Westgate on Sea Tips
Westgate-on-Sea is a seaside town in northeast Kent. It borders the larger seaside resort of Margate and is within the local government district of Thanet Borough. The town is notable for once being the location of a Royal Naval Air Service seaplane base which defended the Thames Estuary coastal towns during World War I. The town is the subject of Sir John Betjeman's poem, “Westgate-on-Sea”. There are several hotels and guest houses near the seafront, and the town centre has numerous Victorian canopied shops, a library and the three-screen Carlton Cinema. The Coronation Bandstand was built in 1903 to celebrate the coronation of King Edward VII. In 1925, the bandstand was refurbished and reopened as the 600-seat Westgate Pavilion theatre which is also a venue for discos, yoga, indoor bowls and dance classes. St. James' Church was built in 1872, and St. Saviour's Church in 1885. The town has sandy beaches at both St Mildred's Bay and West Bay. The larger of the beaches is at St Mildred's Bay. The beach is a short distance from tennis courts and a golf putting course. Westgate and Birchington Golf Club is an 18-hole course on the cliff tops between Westgate and Birchington.
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