Ramsgate’s Steps, Ladders & Chines

Kent Steps (Pugin Steps) | Augusta Steps ( Rainbow Steps) | Jacob’s Ladder | Screaming Alley Steps | West Cliff Chine | East Cliff Chine

Ramsgate features a series of famous historic and artistic cliffside stairways that connect the upper town and promenades directly to the Royal Harbour and seafront. Because the town is built along high chalk cliffs, these steps have served as vital thoroughfares for centuries. Two have been transformed into vibrant public art landmarks. They’re well worth climbing/descending and provide excellent photography backdrops. As do the two ‘Chines’ (landscaped, ornamental walkways that connect the clifftops to the beach and the under-cliff promenade).

Kent Steps (Pugin Steps)

Travel down the 32 steps and then turn around to look at the tiles! These tile designs were created by local students from Royal Harbour Academy and Chatham and Clarendon Grammar School. The average age of the students was 13 – the same age as Pugin when he took up his first draftsman apprenticeship. The students studied Pugin and his tile designs before creating their own version, inspired by his work. The tiles were installed in March 2020 following a year-long project funded by Historic England, and there is an information board explaining a bit more about the initiative at the top of the steps and at the end of Kent Place.

  • Leading down to : Harbour Parade
  • Leading up to : Maderia Walk
  • Step Count : 32

Augusta Steps (Rainbow Steps)

Back in 2014, Ramsgate Town Team put a call out to paint these steps and 30 volunteers across Thanet turned up to complete the project in 2 days. The local schools also created artwork with the theme ‘Colours in Ramsgate’ to complement each landing. In 2017, the team refreshed the steps and added new artwork from the infants and junior schools in Ramsgate.

Jacob’s Ladder

Jacob’s Ladder is a historic Grade II listed stone staircase linking the cliff top (Royal Parade) directly to the Royal Harbour below. Built in 1826 by harbor architect John Shaw, it features ashlar stone steps and a dog-leg design framed by rounded flanking towers.

It replaces an earlier 1754 timber staircase named after Jacob Stead, the carpenter who originally built it. The steps emerge near the Sailors’ Church and provide a direct, albeit steep, pedestrian route while offering views of the marina and its vibrant arches.

Screaming Alley Steps

The pedestrian pathway and staircase right next to the historic West Cliff Lift are locally referred to as the Screaming Alley Steps.

They connect the West Cliff Promenade down to the Western Undercliff beach area and Military Road. The path itself earned the historic name “Screaming Alley” due to a local legend about a horse and cart that tragically went over the cliff edge at that exact point.

The adjacent structure is the Grade II* listed, Art Deco Western Undercliff Lift (built around 1926 but currently out of service).

Because the lift is closed, these steep cliff steps remain the primary direct pedestrian route down to the Western Undercliff Beach.

These steps are not as photogenic as the other steps (described above), but they do lead to Ramsgate’s quieter, less well known beach.

West Cliff (Courtstairs) Chine

The West Cliff Chine is a Grade II-listed ornamental walkway located about 1.2 miles west of the Royal Harbour. Built in 1926–1928 by the famous landscape firm James Pulham & Son, it features a sun-dappled gorge path winding through high rockwork banks, a tunnelled section, and an arched bridge. It was famously opened by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) in November 1926.

The West Cliff Chine does not provide a practical step-free route for wheelchairs or prams. While it was historically constructed as a sloped, single-track ornamental walkway and road, it features very steep gradients, uneven surfaces, that make it unsuitable for unassisted step-free access.

East Cliff (Winterstoke) Chine

The East Cliff Chine in Ramsgate is a historic, Grade II listed coastal pathway. Built in 1936, it directly connects the clifftop Winterstoke Gardens to the lower promenade and East Cliff Beach, serving as the last coastal construction by James Pulham and Son.

MAP

The following map shows the locations of Steps, Chines and Step Free/Road Access from Dumpton, East Cliff and West Cliff areas to coastal paths/Undercliff areas.

📍 Addresses :