Margate- A whistle stop exploration!
A visit to Margate
August 2025
Despite Margate only being a short drive away, I have somehow never found myself gracing its shores with my presence. So I wasn't entirely sure what to expect when I jumped into a friend's car on an overcast and uncomfortably humid Saturday afternoon. Growing in popularity thanks to social media, the now desirable seaside town can be easily reached via train or car, with a potential fare of just £12 a ticket; it's no wonder it’s a popular destination. I have consistently heard two very different opinions on the town so what exactly does it have to offer?
The first sign we were approaching Margate was a glimpse of an expanse of sea to our left, glittering under blazing sunshine, which had decided to miraculously burn through the cloud coverage we were greeted with a glorious summer day. We quickly found a spot to park in a multi-story behind Dreamland. The car park was an open-top concrete affair, central, but largely run down. Graffiti coloured the lower floor and the first thing we spotted was a huge painting of a St George's flag. It was, however, warming to read that the words; Refugees are welcome here, were scrawled across its white background. Whilst it is difficult to know if the art was created as a whole or by two artists with very different political positions, it was nice to see it nonetheless.
Rounding the car park, we were met with a chill breeze, typical of most seafronts, that carried the sounds of a packed beach and the scent of cinnamon doughnuts and fried fish.
We turned right past Dreamland, heading past ‘The Mechanical Elephant’ - a standard Wetherspoons overlooking the beach- and the typical arcade with its slightly run-down flashing machines, fish and chips which could be enjoyed from the comfort of a selection of white plastic garden chairs and buckets of candyfloss.
Once past the hustle and bustle of the main sea front, we took a winding route around the backs of shops and hotels, passing beautiful houses and entering a much quieter environment as we did so. It quickly became apparent that Juxtaposition was going to feature heavily in Margate, and there is something quite delicious about that. This sort of place really draws me in. Perhaps coming from south London, where there is constant juxtaposition of class, race, culture and more, this melding of worlds creates a feeling of nostalgic comfort?
We darted across a small area that looked quaint enough to appear in any chocolate box Kent village and landed ourselves in the most beautiful square. Much like Hastings, Margate has a quirky area named Old Town, which is simply beautiful.
You would be forgiven for thinking that you had landed in France as you pass bougie cafes and quaint ice cream parlours the scents wafting from ‘The Greedy Cow’ and ‘Mullins Brasserie’ alone were enough to send my mouth watering but we pressed on, turning into a small triangle of market stalls selling vintage items, handmade clothes and vinyl. So far, the crowd had been a mixed bag, with your usual Kent coastal suspects loitering around the arcade and suspicious folk hobbling past with tinnie's, families lugging beach paraphernalia, followed by an altogether more luxuriously coiffed crowd lounging with glasses of white wine and Aperol outside brasseries and bars. In this little corner, however, we discovered a more alternative crowd of old punks and a few artsy-looking folk; this aesthetic continued as we ventured into ‘The Margate Bookshop’.
The Margate Bookshop is an Indie store with ceiling-high shelves and an invitingly arranged window display. The shelves boast plenty of female authors, books on feminism, folklore and witchcraft, as well as sex and society. Many titles drew our immediate attention and the topics were very much up our street, especially seeing as the main purpose of our visit was to later watch Doom Pagan band Green Lung, whose songs speak of ancient woodland and pagan ritual. Despite the small size of the store, we could have spent hours browsing and even more of our pounds on picking up a few titles; even the children's section was a mix of the most beautiful and creative titles that I would treasure on my bookshelf. Alas, the tantalising scents of every type of food imaginable on our whistlestop walk through town had very much served as a reminder of our empty bellies, so we left the comforting tang of new pages behind us in search of dinner.
Looping our way past The Crab museum and several psychedelically decorated vintage shops, we headed back towards the sea and popped into ‘The Old Kent Market’. Inside the bright red frontage, we discovered a box park-style two-story affair, with tiny vintage shop fronts housing a host of food options and quirky gift and clothing stores upstairs.
Rubbing shoulders with the crystal shops was a vinyl store and lording over the entrance to the market is ‘Tics Bus Café’, a London bus serving Asian cuisine. Despite the very inviting strings of festoon lights and Diagon Alley vibe, we opted not to eat in the Market because it was a little on the humid side. Instead, we grabbed cookies from ‘The Cookie Man’ who is situated right by the entrance and serves up the most delicious pudding cookies from Biscoff to Birthday cake and everything in between. He is incredibly friendly and worth a visit!
Cooling down in the welcome Sea breeze, we wove through the bustling pavement to ‘Great British Pizza Co’. Trendy and modern inside, with the feel of an industrial loft conversion, we were served quickly, and the food came promptly. The staff were a little vacant but very friendly, and we shared the best dough balls I have ever eaten in my entire life.
Suitably satiated, we transferred ourselves from day exploration mode to gig mode and sat on a raised platform overlooking the beach with some pre-drinks. The sun was just beginning to think about setting, and it was a glowing orb floating about the expanse of water, reflecting back shards of light to us. Despite it being early evening by this point, the beach was heaving with no signs of anyone leaving any time soon.
Although it had been busy everywhere we had been so far, it was a comfortable bustle of liveliness rather than a heaving oppressive busyness. Perhaps it was the sunshine that made it more bearable, but it felt leisurely; the presence of people only added to the overall vibe of Margate. The mix of people and races we encountered was varied and that added to the comfortable feel for me. Nobody seemed phased by our gig get up and we passed a lot of pierced and tattooed groups who were comfortably settled in the same establishments as Breton striped, glossy types.
I would like to visit Margate again when I have more time to explore without the pressures of arriving to a gig on time. It was a quirky and creative town, catering for families, older generations and young people alike. Certainly worth an easy visit, after all there are not many places that can take you to France, Diagon Alley and a quintessentially British Summer all at once.
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