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MargateVoted one of the top 10 holiday

destinations in the world by the Rough Guide 2013, Margate is well

on its way to regaining the glory of its heyday, but this time with its feet firmly planted in the 21st century.

Its renaissance has brought a thriving, vibrant arts scene to the town, led by the opening of the world-class Turner Contemporary. This award-winning gallery, which has hit national and international headlines, has already attracted more than one million visitors from far and wide. The town’s historic links with art, from JMW Turner, who was inspired by the area’s natural beauty and vast skies, to contemporary artist and Margate girl, Tracey Emin, continue with a growing community of artists opening studios and galleries in the town.

The revival plans for Dreamland, the iconic amusement park that for a century attracted crowds of visitors, is being led by multi-award winning designer, Wayne Hemingway MBE. Set to open in 2015, the world’s first amusement park of thrilling historic rides, classic sideshows, cafés, restaurants and gardens, with Hemingway’s interpretation of vintage 20th century culture for the 21st century, will add to the resort’s broad appeal.

The versatility of the town is reflected in the events that dot the annual calendar, ranging from a vibrant carnival and jazz and soul festivals to sporting national championships on the beach, such as volleyball and quad biking.

Hotels, restaurants and bars are opening along the seafront, where you can enjoy everything from cocktails and ice cream to pizza, fish and chips and fine

dining – some with breathtaking views of the sea and the sunsets that inspired Turner. Traditional amusement arcades, the Theatre Royal, the diminutive Tom Thumb Theatre, the Winter Gardens, the mysterious Shell Grotto, Margate Museum, the Tudor House and the quirky museum at the Walpole Bay Hotel, provide year-round entertainment. Add to this the wide, sandy bay, a cobbled Old Town with quirky shops, galleries, more great places to eat and drink, open-air live music, and there’s never been a better time to visit the great British seaside.

Shell Grotto

Margate Old Town

Theatre Royal

Margate Events18-19 AprilEaster Beer Festival

24 MayTime Ball Drop Ceremony

24 May-21 SeptemberMondrian and Colour

26 MayMargate Meltdown

19 JulyRomeo and Juliet on Margate Main Sands

Viking Bay

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Broadstairs

The timeless charm of this Victorian seaside town continues to

attract visitors, with its clifftop promenade, winding lanes, hidden cobbled squares and fishermen’s cottages overlooking the quaint harbour and its bobbing fishing boats.

Charles Dickens, whose name is inextricably linked to Broadstairs, loved visiting, and declared: “You cannot think how delightful and fresh the place is and how good the walks.” An annual festival in June honours the town’s favourite literary visitor, with costumed characters, stage plays, and readings. The Dickens House Museum

shows the author’s association with Broadstairs, displaying objects, letters and illustrations that belonged to him. You can even visit Bleak House, where Dickens holidayed every summer for 22 years and wrote several of his famous novels, including David Copperfield, in a study overlooking the English Channel.

But, at the heart of what Broadstairs has to offer, are its seven award-winning sandy bays. For traditional seaside magic head to Viking Bay, a sheltered bay with tidal pool, children’s amusement rides, beach huts and all the town’s facilities a short walk away. For adventure, Joss Bay is the best

surfing beach in the south east, and for pure escapism, rural Botany Bay, with its beautiful white cliffs and chalk stacks, offers a tranquil retreat.

A busy and entertaining events’ calendar celebrates the town’s diversity. Folk Week in August brings music and people from all over the world, giving the town a party atmosphere, while Broadstairs Food Festival in October celebrates the country’s fine produce and culinary talent.

There is plenty more besides – drama at the Sarah Thorne Theatre Company, live music on the bandstand, sculpture on the beach, seasonal fireworks over the bay, sandcastle

competitions, and the award-winning, costumed St Peter’s Village Tour.

Combine this with restaurants, bars, pubs and two famous 1950s Italian coffee bars and ice cream parlours, and Broadstairs is the perfect place for a break.

Broadstairs Events19–21 AprilSpring Fair

8 May–18 SeptemberSt Peter’s Village Tours

14–20 JuneBroadstairs Dickens Festival

31 July–24 AugustSummer Repertory Season

Eating out in Broadstairs Joss Bay Surf School

84 Isle Magazine Visitor information 01843 577577 Online www.visitthanet.co.uk

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Ramsgate

Steeped in history, this beautiful, classic seaside town, with the only Royal Harbour in the country, is

an architectural gem, with sweeping Georgian terraces and splendid Regency squares. It is also the site of the house lived in and designed by Augustus Pugin, who designed the interior of the Houses of Parliament.

