Best Things To Do In Margate
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Dreamland
Built in 1843, Dreamland once boasted to have the largest amusement park in Europe, hosting an estimated 2. 6 million visitors each year. The success of the attraction grew, with a ‘Baby Dinosaurs’ display opening in 1986 which proved to be very popular. As time passed however, Dreamland struggled to keep up with its British counterparts, most notably Alton Towers and Drayton Manor Park. The Dreamland theme park was once the top of Margate's attraction list, but in the early 2000s, it was closed for financial reasons.
The 100-acre park quickly became a derelict eyesore with its fun fair rides rusted away behind a barbed wire fence, its once shiny wooden rollercoaster reduced to charcoal wood and its bright colors fading into an ever-looming shade of grey, This is Margate (thisismargate.co.uk). The closure was eventually temporary, but the park never really recovered from it. Ambitious plans were designed to transform it into a major theme park to rival Disneyland, but its fortunes continued to wane. Eventually in 2012, the website for Dreamland was replaced with one for Margate Sands Resort.
Since the demise of Dreamland, a number of people have suggested various ways to bring the 19th century funfair back to life. In 2008, it was agreed that Spaceport would be developing the site into a space and science museum after investment from South Thanet District Council secured the deal. Despite the closure, few people can forget the incredible Dreamland Park, which once drew in thousands of visitors every year. In recent years, there have been numerous campaigns to revive the park and return it to its former glory.
Theatre Royal
Theatre Royal is an intimate, medium sized venue. It has a black box/ studio theatre feel to it despite being a larger venue. There are no frills to this place. Simple wooden floor and tiered seating with a bar & loos in the back of the venue. Facilities for wheelchair users can be quite adequate and really depends on which row your in and if the aisle is wide enough for them. The theatre is also quite popular as it houses international touring shows and so we sometimes get some big name comedians performing at what you might call small scale venues now.
Before dinner we had a quick stroll around the main attraction of Brighton; the stunning Royal Pavillion Palace Brighthelm. Completed in 1811 this colossal palace is located on top of the cliff and offers a magnificent view of the entire city. The palace has been used for several occasions as home by Prince Regent George IV until he became King George IV, its last royal resident. The Theatre Royal has stood on this site, at the junction of Bridge Street and New Row, Newcastle upon Tyne since 1787.
Few people know its hidden history. It is now a thriving regional gallery venue. But at its foundation lies a fascinating tale of crime, tragedy and corruption. This was elaborated on in a recent article in The Stage by theatre historian Roy Palmer. Liverpool is, of course, the birthplace of the world wide web (along with a few other things). It was here in the city’s Citecha Tower that Tim Berners-Lee brought together his NeXT computer and an old TV set to create the first Web client and server.
The building itself is an imposing 100m-high tower and now forms part of Liverpool University’s Technology Park. Founded in 1787, Brighton’s Theatre Royal is now the oldest working theatre in England. The venue has been devastated by three different fires but still remains a vibrant, popular space on two levels currently hosting both touring and local performers. Also known as the Theatre Royal & Opera House and The Royal Victoria Hall, this Grade II-listed venue is one of the most significant buildings in Leeds having been owned by the Gaiety Company for over a century and opened on July 1st, 1867.
Tudor House
You will not find a better location than the Tudor House. The building dates back to 1525, and it’s one of Exeter’s most cherished historical buildings. This was the home of William Incledon who was Mayor of Exeter, that has held numerous functions throughout the years but is today a restaurant and tea shop which is run by Stephanie Incledon, great granddaughter of William. The Tudor House is one of the biggest timbered buildings in Exeter.
Corbels, carved brackets composed of intricate stonework boost the elevation to create the stylish exterior. It has close studding; a method used when resting timber on top of other timbers from underneath helps make up a building. Narrow gaps. The Tudor House in the Old Town, sometimes known as the Tudor Barn, is a timber-framed house dating from 1525. It was occupied by William Barmby until his death in about 1650. The building has close studding, narrow gaps between its vertical timbers, and sits on a plinth of flint square tiles taken from the stone floor of the market place and raised 0.
4m (1ft 2in) above ground level. Formerly open to the rear, it has been enclosed by a later brick building that runs between it and the brick-built market hall. The Tudor House has been an Old Town landmark since it was built in 1525. It is the best known house of its kind to have survived in England, and one of only three remaining in the country. From the public footpath outside you can see close studding, narrow gaps between its vertical timbers, and a wealth of detail that has changed little over the years – gable ends and decorative rope mouldings, for example.
