Ramsgate is a town on the eastern tip of Kent. It boasts a glorious harbour and marina splendor worthy of the super yacht elite. It is proud to bear the title of Royal Ramsgate harbour, and fascinatingly is the only harbour in the UK to have a Royal title.
On a clear day you can easily see the coastline of France which is only 26 miles away. An important bit of information for this article, but also a geeky fact that enabled me to say that I am almost French when chatting up the girls! But it is true, here you closer to France here than you are to London!
Another geeky fact is related to its maritime significance is that it has its own meridian line which means clocks in theory should be set 5 minutes and 41 seconds ahead of GMT, and this article will show how Ramsgate really was ahead of its time.
Despite it's beautiful facade of Georgian townhouses and Victorian villas, Ramsgate has a dark secret. A subterranean network of tunnels spanning some 6 miles which thousands called their home in the darkest hours.
Let me tell you about this place where if you should find yourself down here some 80 years ago, time stood still.
Mid 1930's England, a period of rapid change. Recovering from the aftermath still of WW1 reconstruction and development ensued, new homes and estates of tree lined avenues and motor cars. However, across the English channel there was another war brewing and the people of Ramsgate knew what that would mean for them!
Our tour guide today explains that the world war of 1914-1918 had seen Ramsgate decimated by air raids by the German airships and bombers.
Ramsgate was a strategic target due to its infrastructure having a port, airport and essential rail links. The range of air craft warfare was in its infancy and greatly limited so Ramsgate was one of the few reachable places of significance.
The Ramsgate "Mad Mayor" in the late 1930s was so concerned about not only a repeat Ramsgates devestation of WW1 but worse as technology and ability had moved on, and so hatched a plan to provide a shelter for Ramsgates residents.
Incredibly after much lobbying he secured the money from the government and work began.
I grew up in Ramsgate, born in the 70's in Ramsgate hospital, spent the best part of 40 years here. There is no street I have not trodden, no short cut unknown but in my younger days when you had to create your own fun (before digital media) I never managed to be one of those kids that went into the "Wind Tunnels". It wasn't for the want of trying, like many other things at that time, it just never happened for me.
In the 90's there was only one way in that was accessible if you didn't want to get run down whilst trying to open a man hole cover, this entry point was visible when traveling by train from the London direction towards Ramsgate, a short distance past Broadstairs but just before the small Dumpton Gap platform on the left was a cutting in the chalk that spurred off towards the tunnel entrance. Now you can barely see anything for trees (it's bricked up now anyway) but my mates knew how to climb over the bridge wall and shimmy down the banks to the entrance.
This is what we called the wind tunnel, however our knowledgeable guide referred to this as simply the railway tunnel and the smaller wartime tunnels that linked into (and the reason I am here) it as "the windies" I think he is probably right....
Today I got to see for myself after all this time this place of mischief and legends in a way that my mates never could have in this world beneath our feet.
The entrance is on Ramsgates seafront at the opening of the Victorian railway tunnel, the soot still visible from the steam trains that ran through here 100 years ago. There was once a train station literally on the beach, now it is the site of some rather magnificent apartments, a development with its own huge controversial history I shall not labour today.
Though I have walked passed the tunnels entrance hundreds of times since it has been open to the public, I've never been too sure what to do.. let me explain...
It has cafe tables outside with parasols sort of shoved against the cliff face. A small notice board gives the time of the next tour and that's about it. I had never ventured in, I had never assumed you could without a ticket, or intention to buy one at least so I was really surprised when I stepped inside for the first time.
Firstly you are struck by the size of the tunnel, the entrance outside is reduced, once through you find it is cavernous and stretches further than the eye can see. The first kiosk you see isn't a ticket office, it is actually a cafe and for about 50 or so meters inside is a fascinating visitor center with exhibits, models, informational graphics. You can just wander around in this space freely.
Mid way up this section is another shack which is the ticket office and gift shop. I had ordered my tickets online and quickly received my tour tokens. Outside the ticket office again and further up are more exhibitions with historical pictures and artifacts which are all free to browse... You have paid for a tour, and that hasn't started yet.
So it is really worth knowing that you can still see many interesting things without doing the tour, but that said why come this far without seeing what this place is really hiding!
Onwards for the tour, a short information video, hard hat supplied we are led along a historical journey of conception and creation. Then into the tunnel network we go entertained with curious facts and real life stories from the guide.
I don't want to say too much more as it really is story best expirienced rather than told, but at one point we were all told to turn our touches off and experienced the truest pitch black darkness, I could not see my hand on my nose!
The tunnels remained open after the war, the people of Ramsgate appreciated the ease of getting around the town on one level, in straight lines. Though I am not sure I would have been so brave, the guide said gravely that people had been known to come down here and the batteries fail and be lost in the darkness. That's a story for the ghost tour I am sure!
The Ramsgate Tunnel tour is a 10 out of 10 experience for educational importance, fascination and curiosity. It is run by a passionate team of volunteers which is commendable, without them this world class attraction of deep historical importance would simply be the talk of legendary fable by those who once themselves were found lost in the darkness.
This should be a World Heritage Site.
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