Ramsgate Tunnels - Kent

 Ramsgate Tunnels 

                                           Date: May 

                                           Location: Ramsagate

                                           Abandoned or Public : Public 

                                           Delmoished: NO

I've always wanted to explore the Ramsgate Tunnels. It's been on my "to do" list for a very long time. So, I had a free Thursday morning while my daughter was at nursery, and I headed to Ramsgate to take the first tour of the morning. I have to say, the tour was pretty interesting, and the amount you get to see is also very impressive. You get to explore a fair amount of the tunnels, and the tour guide provided a lot of good information too.

The Ramsgate tunnels were originally a trail line that ran for about 2 and a bit miles. They closed down in 1926, but reopened in 1936 for a short period of time. When World War II hit, a second phase of the tunnels was constructed to hold around 60,000 people during the air raids. Unfortunately, in 1940, 500 bombs were dropped by the Germans, destroying 1,200 homes and leaving around 300 families homeless. The tunnels became an underground town with shops, an underground hospital, and much more. However, over the years, parts of the tunnels became abandoned. After the war, the railway tunnel reopened around 1946 and then closed for good in 1965. The tunnels were left abandoned until around 2014 when they were opened as a tourist attraction.

Farthingloe AA Battery, Dover

 

                  Farthingole AA battery 

                                            Date: May 

                                           Location: Dover

                                           Abandoned or Public : Abandoned

                                           Delmoished: NO

I visited this HAA site back in 2018, but I was in the area again so I decided to check it out. Unfortunately, the place is still very overgrown compared to last time and has been left to deteriorate. However, the battery itself is very interesting and has many original features.

The battery was originally known as D1 battery and was used during WW2 as a heavy anti-aircraft battery. The layout of the battery remains the same, and it would have used 3'7 inch guns which were added at the start of World War 2.

There are two forts next to each other, and this is one of them

St John Fisher school - Medway

 St John Fisher 

                                           Date: May 

                                           Location: Medway 

                                           Abandoned or Public : Abandoned

                                           Delmoished: NO

I've known about St. John Fisher School being abandoned since the day it closed. Being a local, the news gets around quickly. I never went to this school, but I have friends who used to attend it. It's been on my "to-do" list for a very long time, and I finally had some free time on my hands. So, I met up with another group of explorers and went to check out the school. Once inside, which, to be honest, was pretty easy, we went looking around and exploring the building. There are homeless people living in there too, so it's best to stay away from the part they are living in as there are signs of life. The school is kind of the same size as most schools within the Medway area. This building was for year 9-11/sixth form, as the 7-8 had their own in a different part of town.

It's said that the school opened in 1964 but closed down in 2022 after a £40 million building was built to join both schools together.  in late 2023, the building was sold for £3.85 million to make way for around 139 homes.round 139 homes.