My second trip to Margate, and the first time to Broadstairs
I visited Margate in August last year for a day trip, and I knew it was a great place that I should revisit. This time I planned to stay overnight so that I could have more time to visit Broadstairs which is nearby as well!
I left my home before 7am in order to arrive in Margate as early as possible (9:30am) and escaped the possible crowds when people on Sunday would arrange for a day. How was I able to find out that? Because I could check the loading on the official website of the railway website.
PlusBus with Railcard
Because of this, I accidentally found out there is such a thing called PlusBus in the booking system: the discounted bus ticket for train passengers. The day rider ticket covering the Isle of Thanet (Margate, Ramsgate and Broadstairs) usually costs £6, compared to £4.50 PlusBus, and further 33% off (£2.95) with railcards. Nice to have especially when single bus cap policy ends someday.
I had an open return ticket with Network Railcard, and planned to buy two covering all my days. While PlusBus doesn’t limit passengers to buy one only, the staff only allowed one with railcard discount (£2.95) for me. The official website didn’t state there was such a restriction that clearly, so I will have to clarify.
LOOP bus service
I already knew there is a frequent bus service called LOOP, serving between Ramsgate, Broadstairs and Margate in both clockwise and anticlockwise directions. It is possible to visit all three main areas in a trip. I skipped Ramsgate as I have visited before.
Needed to visit all museums on Sunday
As almost no museums are open on Monday (the day I left), I had to complete all of them I wanted to go on Sunday. There were four on my list, but I could easily pass all as each of them is not big and I didn’t have to hurry.
I started with Louie On Sea, which is a part of Turner Contemporary, for a coffee, followed by the museum revisit due to new exhibition. The big windows facing the sea has a new artwork during this summer.
Last year:
Crab Museum was interesting with lovely illustrations and extended topics about the world starting from crabs. I wish they could publish a book about the museum and the graphics!
I finally knew Margate Caves a day or two before the trip when planning on Google Maps. When I told my sketching buddies about my travel, they strongly recommended there! This is one of the places with chalk mines to prepare materials for building houses three hundred years ago, but this place was remained after mining, and ended up becoming a tourist attraction since Victorian period. It was once in a danger in the early 2000s but it has been reopened with new visitor centre and cafe. It is worth visiting even though the £5 entrance fee is needed. Cool inside especially in hot summer.
After checking in for my hotel room so that I could leave some of my stuff there, I visited two art galleries before the dinner.
Stayed in Westwood
I found a spacious family room (3 beds) in Westwood with air conditioning and bathtub, which cost £57 on Sunday which was not expensive for summer. I had another option in Westgate (20-minute walk from Margate) for £54. Besides the lack of air conditioning and less spacious single room, the location of Westwood, although it is where the shopping centre is situated, is very accessible to every place in Thanet when the frequent LOOP bus is available.
Canterbury Bell by Marston’s Inn is an alternative to Travelodge nearby. The biggest breakfast costs less than £10 but it’s more delicious than any buffet in other chained hotels.
The only thing I would complain about… I think the view of my room can be better.
Broadstairs
I visited Broadstairs on the day I was back to London. The view of the beach from the top is very stunning. Like Margate, the beaches in Viking Bay and Stone Bay are sandy.
Sketching
I had three sketches done including Viking Bay and a street in Broadstairs with historic architecture which were being scaffolded. I drew in Harbour Arm outside Margate again, with a slight different perspective, and low tide compared to high tide last year as a result.
Last year:
I also did three passenger sketches on the bus and train respectively. See below.
Escape from the heat
The maximum temperatures of Margate and Broadstairs these two days were 25–26, which was 7–8 degrees lower than London. It was the small number that shouldn’t be overlooked as the wind there still helped cool down the coast, bringing comfortable conditions.
I will come back, Miss Margate!
