Margate Life

Travel to Margate on the Isle of Thanet by high speed train in just 1 hour 24 minutes and the first thing you see on leaving the station is the wide sweep of the bay containing the Main Sands with the international gallery, Turner Contemporary looking right back at you across the beach.

On your walk to The Margate School, with an arrival time that depends on whether you take the route along the shoreline, you’ll first pass the shelter where TS Eliott wrote

On Margate Sands. I can connect Nothing with nothing.

Next you’ll spot the famous Art Deco Dreamland building, which as well as being the recent location of Empire of Light, directed by Sam Mendes, hosts regular gigs on the Scenic Stage within it’s amusement park by bands and parties as diverse as Recess, Annie Mac and Gorillaz, or if you’re more into retro Craig Charles Funk & Soul Party and The Specials.

Cut up past the clocktower to The Centre to discover indie and experimental sounds at WhereElse? alongside cafés to meet up and chat with fellow students, friends and neighbours.

Turner Contemporary hosts a regular programme of exhibitions and is named for JMW Turner who stayed regularly in Margate and remarked that ‘the skies over Thanet are the loveliest of all Europe’ - make up your own mind at one of the seafront bars sipping an ice cold drink whilst you watch the glorious sunset.

Beside the gallery you’ll find Droit House with the glowing pink neon by local international artist Tracey Emin that gives out the message ‘I never stopped loving you’ 24 hours a day.

Of course there are fish and chips, it is the seaside after all, but you’ll also find award winning cafés and restaurants throughout the town for every budget, occasion and taste, including the Bus Cafe in a double decker to traditional breakfasts at The Dalby Cafe.

If you are looking for a fun evening or weekend event, then there is always something to join in with. From Power of Women festival, Margate Pride and a Soul Weekend, drag nights at Sundowners, Barbie Party at Margate Arts Club, to Mergate, Margate Mermaid Festival.

Spend weekends at the open air Walpole Bay tidal pool, or visiting exhilarating and cutting-edge galleries showing an amazing selection of contemporary multi-disciplinary art, including Quench, the super-small Liminal Gallery and Carl Freedman Gallery.

Come and visit The Margate School and fall in love with a place that you’ll love to call home.