Ramsgate Tunnels

Wet day forecast today so we decided to go into Ramsgate again and go underground in the Ramsgate Tunnels tour.  This is a series of tunnels that were dug just before the second world war, to provide shelter for the townspeople.  They were opened up again 10 years ago as a tourist attraction,  The tour starts off at the old disused railway tunnel that once took trains to a station adjacent to the beach, before branching off inland.

The tunnels provided shelter for the town from air raids, and some people whose houses had been destroyed lived down their full time.  There were various interesting stories told of people who had been down there and had  come back later and filled in some of the historical gaps, including children who featured in some of the photographs.  One came from as far as Australia to re-enact a photo of him and his mother on bunk beds, his mother's role played by his wife.

Postwar the tunnels were closed up, but local youths still found their way in.  There was one story told of a group who used to come down in the 80s or 90s and dress up in their finest and have "cheese and wine" parties down there.  They came back as a group on a tour to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of them first coming down.

After the tour we had some lunch in the tunnels (nothing else was open on a rainy Friday!) and then drove to Deal to have a look around the fort.  This was used from the 1500s up until the second world war.  There was a low level walkway around the whole of the bottom floor with windows out onto the moat which was most disconcerting to walk around - it was much longer than expected!

We then went for a walk up the front and out on the pier at Deal.  The wind was blowing a gale by this point and the waves were crashing on the very steep shoreline.

We finished the day with fish and chips from Sandwich, eaten in the car, and then returned to the cottage to finish off our dessert pizza.