Margate, Whitstable, Canterbury

[The Merry Prankster]

Going to be in this area for a few days, anyone got any recommendations for places to stay, places to eat, things to do, please, thank you?

 

[tinycowboy]

Going to be in this area for a few days, anyone got any recommendations for places to stay, places to eat, things to do, please, thank you?

What price range are we looking at for food and accommodation? Any particular kinds of cuisine? Canterbury has just about all the High Street chains, Whitstable has lots of seafood, Margate has lots of cheaper options. For things to do, anything in particular - just you, or family with you? Outdoorsy, walking, or indoorsy attractions or anything and everything?

 

[Gwylan]

Spent a week in Margate a few years back. Really under-rated place (and that was before Dreamland re-opened). The Turner Gallery is deffo worth seeing but I'd also recommend going a few miles down the road and checking out Broadstairs - it's like seaside resorts used to be.

Whitstable is full of DFLs but a few miles outside is Seasalter, smaller and with some decent pubs (although I believe the DFLs have discovered this now and the place has got a few gastropubs). Also worth checking out Herne Bay, another old-fashioned place. It's a few years since I was there but it used to have a fantastic 50s-style Italian icecream parlour.

I really like Canterbury, a great place to stroll around. It's also worth checking out Chilham, a few miles outside, it's like something from a TV or film set

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

Do you have bikes with you ? There is a fantastic coastal path between Margate and Whitstable - and a cycle track from Whitstable to Canterbury (see Beeching thread). Then train back to Margate. Broadstairs is worth a visit. Quite a surprise (to me anyway).

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

I really like Canterbury, a great place to stroll around.

Even if you have not got a religious bone in your body it is worth going on a Cathedral tour. Real history, and stunning in its grandeur. You can see the power in the church. We also went to Evensong - which I have to say was beautiful. You can book a room at the Cathedral Lodge and you get free entry.

 

[The Merry Prankster]

What price range are we looking at for food and accommodation? Any particular kinds of cuisine? Canterbury has just about all the High Street chains, Whitstable has lots of seafood, Margate has lots of cheaper options. For things to do, anything in particular - just you, or family with you? Outdoorsy, walking, or indoorsy attractions or anything and everything?

Don't mind spending some money. All cuisines welcome. Me and the wife. Anything and everything.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Whitstable is full of DFLs but a few miles outside is Seasalter, smaller and with some decent pubs (although I believe the DFLs have discovered this now and the place has got a few gastropubs). Also worth checking out Herne Bay, another old-fashioned place. It's a few years since I was there but it used to have a fantastic 50s-style Italian icecream parlour.

My Granddad lived in Herne Bay for years. Old fashioned is definitely the word for it but I'm with you on the ice cream parlour it was FANTASTIC. No idea if it is still there. We used to walk to Whitstable from Herne Bay along the sea front, a good bracing walk with some decent scenery that will give you an apatite when you arrive. The Sportsman in Seasalter used to be ace (yes it is a gastropub but a good one). It's conversion was funded by Damian Harris who founded none other than Skint records and it was recommended to me and about 100 others by Jay Rayner at a Guardian convention thing (I'll stop name dropping now)

 

[Dick Swiveller]

Try and pop into Dreamland if you have any interest. They are trying to fully restore it and need visitors to help fund their work. They have got a lot of vintage fairground rides and are trying to recapture the old Dreamland rather than create another Alton Towers. The Ballroom is due to reopen soon as well as the completely rebuilt Scenic Railway and there is a circus on site at the moment as well. As a regular visitor to Bembom Brothers as it was when I was a kid, it was nice to see them trying the bring it back to life as a lot of Margate died when it closed down. £12.50 is probably a little steep considering the number of attractions at present but it felt good to try and help revive it. Even if you don't want to pay, the arcade is free and has a lot of vintage pinball machines and an original Space Invaders.

Margate town centre is a derelict dump but the old town is supposed to be nice now. Didn't have time to look as I was there for Dreamland and a retro gaming fair but walking to the Winter Gardens, the was a marked difference between the town centre and the old town.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Can't add much to the debate but i did go to Margate for a day trip a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it (the old town)

 

[Gwylan]

Even if you have not got a religious bone in your body it is worth going on a Cathedral tour. Real history, and stunning in its grandeur. You can see the power in the church. We also went to Evensong - which I have to say was beautiful. You can book a room at the Cathedral Lodge and you get free entry.

