Beaches
I would recommend a visit to Margate as a start for anyone exploring the Kent coast, and time your visit to catch a special "Turner sunset". JMW Turner, who had a deep connection with Margate, boasted that Thanet's skies were "the loveliest in all Europe".
Along the coast, between Ramsgate and Sandwich, is Pegwell Bay. You can walk to Pegwell Bay from Ramsgate via a coastal path. This spectacular sweeping bay is a great spot for kite-surfing and its large nature reserve makes it a unique bird watching location (kentwildlifetrust.org.uk).
Beaches such as Botany Bay, just outside Margate, with its chalk stack, as well as Broadstairs and Ramsgate, are clean and the water is warmish for sea swimming. Do check out the tide timetable and swim on a high tide.
Culture and arts
Art flourishes in Margate with Limbo (Substation Project Space, 2 Bilton Square), an artist-led organisation that provides affordable artist studios, a gallery/project space and a programme of exhibitions, artist residencies, events and off-site projects. The Old Town also has a range of other small galleries.
Things to see and do
Tucked off the seafront Margate's Shell Grotto (Grotto Hill) is not to be missed. Discovered in 1835, the underground cave is decorated with millions of shells. The origins of the grotto remain unknown but it is a fascinating place which continues to inspire artists and audiences.
The Secret Gardens in the medieval town of Sandwich were originally designed by Edwin Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll and at the heart of them lies the Grade I-listed manor house, now a boutique hotel, called The Salutation (Knightrider Street. Doubles from £160).
Cycling in this part of Kent is easy given that the terrain is flat. Take the cycle path which runs from Kingsdown, past Walmer and Deal castles and continues to Deal pier. I particularly like the beautiful gardens at Walmer Castle (Kingsdown Road, Deal).
Where to eat and drink
In Cliftonville, Fort's Cafe (8 Cliff Terrace) serves home-cooked food using locally-sourced produce such as vegetables from the town's Windmill Allotment Project.
The No Name Shop (1 No Name Street), in one of Sandwich's oldest buildings, offers delicious French cheeses and charcuterie as well as freshly-baked bread and pastries. Pop upstairs for lunch at Le Bistro. I like the ambiance at The Black Douglas Coffee House (83 Beach Street) in Deal.
The cliffs around St Margaret's Bay and Dover are spectacular and the National Trust cafe (Langdon Cliffs, Upper Road) at the White Cliffs serves great tea and cake with wonderful views out onto the busy the Channel.
• Victoria Pomery, director of Turner Contemporary. The current exhibition 'Curiosity: Art and the Pleasures of Knowing' runs until 15 September. This Hayward Touring exhibition, curated by Brian Dillion, transformed the gallery into a cabinet of curiosities as science and art, reality and fiction, ancient and modern coincide. Follow on Twitter @TCMargate
