What did the Romans ever do for us?

Well, they brought us here on the Kent coast plants such as Alexanders and wild fennel. As such Alexanders that we find growing around the coastline are a relic of the Roman Empire.


Until the 16th century, Alexanders was well used as a herb and vegetable when it was superseded by celery, which at that time underwent cultivation to become much milder root vegetable than it had previously been. Celery then overtook Alexanders, but it was still popular in kitchen gardens until the 18th century.

On one of my regular walks close to Margate the whole of the cliff top area is currently in full bloom with Alexanders.  They can grow up to 1 metre tall. They're at their best in April. The whole plant is edible. The stems can be blanched like celery, the flower heads treated like broccoli. The seeds remain on the plants into the winter and they can be roasted and ground. These black seed heads help you mark out where the plant will be for the coming spring.

Leaves are twice pinate, with dark glossy green final leaflets with fine toothed edges. You can't mistake them in flower with their yellow umbellifers.

Kent based Miles Irving's excellent handbook The Forager has a detailed history and recipes and also mentions that they are such an invasive plant and they as a company are currently engaged by Thanet District Council to remove them along the Kent coast!

My daily walks around Margate and its nearby bays and countryside have been the most positive aspects of moving here. Within minutes of my home I'm able to explore and more often than not find some hidden treasure. I paddle in rock pools in wellies on a daily basis. I highly recommend this pass time if bored of the gym or in need of meditation!

More info on cooking Alexanders: http://www.tracingpaper.org.uk/2007/04/15/alexanders/

Botany Bay and Kingsgate looking stunning on film with John Hurt

Settled down to watch John Hurt in the BBC adaptation of M R James’ Edwardian ghost story shot in Kingsgate and Botany Bay. We who live here know how stunning this stretch of coastline is, and it seems still to be one of our best kept secrets. Clean swept wild beaches of golden sand, dunes, rockpools and chalk cliffs with the remains of smugglers tunnels. It looks fantastic on film. Great photography and it brings home why I love living here.

Preview of the programme here:

Programme page here

One of the nicest things to do in our area is to walk from Margate to Broadstairs along the beach, taking in the series of Bays. Just check the tide is out and and it is possible to make it round without having to come back up to the cliff top. Tide table here.

Why do place names change?

Was just mooching through a lovely old 1836 map of Thanet from the brilliant website Old Ramsgate The Great War that I picked up via the equally nice blog Promote Thanet. I walk my dog most days out at Botany Bay and the name has always struck me as odd. Looking at the map it says it's called Barleymow Bay (that's me squinting and can't really read it that well). It's a lovely name. The Bay then goes round the corner to White Ness and then on to Kingsgate. Which reminded me of the small changes that have come in even over the last few years: The Parade is referred to in the media now as The Piazza and The Stone Pier as the Harbour Arm. Rebranding of place names without good reason sits oddly I think. What's the purpose? It's not as if there has been a disaster, some awful event which makes a name change necessary. Personally, names shouldn't be changed without good reason.

How to get around Margate area on foot

I've been thinking about how car based Margate is in terms of access to the main tourist spots. How does one get from Margate seafront to Botany Bay, Kingsgate and Joss Bay without a car?

The bus routes take people on shopping trips to Westwood Cross and serve housing estates so meander a lot in land.

If we had a lovely sea walk the same standard as Minnis Bay to Reculver, we would be able to provide a great pedestrian offering to visitors. The walk along by the Cliftonville Lido and Palm Bay leaves much to be desired. It's no wonder that families are not attracted to use it. Yet this stretch of seafront used to be a quality beach experience. It boasts stunning views and is a nice length of walk for day trippers. If we can join up the attractions people will open businesses such as outdoors sports and also find it more appealing to move to the vicinity.

Are there any plans to improve the seafront from Margate to Botany Bay?

This would presumably fit with the overall regeneration plans for Margate and Cliftonville.