionism.  The watercolours on display in the gallery are very abstract, unheard of in this era.  It is free to enter the gallery and the exhibitions, so do not miss the watercolours.  

As you can imagine, the cafe has wonderful views. 

We step out along the harbour, admiring the galley once again.  

Next stop is the micro pub, Harbour Arms.  

T o N is settling in! 

Second evening in the South

After being closed for eight years, Hastings Pier has reopened to the public today following a £14.200,000 restoration project. The historic pier was shut down for safety reasons in 2008 and was then almost completely destroyed by a fire in 2010.  We wander down after our Jerwood Gallery experience.  Thunder one direction, bright sun the other.  The new pier is brilliant.  Wide, like a Spanish balcon.  

Next we visit The Jemny Lind.  This has a good range of well kept beers and a friendly welcome.  

Johanna Maria Lind (1820 – 1887), better known as Jenny Lind, was a Swedish opera singer, often known as the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she performed in Sweden and across Europe, as well as touring America. She was closely associated with Mendelssohn.  Jenny gave much of her accumulated wealth to charities, principally the endowment of free schools in Sweden. With her new husband, Otto Goldschmidt, she returned to Europe in 1852 where she had three children and gave occasional concerts over the next two decades, settling in England in 1855.  There is, however, no compelling evidence that she was ever in Hastings. 

In The Jenny Lind I enjoy a half of Long Blonde. 

We go back to The Crown for a lovely dinner then on to The Albion to listen to a string quartet.  I have never seen such a thing in a pub but it works incredibly well. The quartet is excellent, the music is soothing and the clientele is well behaved.