Today we are going to Ramsgate in Kent. We will spend four nights there, returning home on Friday.

We took a bus to St Pancras and while Tigger went for train tickets, I bought breakfast at Sourced, and then sat on the nearby seats from where I took the above photo.

Tigger joined me and together we went up the escalator to the HS1 platforms. Our train was already in the station and we went aboard.

Here we are crossing the Medway which means we are now in Kent.

Here is a glimpse of the Kent countryside through the train window – Photo by Tigger.

The journey was quite long because the train stopped at nearly every station but we reached Ramsgate at last.

We waited for a bus outside Ramsgate Station. The first bus to arrive was full and didn’t even stop. Not knowing how long it would be before a bus would have room for us, we decided to walk into town.

On a cool day this might be a pleasant stroll but on a sunny day and with luggage to drag with us it was hard work.

We were glad to reach town and stop for rest and refreshment at Caffè Nero. These days, they serve your drinks in disposable cups, even if you sit in – a sign of these Covid-19 times.

We cannot check into the hotel until 2pm and it is now 12:30. Cue lunch!

We looked around and spotted an establishment called the Coastal Bar that was advertising pizza. Two veggie pizzas and two ginger beers, please!

From the bar we went down to the harbour where our hotel is situated. Above is a quick snap of the harbour.

Our room is on the second floor, reached by two steep staircases (no lift). Above is a panorama of the room taken by Tigger.

As you can perhaps see (on the left), there is a kettle with cups and the makings of tea and coffee and an electric fan which we are running because the room is very warm. There also a suspended TV set whose main purpose seems to be to hit me on the head.

On a pleasanter topic here is the view from one of the windows.

The harbour is nowadays also a marina. Its formal name is Royal Harbour of Ramsgate, the royal title having been given to it by George IV after enjoying a number of visits to the town in 1821.

This is another view of the harbour area from a window in our room – photo by Tigger.

We stayed in the room resting and both of us dozed off. Through the window, we watched the clouds gather and the rain begin to fall.

Then the sun reappeared as you see in this contre-jour picture by Tigger.

There is so much to see from the window that we made tea and continued watching.

At about 8pm we thought we had better bestir ourselves and think about supper. We climbed down the two staircases and went out into the night.

The sun had set but the sky was not yet dark. Some of the boats in the marina had lights on.

We walked hither and thither looking to see what food was on offer. There were pubs and restaurants, all of them seemed packed and not making any concession to distancing.

We found a noodle bar and went in the investigate. Despite the open door and the board in the pavement, they informed us that they were not serving…

Next, we happened upon the Harbour Fish Bar. We don’t eat fish but perhaps they had something else on the menu? They did! Deep fried halloumi. Perfect! Deep fried halloumi with chips, twice, please.

Although it was mainly a take-away outlet, they had a few tables and chairs so we sat in for our meal.

I laughed when they brought our food: it was all in one box! We had to divide the spoils between us.

In truth, both the halloumi and the chips were delicious.

When we set out again, the sky was now dark and the moon was shining above the harbour, though it was playing fast and loose with clouds.

This is my last photo of the day, looking across a corner of Ramsgate Harbour towards our hotel.