Now that the powers-that-be have opened up the barrier between the harbour and the port, us millionaires are spoilt for choice - take the high road out of town, along London Road, or the low road along Military Road, then out along the port access road and through our lovely, multi-million pound tunnel. I prefer the latter as, fittingly for the Cannes of Kent, it feels just like taking a spin along the jolly old Corniche!
Oddly, though, there were still a number of illegally parked foreign lorries waiting for ferries, which ferries, as we now know, will probably never come. The port itself was deserted. Not a sausage...
I guess it's a case of 'will the last lorry leaving Port Ramsgate please turn out the lights.' Oh, silly me. Kent County Council have already thought of that one too!
8 comments:
Richard old boy the pièce de résistance down there is returning from a day’s boating to find that one has parked across Ramsgate’s only free public sailing and fishing boat launching slipway.
You wind up with your boat in the water with the tide receding to the point you can’t get the trailer - which is trapped on the road – under the boat.
Yes, not only is it illegal but it's pretty selfish. Especially when there's no reason for it anymore!
Still, I've noticed one or two of the drivers frequenting the cafe and walking back from town with shopping, so it must do something for the local economy. Not sure they'd be shopping for books though!
Ramsgate being the Cannes of Kent is stretching it a bit far. Yes they have both have got a marina, but Ramsgate only has one, yes they both have sand, its just that Ramsgate Royal sands are blighted whereas in Cannes take your pick of the peaceful surroundings, yes they both have casinos, its just that the one in Ramsgate is close, Yes they have seaside hotels, about 4 in Ramsgate, over 50 in Cannes. Both have Macdonalds! And those covered fresh food markets in Cannes take a lot of beating.
And even Cannes has a English book shop, does Ramsgate have a French one? And when is Ramsgate's film festival on this year?
6.24
This year the Film Festival will mostly be at the prestigious Red Hall. Bring cheese and wine.
I went to Cannes once. It was August but you couldn't go in the sea because it was freezing cold and full of jellyfish. The restaurants and cafes were horribly overpriced and there wasn't much else to do. To cap it all, there was faint whiff of sewage wherever you went.
"Ah, but what about the film festival?" I hear you cry; to which I say: "Last week I saw Tree of Life, starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, which won the Palme d'or at Cannes. It was like having your toenails pulled out with pliers.
For me, Ramsgate has the edge. Apart from the Londoners, we aren't pretentious gits; we appreciate decent beer; when we order food in a restaurant we get a plateful dahn 'ere; we don't pay more than £50 for a painting and we have a harbour you can afford to moor your boat in.
P.S....and don't get me started on St. Tropez
An interesting point on c.£200M spent on pointless infrastructure (even tarmacking the car pack for the lorry drivers from tax). The Road to Nowhere was probably a leftover from Manston and ChinaGate - creating a cargo airport the size of Stansted on the quiet.
A bug bear - one of those little things that ruin the area like Michael's boat incident - is the cafe owners/beach amusements in the park and seafront parking their cars next to their cafe rather than 20 feet away on the road. The Port is largely car parks now too.
The Charlotte pub has a rather good film festival roster this weekend.
Anon 7.30, sorry that you hit Cannes when the weather was unseasonal but I spent a week in Ramsgate in about 2008 in August when it blew a gale for the whole week. And the next year was just as bad. The sewage smell is also unusual but I am sure it reminded you of when the boys of Southern Water were doing their best at the North Foreland. Yes food does cost 50% more than in the UK but I guess they earn more in France than in the UK. But why go to Cannes to drink beer? As for nothing to do you could have ventured out a little but using the buses. Even a 20 mile trip is only one euro, where can you go in Ramsgate for less than a fiver return?
A word to the wise, Man of Kent - and the word is "irony"... nevertheless I have always thought Madeira Drive's steep curves had a pleasantly Riviera feel to them.
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