The Isle of Thanet is a region in south-east Kent, England. 20 miles from Canterbury. It consists of the towns Broadstairs Margate and Ramsgate, plus also the villages Acol, Birchington, Westgate, Sarre and St. Nicholas-at-Wade. Historically it is best known because St. Augustine landed here at Ebbsfleet in 597 AD. Attractions include the Margate Shell grotto, Quex Park museum, The Margate Caves, Ramsgate Marina, Dreamland Amusement Park, Bleak House and Pegwell Bay Nature Reserve. Famous residents from the past include Jane Austen, Vincent Van Gogh, Charles Dickens, Karl Marx, George Bernard Shaw and Queen Victoria, most of whom visited the Isle, principally the resort Ramsgate for holidays.
The declining british holiday industry has meant that the Island has suffered economically relative to many other towns in the South-East of Britain.