local travel INDEX
Margate’s metamorphosis
The Tudor House. Photo: Rod Edwards
Treasures at The Powell-Cotton Museum
The Clock Tower. Photo: Rod Edwards
Still some work to be done...
Quex House
Reasons to visit Margate
Art & architecture Rodin’s mesmerising sculpture, The Kiss, will be on show from Tuesday October 4 until 2012 at Turner Contemporary (01843 233000, www.
turnercontemporary.org). The gallery features contemporary artists from across the globe. A short walk away, look out for the extraordinary Tudor House on King Street.
The beach
Margate Main Sands boasts a coveted Blue Flag for the quality of its water, plus a play area with bouncy castle for children.
The shops The Creative Quarter in the Old Town offers a plethora of one-off shops, galleries and cafés nestled among its historic streets. Whether you’re looking for clothes, furniture or art, Margate is particularly strong on vintage, and at pleasantly affordable prices. Your inner fashionista will adore Madam Popoff at 3 Market St, which is overflowing with men’s and women’s clothes and accessories from the 1940s onwards. Vintage homeware and
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furniture fans who know their Ercol from their elbow should head for Etcetera at 4 King St, or the extraordinary Junk Deluxe at Bath Place, near the Shell Grotto. Here, you’ll find everything from armchairs to zedbeds, from the 1930s to the 1980s. For older French furniture and decorative art at great prices, don’t miss Fontaine in St John’s Road (www. fontaine
decorative.com – phone to check opening hours, though: 01843 220 974).
What if it’s raining? The Shell Grotto on Grotto Hill (
www.shellgrotto.co.uk, 01843 220 008), discovered in 1835, offers 70ft of shell-lined caves to explore. Get dragged into a mystery that has remained unsolved for centuries: who created this mysterious place, when and, moreover, why? A ten-minute drive from
the centre of Margate is Quex Park, housing the Powell-Cotton Museum (www.quexpark.
co.uk), a vast collection of animals and artifacts collected by Major Powell-Cotton during his explorations at the beginning of the last century. A family ticket costs £20.
Where to eat The excellent BeBeached (
www.bebeached.co.uk), slap on Margate’s pier just down from Turner Contemporary (whose café is also well worth a visit), is a light-filled space serving delicious, reasonably-priced food: we loved the beef hash and onions, topped with a free-range egg, for just £7. For something more exotic, the Ambrette’s Indian cuisine (
www.theambrette.co.uk, 01843 231 504) has received recognition in The 2010 Michelin Guide and garnered good reviews in broadsheets such as The Independent. At elevenses or tea-time, take
the weight off your feet at the Cupcake Café in the Market Place (01843 231 300) – the lemon and lavender cupcake tastes as divine as it sounds. Just next door, The Greedy Cow (01843 447 557) is another excellent option and has a deli for picnic purchases, too.
Where to stay Make a weekend of it and check into child-free, 5* Gold-rated The
Reading Rooms (01843 225166,
www.thereading roomsmargate.
co.uk, from £150 per room per night) – the editor of our sister magazine stayed there earlier this year and hasn’t stopped talking about it since! The family-friendly Walpole
Bay Hotel (01843 221703, www.walpolebayhotel.
co.uk, mid-season from £75 per night) doubles up as a museum and includes a fully- functioning Otis Trellis gated lift, dating from 1927. Feeling more adventurous?
The 5* Two Chimneys Caravan park is just 10 minutes drive from the seafront, with swimming pool, tennis courts and children’s play area. Bring your own tent or
caravan, or hire one of its holiday homes (
www.two chimneys.
co.uk, 01843 841068).
Travel:
Margate is about 40 minute’s drive from Canterbury, and there are direct trains from both Canterbury East and Canterbury West. Or you can catch bus number 8.
For further information visit
The Tourist Information Bureau on Margate pier, see www.
visitthanet.co.uk or call 01843 577 577 or email tourism@
thanet.gov.uk
www.indexmagazine.co.uk
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