On Margate Sands & Beyond

Description:

Meeting in the beautiful parquet lobby of Margate train station, we will begin today’s walk by walking straight down to the seafront, passing the Nayland Rock Hotel and the famous bus shelter where T.S. Eliot wrote sections of The Wasteland.

From here, minding the whipping wind as we cross Margate Sands, we’ll take shelter in the Turner Contemporary to view the Katie Paterson & JMW Turner exhibition (26th Jan- 5th May). In this exhibition Paterson’s works have been curated alongside Turner’s paintings to explore our relationship as humans with the vastness and wonder of the universe; our desire to see the un-seeable, to know the un-knowable.

Entry is free to the Turner and there will be time to explore other exhibitions that may be open, peruse the excellent gift-shop and have some lunch either in the café or perched in the foyer eating your own.

We’ll continue our walk along the sea wall, passing an Anthony Gormley statute staring out to France, and ending at the magnificent Walpole Bay Tidal Pool. Swimming is optional for the brave; others can wait in the warmth of the utterly unique Walpole Bay Hotel bar, whose walls are covered in pictures and painted napkins of famous former guests of the hotel. We’ll end our day with a reviving drink and either walk back to the station together (half an hour back along the sea-front) or part ways from there.

Distance: 4km + (2.5 miles)

Difficulty: The walk is broadly flat and easy to walk.

Time: 2 – 4 hours.

Date: Summer 2019

Timings:

  • Meet at Canterbury West station in time to catch the 10.09 or meet at Margate rail station at 10.39

Walk to Turner via T.S. Eliot bus shelter: 30 mins

Time at exhibition (possible guided tour, TBC closer to the time): 1 hour

  • Meet back at Gallery Café having eaten either packed lunch in gallery foyer or in café: 12.45

Walk to Walpole Bay Tidal Pool: 20 mins

Swim: 15 mins

Drink at Walpole Bay Hotel: 40mins

  • Depart Hotel: 14.00
  • Catch Train back to Canterbury West: 14.53 (Arr. 15.24)

Please note: There are 20 funded places for University of Kent Postgraduate students covering a return train ticket from Canterbury West to Margate.