Margate

Margate was one of the first English seaside resorts, reached by hoy and then by paddle steamer from London, and it declined badly in the late twentieth century as package holidays took its trade. Turner Contemporary, opened in 2011 on the site of the guest house where Turner stayed, was the pivot: Turner said the skies over Thanet were the loveliest in Europe, and the gallery is free and faces the sea he painted. Dreamland, an amusement park from 1920, reopened in 2015 after years derelict; its listed wooden scenic railway was the centrepiece until the park announced its permanent closure in January 2026. The Shell Grotto, found in 1835, is an underground passage lined with four and a half million shells in patterns, and nobody has ever established who made it or when, since the shells cannot be carbon dated usefully and no document mentions it.

What you'll find

• Turner Contemporary - a free gallery on the site of Turner's lodging house.
• The Shell Grotto - underground passages lined with four and a half million shells.
• Dreamland - a 1920 park whose listed wooden scenic railway was closed for good in January 2026.
• The tidal pool - a Victorian sea-water bathing pool on the shore at Walpole Bay.

When to go

May to September for the beach and Dreamland's full season; Turner Contemporary and the grotto are open year-round. Winter light over the bay is what Turner came for and is arguably better.

Practical notes

Margate remains one of the more deprived coastal towns in England and the contrast between the regenerated seafront and the streets behind is stark. Dreamland opening days are seasonal and limited. The Grotto is small, seen in half an hour, and its origin is genuinely unknown rather than mysteriously hinted at.

Nearby

Broadstairs and Ramsgate lie south; Canterbury is inland.

Key facts