The Tudor House and its sister structure, the Old Malt House (see below), were originally used to store grain. They are among the last survivors of the imposing merchant houses that once stood on this street and in the adjacent Tanner Row. The Tudor House is remarkable for its rare type of construction, with thick timbers carefully set in white mortar and closely studded together. The Tudor House is a cherished mainstay of the Old Town, dating back to 1525.
Walpole Bay Hotel Museum
On the seafront at Cliftonville, theres a charming old hotel called the Walpole Bay Hotel Museum. It opened on June 21, 1874 and was built at a cost of £15,000 by Colonel John Arbuthnot. The original architect was Charles Rennie Mackintosh who created a ground breaking design for his age. For those not familiar with Mackintosh his most famous building is Glasgow School of Art which is featured in several films including the Italian Job.
Walpole Bay Hotel Museum is definitely the place for anyone who loves good English food and drink, and enjoys a bit of nostalgia, this is the place. The old Walpole Bay Hotel was built in 1879 for visitors wanting to holiday on the English coastline. Its special features included an indoor heated pool and Turkish baths! Unfortunately, things turned sour for Walpole Bay when it was sold to a brewery. 12. Walpole Bay Hotel Museum.
In Cliftonville to the east of Margate proper there is an enthralling piece of English seaside history. The charmingly named Hotel Walpole Bay is in fact the last surviving example of a once familiar sight on UK seafronts: the hotel that began life as a boarding house. The Walpole Bay Hotel was built in 1806 and became a much loved Margate institution, being the first hotel to be built on the site and as such going down in Margates history.
The story of the hotel is fascinating and quite romantic yet tragic too. While we were walking down the seafront in Margate I couldn't help but notice a building called the Walpole Bay Hotel Museum. It got me curious so I started to look into it and found out it's one of two hotel museums in Kent. The building has been much altered over the years, with its original close studding and long vertical timbers later hidden by weatherboarding.
Old Kent Market
The Parade building was designed in Art Nouveau style by architect John Wills Lecky and was first opened as The Kent Picture Theatre, billed as the South of England’s finest entertainment house. The capacity of the auditorium was 868 in stalls and one balcony, but declined to 679 by the time it closed in 1961. After a period as office space, the Market opened in 2011, in what is probably our favourite Camden Market destination although be warned, it can get busy.
A much-anticipated redevelopment of the Old Kent Market building has transformed it into a vibrant, high quality shopping destination for local residents and visitors alike. The newly formed market is designed to inspire and reflect its unique environment through its architecture, interior schemes and events programme. It places local producers at its heart, with a restaurant tenant mix that includes street food, tapas and craft beer. Markets are ten-a-penny in London. There's Borough Market, Greenwich Market, Portobello, Spitalfields, Brick Lane and of course Camden and the numerous other markets scattered throughout the capital.
Of these Old Kent stands out as something different to most of those other markets. Once upon a time it was the part of London where Executioners hung out their shingles. A lot has changed since then. The Old Kent Road market itself goes back to Roman and Saxon times, and its name (and also its road pattern) preserved all those years later by a vision of Victorian idealism. The markets ran at various sites on the mile-long (1.
6 km) road from Roman times until the first Greenwich market building was erected in 1876 on what is now the junction with Wellington Street. Another prime location for shopping and eating is the Old Kent Market, which when I visited was still in full swing as the New Cross Sunday Vehicle Re-Enactors'Market. This undercover market is an absolute grand old building with glazed red roof tiles, cast-iron pillars under a glass roof, thin brick arches and wonderful woodwork on some of the stalls.
Strokes Adventure Golf
If you’ve ever been to a stroke adventure golf course, then you’ll know why they rank so highly in this list. Adventure golf courses are completely different to the kind of golf your Dad might play. Often being heavily themed, they have obstacles like windmills and water features in addition to more traditional golfing hazards like sand and bunkers. An adventure golf course needs to be inventive, unexpected, and most importantly, fun. I would argue that the best adventure golf courses are small in scale and don’t rely on gimmicky tricks or eccentric obstacles.
That leads me to Strokes Adventure Golf, Brighton’s finest grassy knoll with putters instead of drivers AKA Golden Hill City Farm. Whilst there are many parks within a close proximity of Strokes we have to admit that this particular one has the edge; especially if you’re looking for a bit of soft adventure. One of the best things about this park is, despite their more than generous offering, they manage to maintain an element of exclusivity and seclusion.
