the weekend was forecast as a lovely sunny day, so we popped to margate for lunch and look around – now that we dont have whitstable, we are constantly trying out new places and wondering whether should go for another seaside bolt hole. margate is one of those ‘up and coming’ places, and properties seem very affordable. with the new turner art gallery, its definitely brought an interesting and different audience – unlike whitstable which is mostly all done up, margate is a mish mash of old town charm and tacky seaside arcades.
just across the road from the turner gallery are a couple of charming squares that make up the old town, lots of vintage shops, including Betty B’s selling lots of pieces from the 40’s and 50’s. etcetera has a wide selection of mid century vintage furniture and accesories, especially desk lamps and anglepoise lamps. the seventh magpie, is an eclectic mix of handmade candles in vintage tea cups and curious crafts. there is a great kitchen shop, which also does cooking classes. it seems that no town is complete without its cupcake shop or cafe, and margate has its own too – cupcake cafe also sells gifts along side serving lovely home made cakes. for lunch we sat and ate crab and mackerel, all freshly caught in the lifeboat ale and cider – even the salad was from a local allotment. the greedy cow looked tasty too. nearby on the front, there is the swish sands hotel with its restaurant and balcony terrace and next door, morgans which is a tea and dance room, with again a lovely roof terrace with views to the sea. next door the pizzas are meant to be good too.
all in all margate is a fun day out, especially as the beach is sandy, so great for the kids. maybe one day the wonderful 30’s dreamland arcade will be renovated – it will definitely make a difference. the light in margate is just beautiful, no wonder Turner liked to paint there.
christina wilson sweet nothings 