Margate

For at least 250 years, Margate has been a leading seaside resort in the UK, drawing Londoners to its beaches, Margate Sands. The bathing machines in use at Margate were described in 1805 as

four-wheeled carriages, covered with canvas, and having at one end of them an umbrella of the same materials which is let down to the surface of the water, so that the bather descending from the machine by a few steps is concealed from the public view, whereby the most refined female is enabled to enjoy the advantages of the sea with the strictest delicacy.Oulton, W. C. (1805) The Traveller's Guide; or, English Itinerary, Vol II, p. 245. Ivy-Lane, London: James Cundee.

The Dreamland Amusement Park (featured in "The Jolly Boys' Outing" extended episode of the television series Only Fools and Horses) is situated in the centre of Margate. After its closure in 2006, it reopened in 2015 following a lengthy campaign by the "Save Dreamland Campaign" group.

The Scenic Railway roller coaster at Dreamland, which opened in 1920, is Grade II* Listed and the second oldest in the world, was severely damaged in a fire on 7 April 2008 but has now been fully restored and reopened to the public in October 2015. Today the Dreamland roller coaster is one of only two early-20th century scenic railways still remaining in the UK; the only other surviving UK scenic railway is in Great Yarmouth and was built in 1932. The Margate roller coaster is an ACE Coaster Classic.

Cliftonville, next to Margate, had a classic British Arnold Palmer seaside mini golf course. It closed and was illegally converted to a skate park, which was later shut down by the council amid Safety Concerns.

There are two notable theatres, the Theatre Royal in Addington Street – the second oldest theatre in the country – and the Tom Thumb Theatre, the second smallest in the country, in addition to the Winter Gardens. The Theatre Royal was built in 1787, burned down in 1829 and was remodelled in 1879 giving Margate more national publicity. The exterior is largely from the 19th century. From 1885 to 1899 actor-manager Sarah Thorne ran a school for acting at the Theatre Royal which is widely regarded as Britain's first formal drama school. Actors who received their initial theatrical training there include Harley Granville-Barker, Evelyn Millard, Louis Calvert, George Thorne, Janet Achurch, Adelaide Neilson and Irene and Violet Vanbrugh, among others. Thorne on the Theatre Royal Margate Archive website

An annual jazz festival takes place on a weekend in June.

Margate Museum in Market Place explores the town's seaside heritage in a range of exhibits and displays, and is now opened at weekends by a team of volunteers.

First discovered in 1798, the Margate Caves (also known as the Vortigern Caves) are situated at the bottom of Northdown Road. Reopened summer of 2019http://www.margatecaves.co.uk/.

The Shell Grotto, which has walls and roof covered in elaborate decorations of over four million shells covering 2000sqft in complex patterns, was rediscovered in 1835, but is of unknown age and origin. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building.

There is a 16th-century, two-storey timber-framed Tudor house built on a flint plinth in King Street.

Margate's Jubilee Clock Tower was built to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887, although not completed until 1889. It had a Time Ball mechanism, mounted on a mast atop the tower, which was raised a few minutes before 1pm each day and dropped at precisely 1pm, thereby allowing residents, visitors and ships to know the exact time. This was, of course, in the days before wireless transmission of time signals. The Time Ball fell out of use many years ago, but following a suggestion by Arnold Schwartzman OBE RDI, a former Margate resident, Margate Civic Society raised funds to have the Time Ball repaired and brought back into use. This was successful, and a civic ceremony celebrated the restoration on 24 May 2014, Queen Victoria's birthday and the 125th anniversary of the Clock Tower's official opening. The Time Ball now drops at 1pm each day and is one of only a handful of working time balls in the world.

The Walpole Bay Tidal Pool is a Grade 2 listed tidal sea bathing pool built in 1937. The pool covers over four acres and its dimensions are 450ft long, 300ft wide at the seaward end and 550ft long at the landward end. To swim in Walpole Bay Tidal Pool is to be reminded of the immensity of the seas and oceans around us whilst also contemplating the vastness of the great sky above. The water in the pool is refreshed by the incoming tide twice a day and fresh water springs rise from the beach within the walls providing fresh water from the floor of the pool.

Margate has a strong karaoke scene with the option of taking part 5 nights of the week in multiple venues around the town. Singing forms a key part of the pub culture in the town bringing people together in an non-judgemental atmosphere. Singers can plunge the depths of their despair seemingly ignored by all present or lead rousing choruses entertaining the whole crowd. Either way the singing takes the singer into a communion with themselves ideally suited to Margate with it's long tradition of beach entertainment.