Drapers Mill
Drapers Mill is a smock mill at Drapers Field, part of Drapers Field Country Park in the parish of Minster-in-Thanet, one of the towns and villages in the Thanet local government district, in south east Kent, England. Drapers Mill was built in 1872, replacing an earlier post mill. Now restored as a Grade II listed building its machinery has been replaced by a dummy mechanism. The mill was wind powered until it ceased work in 1920 due to increased costs and maintenance problems.
It was reactivated by volunteers in December 2007 and is sporadically open to visitors during working hours. The sails on the mill at Druppers were last used in 1931, while an adjoining smock mill with eight sides, known as West Mill and which was a home to many generations of the Drapers family. It closed in 1917 and went into decay. Today it is a listed building awaiting repair. The museum houses a replica of another of its kind: Little Mill, now no more than a tall stump on Whitewell Bottom.
With most working mills now converted to residential uses (mostly bed and breakfasts or holiday lets) the opportunity to see inside one of these iconic buildings is hard to match. Drapers Mill in Margate, Kent has opened its doors as a visitor attraction, and is fascinating both about its history and interior workings. Built in 1831, Drapers Mill is now, as it was then used to mill flour from grain grown locally. Visitors can climb the steps to the top of the building and have a wonderful view of Margate and its surrounding area.
Margate Main Sands
The seaside town of Margate benefits from a wealth of Victorian and Edwardian architecture, inherent to which is the resort's quaint feel. The sandy beach on the promenade is great for strolling along, as is the old harbour, which is now a venue for watersports, a marina and prestigious restaurants. For a break from nature head to Dreamland amusement park, or if you want to take in some local history, visit Turner Contemporary art gallery and the shell grotto manor house.
Yes, Margate has a beach. No, we didn’t include Splash Landings in this round up of the best things to do in Margate. Actually that’s a bit harsh – I didn’t think it was worth mentioning because who goes to Margate and wants to spend their time on a waterpark? And I don’t want to slag off Splash Landings because I went there as a kid and it was great fun (just not for everyone).
Two miles long, it is the longest beach in Kent and commonly known as Margate Sands. This once bustling Victorian holiday resort, where artists such as Turner, Dickens and Boticelli would gather to paint, has fizzled into popular weekend breaks for Londoners in recent years – and there are offers aplenty for visitors staying at second-resort hotels like the Cliftonville. In the centre of Margate, the coast road is interrupted by Margate Beach, a wide expanse of golden sand.
It's popular with windsurfers, kite flyers and families with young children. This beach has a traditional atmosphere and is a great place to stroll even if the sea's too cold for you to dip your toes. Winners of the Best Sand Award 2016, Margate Main Sands comes in at number two spot on our list of the best beaches to visit in Kent narrowly missing out on the top spot. This is due to its unfortunate location on Margate's main high street.
The place to get in touch with the traditional delights of the English seaside, Main Sands and its accompanying park are a Blue Flag-winning beach on the resorts central drag. Can you imagine a Marvel themed adventure golf course that mixes high-traffic areas with areas designed to look like natural terrain with painted trees and old tires set around with ferns and bushes in the background? Or how about a Star Wars themed course complete with laser cannons and holographic targets?.
Margate Old Town
The Old Town is the highlight of Margate. It’s situated in a small bay that forms an L shape, and consists primarily of one main road. There are neatly preserved buildings (some complete with period shop fronts) dotted alongside the renowned Turner Contemporary Gallery and old-fashioned cafes and shops. You can grab a cup of coffee from Sparrows Coffee Roasters, or head down to the Railway Tavern for a lovely local ale. I love Margate for its wide range of antique boutiques, cute restaurants and traditional pubs.
Turner Contemporary
The town of Margate had been a favourite of Turner since he grew up there. The Turner Contemporary building is located on the site of a former lodging-house in which the artist stayed in 1814 and 1815. It opened to the public in 2011 and cost over £9 million. Designed by David Chipperfield, it is intended to reflect its seaside surroundings: it has a vaulted roof, and its louvred windows are set back to prevent sunlight getting into the gallery spaces.
The Turner Contemporary is an art museum in Margate, England (near Canterbury), on the site of the former Fort Matilda. The building was designed by architect David Chipperfield, and opened in 2011. The project cost £16 million, and has been supported by Tracey Emin, who grew up in Margate. Turner Contemporary is a museum and art gallery in Margate, Kent devoted to the work of J. M. W. Turner. The museum officially opened on 24 February 2011, with a weekend of free entrance to celebrate the event.
