Travel / Margate
48 hours in: Margate
When I first visited Margate sometime in the last century, the Isle of Thanet town didn’t have a lot going for it other than gaudy amusement arcades and decadent seaside nostalgia. Then along came Turner Contemporary kicking off a ‘cultural renaissance’ and a down-from-London effect that set Margate on a path of gentrification.
Instead of ‘pie and liquor’ and Mr Whippy, Margate’s menus are now awash with Monkfish cheeks, sourdough and salted caramel gelato. Move over Butlins (and boarding houses) and make way for a new breed of boutique hotels.
The latest, the Fort Road Hotel, prompted my latest visit when it opened in September. In this cool reincarnation of a once derelict hostelry, I found sea-view rooms and spicy deep-fried mussels on the lunch menu.
is needed now More than ever
The town is about to get another cultural leg up with the release of Sam Mendes’ latest film Empire of Light – starring the faded resort’s neon-lit 1920s Dreamland cinema. There’s lots to do here, even in winter.
And where else would you find shell-encrusted tunnels, the UK’s smallest theatre, a vintage theme park, drag artists, street artists, Tracey Emin (she’s a local), a museum dedicated to decapod crustaceans and a guest house run by the Libertines?
Find all the old-school rides here – photo: Thaney District Council
The big draw is the Scenic Railway (UK’s oldest rollercoaster – a bone-shaking ‘woodie’, first opened in 1920 and rebuilt three times thanks to a series of devastating fires). Now Grade II-listed, it’s the centre-piece of a Dreamland’s restored vintage theme park featuring old-fashioned dodgems, Funny Mirrors, Chair-o-plane, Helter Skelter and Hurricane Jets among other old-school fairground rides, plus street food and live events. Entry to the park is free; Scenic Railway tickets cost £5.
Marine Terrace, CT9 1XJ
See Anthony Gormley’s Another Time at the Turner Contemporary – photo: Thierry Bal
Designed by architect Sir David Chipperfield, the mega gallery opened in 2011 to honour the town’s relationship with the impressionist JMW Turner. Visitors can engage in a rolling programme of exhibitions, admire the architecture or lean over the sea wall out front and see Anthony Gormley’s Another Time – a lone cast-iron figure only visible at low tide.
The attraction’s 70-foot tunnel is encrusted with native shells (mussels, whelks, cockles and oysters) – around 4.6 million of them altogether. Nobody really knows who created this decorative folly, why or even when, but it was first discovered in 1835, and opened to the public three years later. There is a museum and a shop (lots of shells). In winter, open Thursday to Sunday.
Grotto Hill, CT9 2BU
This theatre claims to be the UK’s smallest theatre – photo: Lesley Gillilan
The UK’s smallest theatre was originally built as a coach house, but the red-painted Victorian building has been an independent, micro venue since 1984. There are only 50 seats, but the current owners manage to squeeze in a packed programme of comedy, cabaret, film shows and live bands, as well as piloting new shows and collaborating with Bristol’s Wardrobe Theatre.
Esplanade, CT9 2LB
“A vintage store on steroids” – photo: Thanet District Council
In a former ice-cream factory in a Cliftonville back-street, the place is piled high with old stuff: furniture, lamps, typewriters, barometers, doorknobs and assorted miscellany (lead soldiers, aluminium billy cans, an exploding cigarette holder or a Grundig radiogram). A vintage store on steroids, it’s the perfect place to spend an hour or two on a rainy day.
The Old Iceworks, CT9 2BN
The town’s newest attraction is a museum devoted to the crab – the only museum in Europe, they say, devoted to the diverse decapod (and ‘the only place on Earth where you can find out what Stephen Crabb MP has in common with a prehistoric shrimp’). Free entry; open Friday—Sunday.
Broad Street, CT9 1EW
Viking Coastal Trail
Hire bikes from £5 an hour – photo: Tourism @ Thanet District Council
Hire a bike and explore the Isle of Thanet’s coastline from Margate to Broadstairs (5 miles) and on to Ramsgate (3 miles). Following Regional Cycle Network 15, a circular route (32 miles in all) goes west to Reculver before heading into Kent countryside and looping back to the coast via Ramsgate. Bikes from £5 an hour from Ride in Margate.
Eat and drink
Go for classics like cockles, mussels, whole crabs and beer-battered cod – photo: Fleur Challis
Right on the seafront overlooking the beach, this family-run institution combines sea air (bag a table on the terrace) and all-day dining with a menu that majors on fresh-caught local seafood: from classics like cockles, mussels, whole crabs and beer-battered cod with chunky chips to rock oysters, Miso-marinated banana blossom and a mixed seafood boil (in a Louisana-style shellfish bisque). Friendly service, great atmosphere. Mains from £17.
44 High St, CT9 1DS
This hip but unpretentious café is a favourite with locals and worth the 15-minute walk from the seafront’s main drag. The breakfast-brunch menu features fluffy scrambled eggs or tofu on sourdough toast and tasty sandwich fillings caught between doorsteps of focaccia.
8 Cliff Terrace, CT9 1RU
The Lifeboat is a proper local – photo: Lesley Gillilan
Ale and cider in the Old Town, with fairy lights, sawdust-ed wood floors, regular live music nights and a big choice of craft beers (including Bristol’s own Moor, Wild Beer and Wiper and True).
Market Street, CT9 1EU
Where to stay
Margate’s newest boutique hotel is the nifty transformation of an abandoned former boarding house into a stylish hotel dreamed up by a collective of arty owners (including developer Gabriel Chipperfield, the son of Turner Contemporary’s architect Sir David). There are 14 boutique rooms (including a swanky penthouse suite), a restaurant with a seasonal menu, a Tracey Emin in the subterranean bar and a roof terrace with panoramic views. From £140 a night.
The hotel boasts a Tracey Emin in the subterranean bar – photo: Ed Reeve
18 Fort Road CT9 1HF
This is the Libertines’ gaff, a louche Cliftonville guest house with decadent, velveteen décor loosely based on the band’s braided jackets (lots of black, gilt and brass with pops of scarlet, crocodile print and Pete Doherty’s poetry). Add a dark Waste Land bar and an in-house recording studio. Rooms from £115 a night.
31 Eastern Esplanade, CT9 2HL
For more information on Margate check out Visit Thanet.
Writer Lesley Gillilan is editor/author of travel blogazine eye-traveller.com – for hotel reviews, destination guides and UK city architecture tours.
Main photo: Thanet District Council
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