Agree with this. I'm not religious at all but the cathedral is a microcosm of English history - you can stand at the place where Thomas A'Becket was killed- it's like stepping back centuries. I also went to Evensong there, it was a beautiful service ... even for an atheist

My Granddad lived in Herne Bay for years. Old fashioned is definitely the word for it but I'm with you on the ice cream parlour it was FANTASTIC. No idea if it is still there.

It is. It's called Makcari's - a place of real wonder

 

[The Oldman]

Sandwhich further down the coast is worth a visit.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Broadstairs. Delightful.

 

[Icy Gull]

I used to go to this restaurant in Canterbury regularly but it was about 10 years ago that I last went. Best Mexican food I ever ate, including stuff I had in Mexico itself. Used to be run by a Frenchman. Maybe another NSCer has been there more recently and can advise whether it is still as good

http://www.cafedez.com/

 

[Man of Harveys]

I'm looking forward to a trip back to Canterbury in order to visit a world famous institution, time-worn witness to so much ancient history and which is so important to so many devout worshippers all over the world like myself...the original BAGPUSS is there.

 

[Dick Swiveller]

Oh - and there are some good Roman ruins in Canterbury - basically in the cellar of a house. Small museum and then the ruins themselves.

http://www.canterbury.co.uk/museums/roman-museum/

 

[tinycowboy]

Don't mind spending some money. All cuisines welcome. Me and the wife. Anything and everything.

Canterbury:
For hotels: Cathedral Gate and Abode are nice and central. For food, Deesons for modern British, Wild Goose at the Goods Yard is a bit different, Cafe des Amis for Mexican, Willows Secret Kitchen for lunch, Cafe Mauresque for Spanish/Moorish. Plus you've got your usuals - Cote, Wagamama, Pizza Express, ASK, Carluccio's, etc. To do, visit the cathedral (you can do this for free if you turn up at the time of a service, as Dick Knight's Mumm says, stroll around the streets, there are river trips in gondolas (if the weather's OK), Canterbury Tales museum is a mildly diverting use of an hour if it's raining, you can cycle on the Crab & Winkle Way from Canterbury to Whitstable (7 miles), Howletts zoo is about 3 miles away, Chilham is very picturesque, as Gwylan says - about 5 miles away, Dane John Gardens and the Westgate Gardens are nice (and free) - the former has a very nice kiosk run by a friend that sells tea/coffee and South American/Spanish snacks.

Whitstable:
Don't know about the hotels, but to eat: Samphire, Wheelers, Whitstable Oyster Company Limited. Plenty of other options. If you walk around the front all the way to the harbour, you'll see kiosks as well serving seafood and there's a market there too. Crabbing on the beach is fairly popular (not a euphemism!), lazing around eating seafood out of plastic tubs and drinking beer isn't a bad past-time. you can walk along the seafront through Tankerton to Herne Bay (about 5 miles) which is quite nice, can be bracing. Herne Bay is more old-fashioned, with ice-cream and fish and chips. You can always get the train back to Whitstable.

Margate:
As Gwylan says, under-rated. Some very nice streets and interesting shops. Shell grotto is fascinating (if a little cold!), great beach, Turner Gallery is free (if you don't make a
donation!), Dreamland is excellent. For food, try Hantverk & Found, although there's a Wimpy too!

For beaches, Minnis Bay is very good, as are Botany Bay and Joss Bay. You can cycle along most of the northern coast - eg from Reculver to Margate. Broadstairs is worth a look - nice sheltered beach, great Morelli's ice cream and generally a strollable town. Ramsgate is OK - nice in places. Further down the coast, Sandwich is like a less touristy Rye, Deal is also very nice, especially in its "old town" area and it's a nice walk along the front to Walmer.

I'd better get on with some work now. Enjoy your trip!

 

[tinycowboy]

Maybe another NSCer has been there more recently and can advise whether it is still as good

I have, and it is

 

[Staly]

Friend of mine runs a cafe in Margate, if you want a bacon roll and a coffee...

 

[Saladpack Seagull]

Totally agree with Gwylan and tinycowboy about Chilham and Howletts Zoo. Well worth a visit as is Whitstable for the oysters, so provided Kent roads don't get gridlocked again thanks to Operation Stack you'll have a great time. I'm heading up that way later today and going to Leeds (not THAT Leeds!) castle tomorrow. Fingers crossed for the weather........

 

[Worthing exile]

Did a river trip in Canterbury last year. Student in a boat with a long pole type thing. Quite enjoyable.

I have a caravan in Sheppey you can rent lol.