Ramsgate: Regency elegance on the Kent coast

Until recently, to me, Ramsgate was just a lesser known Channel port, but a fleeting visit early last year radically changed this. We'd failed to get to France for Easter, so spent a couple of days exploring this corner of Kent and really liked what we saw. What's more, as it's so close to London, we've returned a couple of times since.

The big surprise with Ramsgate is the quality of the architecture, big sandy beaches and its bustling, scenic harbour – Britain's only royal harbour, a status granted to the town by George IV. Street names such as Nelson Crescent, Wellington Crescent and The Plains of Waterloo all obviously date from this period and elegant Georgian terraces shape the townscape. A century later local resident Pugin put his stamp on the town with his distinctive Grange and several other buildings. Blue plaques noting the town's many illustrious visitors punctuate the buildings and reveal just what a fashionable resort Ramsgate used to be. Over the years, fortunes have fluctuated for neighbouring Margate and Broadstairs, too, but things are definitely picking up and being only 75 minutes away from St Pancras on High Speed 1 means the so-called 'DFLs' (Down From London) will only get more numerous.

It's a great area for food and drink and I've already mentioned Canterbury's amazing Goods Shed in an earlier post. I'll be covering recommended local restaurants separately, but here are some pictures of Ramsgate basking in glorious sunshine at Whitsun.

Mahon, Xoriguer gin and a taste of British naval history

While staying in Mahon earlier this year, an unexpected treat was a visit to the Xoriguer gin distillery. I particularly like gin and I hadn’t realised Menorca had a tradition of producing it. I’d been familiar with Larios from southern Spain as I used to sell it back in my Oddbins days in the early 1990s, but Menorcan gin has been a very welcome recent discovery. I didn’t expect it to be so good or to have such an interesting history.

Es Castell at the mouth of the harbour, looking out to sea

For a number of centuries Mahon has been of great military significance due to its enormous natural harbour, and in the 18^th century it became the capital of Menorca while the island was under British rule. The city’s distinctive Georgian architecture is an elegant legacy of this period, as is gin; while stationed on the island, the high-ranking naval personnel didn’t want to forego their favourite tipple, so distilleries opened locally in response to this market. (Port Mahon features in Patrick O’Brian’s Master and Commander from the Aubrey-Maturin series.)

An alley in Mahon leading down to the harbour 

A Mahon street

By the time British rule and naval presence came to an end in the 19^th century, the taste for gin was well established on the island, although during the 20^th century the number of distilleries dwindled and Xoriguer is the only one to remain.

Standing outside this historic building down on the quayside of Mahon, you immediately appreciate the vast scale of the harbour and how the city perches practically overhead, keeping watch for any unwanted visitors.

The Xoriguer distillery is worth a quick visit to see the traditional old stills and to taste the range that includes liqueurs (coffee: particularly good) and make purchases in the shop. Xoriguer gin is marked by its pure, aromatic style, dominated by juniper, with a ‘secret’ mixture of herbs. 

A couple of the old stills, with American oak barrels in the background

The tasting area in the shop

Unlike most gin, it is based on grape spirit and is made traditionally on a small scale of 500,000 litres a year (Gordon's produce over a million cases a year), without the use of any additives. It is easy to sip neat (at only 38° proof) and is served locally mixed with bitter lemon (pomada), lemonade or with a small splash of soda or tonic and a slice of lemon. In our case we had the privilege of enjoying Xoriguer and tonic with lemons freshly picked from my mother-in-law’s garden, who we were visiting at the time – bigger and more intensely lemony than any I’d ever tasted. Total bliss for such a gin and tonic lover. Now, where's my glass...

Destilerias Xoriguer

Anden de Poniente

91 Mahon (Menorca)

http://www.xoriguer.co.uk/

http://www.thedrinkshop.com/products/nlpdetail.php?prodid=2713