Its rich past reflects the country’s history – it is here that the Romans first landed, that Saxons Hengist and Horsa first stepped foot on the island, and it is also the spot where St Augustine first arrived and reintroduced Christianity to England. Centuries later, it was from Ramsgate that 700 small ships sailed to France as part of Operation Dynamo, to rescue more than 338,000 British and French soldiers trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk during WW2. One of the boats is still kept in the marina – ‘The Sundowner’, as well as the last surviving steam tug, ‘Cervia’.

There are also many artistic connections, with blue plaques highlighting some of the most illustrious residents and visitors – Van Gogh, Samuel Coleridge, Wilkie Colllins, Karl Marx, John Le Mesurier, and Tissot to name a few.

There’s plenty to do in Ramsgate. The Viking Coastal Trail for cyclists and walkers leads you from the promenade by the sea, through the marina and up onto the cliffs to stunning Pegwell Bay. Take

a look at the Active Ramsgate leaflet and you’ll find a programme of cycling routes, walking trails, geocaching challenges, boat rides and golf courses to please everyone. There is a choice of boat trips, with RIB Request, Sea Searcher or Galleon Cruises, which will take you on a sea safari to see the wonderful seal colonies, or even to the wind farm.

And of course, there is the picturesque marina and an award-winning main beach. Sitting at one of the waterfront bars or restaurants in Ramsgate is a delight, particularly in the summer, when outdoor music events and festivals bring a celebratory buzz to the area. In the summer, there is a three-day celebration of art and culture at A Summer Squall, while Ramsgate Week brings a sailing regatta to the town.

There is history and art to enjoy too. Discover the maritime heritage of Ramsgate and Thanet at the Maritime Museum or explore the labyrinth of wartime tunnels. UpDown Gallery brings stimulating and diverse exhibitions from some of the best artists of the 20th and 21st centuries to Ramsgate, while York Street Gallery shows work by the many talented artists in Thanet and Kent.

Close by are the Spitfire and Hurricane Museum, and the RAF Manston History Museum. For entertainment, the Granville Theatre hosts a varied programme of shows, films and events.

Ramsgate Events17–20 MayThe Grange Open Days

1 JuneBucket and Spade Run

1 JuneOpening of Ramsgate Tunnels

26-27 JulyThanet at War

Waterfront bars and cafés

The Grange

The villages of Thanet that dot the coast and the hinterland offer great

variety for the visitor; walking trails, historic sites, museums and architectural surprises.

Along the coast, the elegant village of Westgate-on-sea retains on old world charm, with its Edwardian architecture. This is where, Sir John Betjeman observed: “Those minarets and steeples prick the open Thanet sky.” Its wide West Bay is a perfect place to spend a tranquil day at the seaside and then stay on till the evening and watch the glorious sunset over the sea.

Birchington, too, offers peaceful days by the sea in unspoilt surroundings. It is also home to one of Thanet’s most luminous treasures, the Quex Park estate and stately home, sitting in 1800 acres of countryside and containing the unique Powell-Cotton museum, which displays the life’s work of Major Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton, the Victorian explorer, collector and conservationist. Quex Barn, within the grounds of the estate, is a great spot

for lunch. Set next to a local produce market, the restaurant offers dishes using the freshest of local ingredients.

Inland, Minster, the ancient capital of the Isle of Thanet, is a truly wonderful place in which to live. The village started in 670AD as a monastic settlement, and Minster Abbey now houses a Priory of Roman Catholic Benedictine Sisters. It is the oldest inhabited building in the country. You’ll also be delighted to find excellent places to eat, such as The Corner House, which serves modern British food.

In nearby Monkton is a nature reserve in an old chalk quarry and the Thanet observatory, where viewings through the largest optical telescope south of London have included the Moon, Saturn’s rings, Mars, comets, eclipses and aurora. Manston has one of the nation’s earliest aerodromes and is home to the fascinating RAF Manston Spitfire and Hurricane Museum and RAF Manston History Museum.

St Nicholas-at-Wade has a fine Norman church, a 16th

century pub and is a great spot for rambling. Its name comes from the channel that had to be waded across to reach the mainland. Acol, one of the smallest communities in Kent, is said to be haunted by the ghost of the infamous Smuggler Bill, and in Sarre, which was once a Cinque Port, is a Grade II listed smock windmill that has been restored and is now working commercially.

A costumed walk through St Peter’s brings alive this ancient village. It was originally the

largest village in the area, with Broadstairs as its nearest fishing hamlet. It was also home to one of the first pleasure gardens in England.

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Villages

Villages Events18 AprilI Love Vintage,

Powell-Cotton Museum

26 MayHave a Go Archery,

Quex Gardens

19 JulyMinster Show

Powell-Cotton Museum,

Quex House and Gardens

Spitfire and Hurricane

Memorial Museum

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Margate

Broadstairs

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Ramsgate

Villages