It replaces the Turner Museum which was on the seafront at Margate. Despite the building's location, which is on Kingsgate Bay (which is a busy through-route for cars and trucks) there were not too many complaints. The more important point here is whether or not the art museum will be a success. In 2017/18 it's attendance hit 110,000. Turner Contemporary is a fine example of the regeneration that has taken place in Margate over recent years.
Over the past ten years Margate has become a holiday home for clubs and businesses rather than the thousand people who lived there when I was young. The Turner Contemporary has emerged as the new cultural focal point of Margate. The gallery is a fitting addition to this seaside town, and an interesting architectural stage for Turner’s works from Derby to Venice. I would suggest starting at the newly opened, Whitaker Mill – a fantastic restaurant serving fresh local produce in a relaxed, elegant setting.
Shell Grotto
On a mid-December day in 1835, a handful of labourers in the Kent village of Margate were digging a trench. They didn’t know it at the time, but they were about to make one of the most remarkable finds in British history. Boxes containing mollusc shells were uncovered following excavations for a new access road. The men painstakingly – and no doubt patiently – stacked thousands of itty-bitty shells into heaps, hammering them into arches around their burrowed tunnel.
Eventually, some 25,000 shells were used to create patterns across the walls and ceiling. These were mounted with seashells and even live crabs, which crawled amongst their former neighbours. In total, there are. Despite its mysterious construction, little is known about the Shell Grotto. No one knows who constructed it or why all we know for certain is that it was built sometime during the early 19th century. Around 180,000 shells were used in the mosaic, which depicts a man with a spade and a coffin.
This has led some people to believe that the structure was used as a mausoleum for paupers unable to afford a burial in fresh earth. This theory is backed up by an account in Charles Dickens's 1836 novel Oliver Twist, which describes Londoners visiting "a species of mausoleum" built by a man named Kolter into his father's tomb in Chingford Plain. The grotto was discovered by accident after quarrying in the area for flint, uncovering strange-looking subterranean remains.
Initially, it was believed that the grotto would extend out into the valley beyond As much a mystery now as when it was discovered in 1835, the Shell Grotto comprises a 30-metre subterranean tunnel, rotunda and rectangular altar chamber, hewn from a chalk hill and decorated with a mosaic made up of roughly 4. 6 million shells. The most amazing thing about it is that these shells could only have been imported from Kent Coast, over 40km away.
Imagine an underground tunnel filled with half a million scallop, cockle, whelk and limpet shells placed there by unknown hands over 1,300 years ago. Add to this a tunnel made up of dog whelk and oyster shells, leading to an elaborate altar chamber that also boast mosaics of seashells and you're starting to get some idea of the scale of the Shell Grotto. The Shell Grotto in Lilstock, Somerset, England is one of the most intriguing and mysterious sights in the country that few have ever heard of.
It comprises a 30-metre subterranean tunnel, rotunda and rectangular altar chamber, hewn from a chalk hill and decorated with a mosaic made up of roughly 4. 6 million shells. From there, explore this beautiful Old Town, popping into shops or stopping off for lunch at one of the many cafés along the way. There are loads of adventure golf courses on the market, but Strokes is in a completely different league to even the very best ones.
Margate Museum
The Georgian architecture of the museum is breathtaking to behold and you will understand why when you see it. The interior of Margate Museum was designed in the 1830s using a variety of architectural elements. It uses skylights, cast iron dome, ornate columns and classical paintings to make the interior feel opulent and lavish. The museum is home to all sorts of intriguing historical artefacts which makes it unique. The museum has a large collection that traces its roots back to thousands of years ago.
One of the most interesting exhibits in the museum is the raft made by 16 shipwrecked sailors that drifted for 20 days before they reached Margate’s shore. The museum presents the social history of life in Margate from Victorian times to the present day. The local collection has been joined by a number of items and information on exhibitions of nationally and internationally recognised artists. The ground floor exhibition displays an eclectic range of artefacts, photographs, and paintings pertaining to the social history of Margate.
On the first floor, special temporary exhibitions change every few months but there is a permanent exhibition 'The Artists'Gallery which celebrates the work over 100 leading artists that have exhibited in Margate since 1971. '. The Margate Museum, located in the Georgian Old Town Hall on Market Place, is a private museum run by enthusiastic volunteers. It is easy to get to by road with car parks close by and public transport is good.
