All summer long we will be keeping an eye on the pulse of our most famous traditional seaside resorts, examining the efforts being made to revive them, and assessing whether they are still worth visiting. This week Rachel Mills explores Margate.
Margate feels like nowhere else in Britain at the moment. Step into a pub, coffee shop or art gallery and you’re likely to encounter a super-cool A-lister, from actors like Pedro Pascal, Emma Corrin, Rami Malek and Olivia Colman to homegrown art icon Tracey Emin. As I write this, the Pet Shop Boys at Margate Main Sands are filming a new music video. After decades of decline, this seaside resort is now really on the rise.
Sea bathing for medicinal purposes (renamed ‘wild swimming’ by today’s Walpole Bay enthusiasts) first put Margate on the tourist map in the early 18th century. This was a genteel crowd, here to take a dip in cold water – modesty protected by a bath machine – and drink sea water (certainly not recommended these days). Steamboats from London arrived in the early 19th century, and then the railway came in 1863. Margate as a seaside resort was born.
The Dreamland pleasure garden and amusement park opened in the 1920s and tourism continued to grow until the 1950s and 1960s (the decade responsible for the divided brutalist apartment block at the train station).
But cheap package holidays abroad and a lack of investment at home caused the city’s demise. Major storms damaged the swimming pool, jetty and bathing pavilions, hotels were sold and shops boarded up. I grew up in the area in the 1980s and 1990s and Margate – especially the Old Town – was completely miserable. Although I suppose you could at least buy a cup of tea without being stripped naked. And there was a pretty good nightclub on the coast called Escape (which I promptly did for twenty years).
What is it really like?
It’s floating. It’s community spirit. It’s got brilliant festivals, quirky museums and attractions (hello Crab Museum and Shell Grotto) and an exorbitant number of live music venues – Dreamland is hosting everyone from Sam Ryder to Idles and Status Quo this summer, and then there’s the brilliant independent locations such as wonderfully grungy Where Else?, the Tom Thumb Theater and the Lido Cliff Bar.
The historic Lido complex probably best represents the spirit of Margate. Despite a revamp it still looks run-down from the outside – covered in graffiti and crumbling into the sea – but inside the Cliff Bar attracts some of the best musicians around (when The Libertines play Margate in 2024 it will probably be here).
You’ll be spoiled for choice when it comes to galleries (the Turner Contemporary led the regeneration, or some would say gentrification, of Margate), restaurants (book in advance), cocktail bars (bring your credit card) and amazing sunsets (the best in all of Europe , according to Turner).
New and updated hotels are popping up all the time, with two luxury, historic beachfront properties recently opening: Fort Road Hotel (fortroadhotel.com) and No.42 by GuestHouse (guehousehotels.co.uk).
Best of all? There are people who care. Rise Up, Clean Up stands on the beach every Sunday to clean up the hordes of people who don’t want to clean up their own litter. There are community gardens, food banks and a community shop, a soup kitchen at 101 Social and free creative events at spaces like ARK and Marine Studios. In short, this city has a soul.
What’s not to like about it?
Nothing can prepare you for the smell of rotting seaweed at low tide on the harbor arm. Such a beautiful place that smells so much is a mockery, which is only made worse by the colorful inflatables that meet their lonely end in the same corner. Litter is also a very big problem in Margate. That, and dog poop (especially in Cliftonville – the edgier part of town).
More investments are needed. The beautiful and historic Grade II listed performance space Winter Gardens, which closed in 2022, remains empty – although a recent £4 million cash injection should see it eventually reopen.
There’s a whole row of abandoned shops right near the entrance to Dreamland called Arlington Arcade. And Margate High Street is in a sorry state, as the closure of WHSmith last month left the Post Office homeless; I don’t go there often (unless I’m craving a Greggs) and the only tourists I encounter look lost and scared.
Do this…
Watching the sunset from Margate Steps is a must-do. Built as a sea wall (the old town has been flooded a number of times) this public space is a city hub and a social leveler where people gather over fish and chips every time it’s not Baltic. The sunsets are something else and along the road along the steps there are brilliant pubs that are also excellent viewing spots (Xylo, Little Swift, The Two Halves).
Eat this…
The absolute best place to eat in Margate is the family-run Italian Bottega Caruso in the old town. The service is excellent, the drinks excellent and the rustic Italian cuisine laughably delicious. And if you want to take some Italian products home with you, they just opened a little shop next door, La Cantina. It’s not cheap, but it’s exceptional.
But don’t do this…
I think I’m the only person in Margate who doesn’t like the opening night of an art exhibition. A polite tangle of people holding drinks and emerging from a gallery to a private view is almost a nightly occurrence somewhere in Margate. It’s all unbearable talk and people secretly looking over your shoulder at a celebrity.
From a local
“I love the autumn sunsets on the beach or a big winter storm rolling over the North Sea, even though it is one of the most beautiful places in England. But Margate has also been – for 300 years – the archetypal tacky seaside resort. This contradiction creates tensions, between the people who live here and day trippers (on a busy summer day I don’t even dare to leave the house!), and between local residents and recent arrivals. But underneath all that you will find a year-round welcome, great shopping and a cafees, and enough quirky, strange and unusual things to keep anyone busy for a long weekend.” – Dan, living in Margate since 2013
From a tourist
“I have spent many joyful weekends in Margate, it is one of my favorite places to visit. I like a dip in the sea, followed by Peter’s Fish Factory for fries. The Turner Contemporary is brilliant, but it’s also lovely to walk to Cliftonville – if you’re here for a longer visit I’d recommend the coastal walk from Margate to Broadstairs, which could only be improved with access to some public Toilets. On the way home from the train station I always stop by Big Shot for an affogato.” – Maria, London
Get there
High speed trains from London St Pancras take around 1 hour 30 minutes, although the non-high speed option (not via Ashford) is only around 8 minutes slower and cheaper. You can also travel from London Victoria to Margate in around 1 hour and 42 minutes. If possible, purchase tickets in advance. Parking options are limited and there is no free parking near Main Sands.
