Is Margate Cool Now?

Every summer in my childhood we would have a day at the beach. My whole family would drive down to Margate early with our windbreakers and peanut butter sandwiches and pitch up on the beach. I would make sandcastles with my cousins and go on the cute wooden rides. So it has a special place in my heart.

But to be honest, since those days, I haven’t been back. I moved further north where trips to the beach are few and far between, and kinda forgot about the Kent coast.

Then recently I’ve started hearing more about Margate.

The odd Instagram here, the odd Tweet there, talking about how Margate is this cool new seaside destination, attracting some of that Brighton crowd. It’s had a big revamp and is now the new hipster seaside town, you just HAVE to visit, dahling.

What? That place where I used to go to the penny arcades?

Well I had to go and see for myself. So last weekend, me and some of my very best pals went down to Margate for a day at the beach, to see if this really was the new Brighton.

So What’s The Deal With Margate?

Margate Beach

As we drove into Margate, sweeping along the coast, I think we were all a little underwhelmed. It looked exactly as I remembered. The sandy bay with wooden rides, the straight-outta-the-seventies promenade and penny arcades.

Wasn’t this place recently renovated? Wasn’t this the new Brighton?

Not from where I was standing.

We still had a lovely time though. We skimmed pebbles into the sea and spent a good portion of time playing on the 2p machines in the arcade and spending all of our tickets on sweets. It was really fun. My pals also ate some fresh cockles from a stand on the beach like an absolute cliché, but they liked it!

But Margate beach was a bit grotty. Y’know like drunks wandering the streets and stuff. But kinda good-grotty. Like British-seaside-grotty that makes you feel nostalgic… Just me?

Don’t worry, I found some cool places, but I thought I should iterate that this main promenade bit is still typical Margate. Family fun Margate. Budget day out Margate. Men with their tops off Margate.

But I mean, I still had a nice morning.

The Harbour Arm

Margate doesn’t have a pier. It did once but it was destroyed in a storm in 1978. But what Margate does have is a harbour arm that feels a lot like a pier.

So after the beach we walked up to this area to check it out.

It starts with the Turner Contemporary, an art gallery that we didn’t have time to check out, and then goes out to lots of bars and restaurants along the harbour arm, ending with the lighthouse.

It’s definitely cooler here. We had a beer at the Harbour Arms Micropub, overlooking the sea and beach which was really nice. But along here there’s also a hippy-chic cafe, a nice bar and a place called the Cheesy Tiger which apparently does amazing toasties! I had literally just eaten when I got here otherwise I would have been all over it!

Ok Margate, you’re getting cooler. What else ya got?

Margate Old Town

Oh so this is where the hipsters are! Thank god.

We headed up this way initially to get some fish and chips for lunch. A quick check on Trip Advisor said Peter’s Fish Factory was the place to go and it was a solid 8/10.

And then nearby in the Old Town, I struck gold with vintage shops.

The pastel pink beauty that is Peony Vintage was amazing and I walked away with a cute cardi and some A+ kitsch earrings. My pal Lauren got also got some cool sunglasses from Madam Popoff Vintage and shout out to some other beauts Breuer & Dawson and Handsome Freaks because they’ve got some great stuff.

Then out of nowhere we stumbled upon something else amazing, Margate Retro Fort Yard Road.

This place is essentially a curated junk yard, full of amazing pieces from Dreamland before the revamp – think retro fun fair signs, old waltzer carts, carousel horses and vintage neon signs. It’s crazy cool. Like, I just couldn’t stop taking photos.

There’s even a fortune teller there if that’s your jam.

Another really unique place to visit in Margate’s Old Town is the Old Kent Market. This small indoor market is really quirky with lots of boutiques and restaurants, and is charming to boot. It’s bloody adorable. There’s even BB’s Cafe and Bar, a full-size red double-decker bus inside that has been turned into a cafe!

Ok, now I get the Brighton reference. The Old Town of Margate is fucking cool.

After exploring this part of town, we had a drink at the pub next door to the Old Kent Market, called Barnacles. But I think it’s worth mentioning a few really cool bars in this area. Fez is a really cool, casual bar with all of the furniture made from old Dreamland rides and Bottle Shop which had a really good atmosphere.

Dreamland Margate

Okay, time for the rides!

Dreamland is a 1920’s amusement park that has had several revamps in the last few years, so I was keen to see what it was like. They’ve kept the 1960’s facade, which I admit does look a bit grim on Margate beach. But inside it’s colourful and whimsical whilst still keeping a retro feel.

There are several ways to visit, you can buy an unlimited rides wristband (£16 off peak/£20 peak) or get a Dreamland card you top-up for rides (they all have different prices but range from £1.50-£5). But we actually got a £5 Day Dreamer ticket which gets you entry to the park and is redeemable against one ride. We went for the Scenic Railway as that costs £5 so is the best use of the ticket.

The design and layout of the park is very cool and Instagrammable with retro signs, candy-coloured carriages on the Big Wheel and giant letters that spell out Dreamland. It’s very pretty and festival-like.

They actually have a large area where they put on gigs and DJ sets so I reckon it must really feel like a festival at these events! Especially with the quirky food vans and fairy lights.

We didn’t have much time here as it was our last stop of the day but we went on a few of the rides.

The Scenic Railway is a retro wooden rollercoaster that reminded me of the one in Luna Park in Melbourne. It’s driven by a guy at the front and is more family-fun than adrenaline-rush, but it’s definitely worth a go.

Then we tried out the Mirror Maze and had a go on the Bumper Cars, the latter being the most fun we had on a ride I think. Aren’t the classic ones always the best?

There is also an inside part of Dreamland which I imagine is where all the local teenagers hang out. There are classic pinball machines and the usual suspects in the arcade, as well as a cafe selling hotdogs and burgers. Plus, there’s a bloody Roller Disco here (at £4 a pop which I thought was pretty reasonable). How retro-cool can you get, Dreamland?!

We had a really good time ending our day at the beach here and I would definitely recommend a visit.

So Is Margate The New Brighton?

It’s not quite the hipster mecca that is Brighton IMHO. Brighton is polished and chic and everything you want from a cool seaside town.

Margate is rough around the edges. Driving out of Margate at the end of the day was quite the experience, seeing the grimmer side of the town. It looked like Benefits Street.

But it’s definitely come a long way from the Margate of my childhood. The cool bars and vintage shopping were second to none and Dreamland was cute and fun. I would definitely go back for a day out and would recommend it as a seaside destination.

I just think you should come with an open mind. Don’t expect “Shoreditch by the sea” as someone told me beforehand. I get what they meant – there are some very cool East-London-vibe places in Margate. But it’s still got some rough areas.

Verdict? Book a day out to Margate this summer. You won’t regret it.