The building itself, a listed Grade II Georgian building, with stone facade and white columns was the ancient market house of Margate. During this period many famous speakers have given talks from Keir Hardie (the father of modern British socialism) to the 90 year old Countess of Oxford and Asquith who spoke on the subject of Women’s Suffrage during WW1. Searching for a fun day out with the kids in Kent? The Margate Museum offers a great opportunity to explore the history of Margate, its old buildings and puppets, as well as shell-related exhibits.
The Victorian shops on Market Place are also worth a visit. The Old Town Hall is a Grade 2 Listed building which was built in the eighteenth century. The Town Hall fell out of use in 1981 and has been preserved through the efforts of the Margate Civic Society. The Margate Museum first opened in the rebuilt Georgian Old Town Hall in December 2012. The museum tells the story of the historic market town of Margate and its previous incarnations.
Westbrook Bay
The beach is overlooked by the award-winning Hoilett’s restaurant and the 21st-century leisure development of Westbrook Quay, which includes a multi-screen cinema. Barefoot landing stage is accessed through a network of walking paths connecting several beaches in this area. A ferry service from the quay takes you to Weston super Mare or Clevedon along the estuary. Westbrook Bay has several play areas at either end of the beach for children; one near the pier has a fun water fountain and two tennis courts.
In summer you can hire boats to take out in the harbour. There is also a ramp to take wheelchairs to the beach and here the disabled can swim off a floating platform. Westbrook Bay is a rather large beach and was one of the busiest in Margate when I was there. It's also bigger than the main sands, though this could almost be said for all the beaches in Margate. However, this is nice if you're looking for a bit more space or to avoid the crowd.
A wide promenade runs along the beach and there are lots of beach huts dotted around as well. The sand is beautiful and there are quite a few attractions in the area too. You can spend up to 30 minutes walking up to the piers and cafes, from this beach. Along the pier is where you'll find the beach's lifeguards. Take your binoculars down to Westbrook Bay if you want to spot some marine life.
Hornby Visitor Centre
After a local campaign to save the original Hornby House building from demolition, a new visitor centre opened on 12 October 1998 in what was previously the old printing works. The visitor centre provides a good deal of information about the toy trains and their history, and the chance to see some of them in action on the demonstration track outside or in the control room inside. Many different scales are represented, from tiny Z scale down at one end of the building to G scale, HO scale and OO scale at the other.
The large D–G display running outside the building includes railways from Thailand and Tanzania, along with others in Great Britain. Visitors to the visitor centre will see a model railway that explores the history of Hornby and the evolution of Margate as it changed over the decades with accompanying audio recordings. They will be able to access collections of Hornby products, some dating back to the 1940s. There is an art gallery where visitors can enjoy sculptures made from Hornby figures.
The company was founded in 1901, moved its headquarters to Oxford in 1961, and then made a return to the town of Margate in 1993. The visitor centre is located at an historic train shed, and the interior of the building has been completely re-imagined as a unique exhibition space. The company has established the Hornby Visitor Centre within its original headquarters to share its history with visitors. The centre includes the area where Hornby's founder, Frank Hornby, first began to make his early products (most famously Meccano).
Margate Harbour Arm
One of the most beautiful spots on the harbour arm, (if not of Margate), can be found close to the mouth area. If you head there this late September afternoon, you will find that a very pleasant beach has appeared since last week. On this beach, there are a couple of tourists and local people walking their dog. A man is fishing here. The water at his feet doesn’t reach him; I can tell by looking that he has been standing on the wall for some time and as it is high tide he does not get wet.
I would be here again. I'm so tired but so happy to leave this scenic harbour, and I'm definitely going to explore Margate more next time. However, the best gift for me was to enjoy the beautiful sunset over the sea with a cup of latte. It was a perfect evening because there were not so many people on beach, and my favourite kind of music vibes from the carol singers'"joyful noise" sort of things.
I like to stand near the Harbour Arm and picture the resort's front door. It is an imposing building that imposes its will on you as you walk down Margate's Atlantic-facing promenade to reach it. This was made much worse when the doors of Stella 39 were closed (for good, according to my sources), leaving the promenade with nothing but dogs behind bars, betting shops and boarded up windows. Along the eastern edge of the peninsula, a promenade continues south past the Roseland.
The east side of the main harbor wall is marked by a series of sculptures and water features, many designed by Surrey artist David Kemp. A small merry-go-round for children occupies one corner of the beach at Margate Harbour Arm. First opened in 1966, Padre West was a top-performing-beach which resulted in Margate becoming dubbed ‘Britain’s Largest Beach Resort’. But the resort faced hard times during the 90s when crime rose and major accidents caused it to fall out of favour with tourists.
