MARVELLOUSLY MARGATE
KENTSTAYCATION
MARVELLOUSLY MARGATE
KENT ’ S ULTIMATE DESTINATION FOR THE ARTS WITH GALLERIES GALORE , A HOST OF VIBRANT EVENTS , ECLECTIC EATERIES AND A MYRIAD OF MUSEUMS , MARGATE CONTINUES TO LEAD THE WAY IN KENT ’ S CULTURAL REVOLUTION .
The ultimate blend of bohemian bourgeois combined with the tuneful tinkling of traditional seaside days gone by , it is Margate ’ s history that birthed the iconic persona the town so fearlessly encompasses today . Up until the last decade , Margate had continued to fulfil the ideal of a typical English seaside resort . Reaching its peak in the Victorian era , which gifted the town its grand architectural splendour , it was the long sweeping stretches of golden sand , enchanting promenades , amusement arcades and funfair-style attractions complete with candy floss and ice cream , that continued to entice tourists from across the country to the sunniest corner of the UK . These bygone days saw Margate become the mecca for the daytripper from London , greatly assisted by the water-transport via the River Thames and the invention of the covered bathing machine in 1753 , but like hundreds of other seaside towns across the nation , this time of exuberance would eventually give way to a period of destitution . With the arrival of cheap package holidays to Europe in the late 1970s , the heads of tourists were turned , their custom stolen from a town desperate for their return .
With fewer tourists fuelling the economy , the latter half of the 20th century saw Margate and many other English seaside towns embark upon their ‘ forgotten years ’. Although this was a time in which these towns were obsolete places to visit , it was , for Margate , a no less than critical stage of character development . Quick to embrace a much-adored Blackpool-esque character , Margate immediately became emblematic of the sad decline of the ‘ English seaside resort ’ – yet all was not lost . There is something undeniably intriguing to the creative about a town once so frequented for its unique beauty and unrivalled fun , which then rapidly became a rusted place , desolate and destitute , and exposed to the harsh conditions of both nature and society . It was this rise and fall of Margate that undeniably added to its depth of character , and like a weathered rock star with many a tale to tell , it soon claimed legendary status . A complex history , so littered with highs and lows mixed in like paint with Margate ’ s natural features of golden sands and Turner sunsets ( the only attributes to remain unchanged and beautiful ), it is this concoction that inspired and enticed artists , most famously Tracey Emin , to embrace the town in all its crumbling glory , dragging it by its brightly coloured bootstraps into a brand new stage of culture , charisma and class .
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