Our main reason to visit Margate was to go to the Shell Grotto. I first heard of it from a friend about a decade ago, and it was one of those places I'd always meant to visit, but I forgot all about it until a couple of months ago, when I read about Diamond Geezer's visit there.
It's a curious place, somewhere between Victorian folly and ancient monument. Facts about it are fairly limited, which of course means that theories run rife, with associations and connections being made in all sorts of directions. Personally, I'm inclined to think it's a Victorian hoax, if only because all the other theories surrounding the imagery do go off in so many directions, most of which are spurious or tangential at best. Once you start roping in Hindu mythology with Egyptology and finding Masonic symbols in shapes that could be interpreted in any manner you want to, then it's a pretty sure guess that you probably don't really know what you're actually talking about, even if you are having a lot of fun coming up with the theories (and a lot of the theories are good fun, even if they are clearly hogwash).
It's an intriguing place to visit, and clearly a labour of love on the part of the people running it, and certainly worth a visit, especially if, like me, you appreciate eccentric people and places.
Another delightful eccentricity is the shell lady who presides over the museum's cafe. She's one of several lovely ladies, created by local artist Ann Carrington. The rest of them have been making regular perambulations around the town, but only at weekends, so we didn't spot any of the others when we were there on Tuesday, but I like them a lot.
I think it's the eccentricities which often make a place worth living in, and it delights me that Britain is still full of them if you know where to look.
