Enjoying Thanet

Location

The Kentish countryside of rolling hills, woodlands and attractive villages is within easy reach, as are miles of coastline varying from sandy beaches to towering cliffs. The county of Kent also offers a rich array of historic attractions and magnificent buildings.

Shopping

Margate, Ramsgate and Broadstairs each has comprehensive shopping facilities. Many major High Street names are represented in the District and there is also a huge choice of independent shopping opportunities.

Out of town shopping centres at Westwood, including the recently completed Westwood Cross development with anchor stores, Debenhams, M & S & Next, are equidistant from the main towns offering hypermarket style food shopping along with retail warehouses & high street names.

Larger shopping centres are available at the Cathedral City of Canterbury (26km/16m) the Whitefriars complex, the County Town of Maidstone (72km/45m), and Bluewater, Dartford (92km/ 62m), Europe’s largest shopping complex.

History and Heritage

The Romans landed within Thanet’s boundaries, the Vikings invaded its shores and it was the UK’s first host

to Christianity. Amongst the famous who have visited are (Queen Victoria who holidayed at Broadstairs, King George IV who bestowed a Royal order on Ramsgate Harbour), artists (Van Gogh stayed in Ramsgate and Turner’s local sunsets and seascapes hang in the Tate and Royal Collection) and authors (Charles Dickens wrote many novels in Broadstairs).

Arts and Culture

In addition to an excellent selection of cuisine, Thanet offers cinemas, theatres, night-clubs and casinos. The Marlowe Theatre at nearby Canterbury stages a comprehensive programme of touring shows from London’s West End plus ballet, orchestral concerts and live theatre.

The area began to develop into the place we know today in the early 18th century, with the creation of a harbour in Ramsgate and the recognition of the power of the healing waters off the coast of Margate, which led to the town becoming the country’s first seaside resort. At around the same time, Broadstairs was attracting interest through Charles Dickens’ regular visits to the town

Tourism grew rapidly from the mid 19th century over the next 100 years, with the industry going into slow decline from the 1950’s onwards, due to foreign package holidays. The cumulative effect over many years had a considerable impact on Thanet’s economic position, with unemployment levels reaching a high of 18% in the early 1990’s.

Since then, work has been undertaken by the Council and its partners to regenerate the area, with a concentration on the area’s culture and heritage. In particular, this would focus on Margate, building on its links with Turner, and on revitalising Ramsgate’s maritime past with investment into the Royal Harbour Marina and town centre.

This concentration on culture led to Margate being named amongst the top 20 most creative towns in the country and in the top 10 towns of 2007 to watch in the future. Broadstairs fortunately escaped the worst of the area’s economic problems and continued to prosper.

In recent years, the emphasis has been – and continues to be – on preserving the character of this popular seaside destination.

Sport

The coastal environment of Thanet offers numerous opportunities to enjoy open air recreation. In addition to bracing clifftop and promenade walks, footpaths criss-cross the farmland. There are several equestrian centres, an indoor bowling centre and some of the South East’s finest bowling greens. Pitches and courts for many outdoor sports are available throughout the District for private and club hire. Indoor recreation includes a full range of sports’ halls, Gymnasia, health suites and heated indoor swimming pools.

Golf

Thanet has one 9-hole and three 18-hole golf courses, North Foreland at Broadstairs, St Augustines, at Cliffsend and Westgate and Birchington at Westgate. There are a  further two 18-hole courses close by at Sandwich including the famous Royal St. George’s, host to the British Open Championships. The Stonelees Golf Centre at Ramsgate offers quality par 3 and executive courses and a state of the art golf simulator. Driving range facilities are available at Stonelees and Greensole, Manston.

Watersports and Beaches

The 20-mile (32km) coastline encourages watersports and there are clubs and designated areas for jetskiing, waterskiing, windsurfing and scuba diving. Sea angling is popular from piers, promenades and boats. Golden sands range from quiet bays to busy beaches. Water quality is excellent and Minnis Bay, Birchington Westgate Bay & Westbrook Bay in Margate beaches, have all gained European Blue Flag awards.

Sailing

Ramsgate Marina within the historic Royal Harbour provides excellent permanent and visitor mooring facilities with 700 berths. The Royal Temple Yacht Club overlooks the marina. Broadstairs has more limited facilities for harbour mooring and a well-established sailing club as does Margate.

Next: Thanet Knowledge Hub

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