St Margarets Bay St Margaret's Bay has a wealth of local and maritime interest and in the nearby Museum an exhibition of Noel Coward who was once a celebrated resident of St. Margaret's Bay in the early 1950's. The Bay and surrounding area for centuries was the haunt of smugglers, and the coastline was the scene of many wrecks, lying as it does off the Goodwin Sands, maps are displayed upon our walls along with much other interesting historical information,. As France is only twenty miles across the English Channel, placing The Coastguard "Britain's nearest pub to France", this part of the coast has seen a good deal of activity. At the time of the Napoleonic Wars, invasion was considered a distinct possibility and troop encampments occupied the Foreland Valley. The nearby Pines Gardens were an early 19th century military campsite.