Pegwell Bay dates back to as far as Roman times and is thought to be the site of where Julius Caesar invaded Britain. In 2017 a fort dating back to 54BC was discovered, confirming this fact. Fast forward the centuries and in 1969 ‘Ramsgate International Hoverport’ was open for business, officially opened by the Duke of Edinburgh. Local company Hoverlloyd had begun operating in Ramsgate in 1966, running trips around the harbour before opening this site to run services between Ramsgate and Calais. Pegwell Bay was chosen as the location as new roads could be built to ease congestion as residents didn’t want to see similar scenes to the congestion in Dover.
After two public enquiries the project was given the green light, despite the area being a protected nature reserve. Construction took just 9 months before the site was open and operational although it only lasted 13 years. After merging with Seaspeed in 1981, services gradually moved down to Dover and the remaining buildings were left derelict and later demolished by the 90’s. Today only a bridge and road markings survive.
Photos from Jameshovercraft.co.uk
Whilst the first photo dates back to the 1970’s, we’re unsure on the date of the derelict photos.
Photos from 2019
Source: HHVFerry.com
