A Weekend Wandering Around Kent (part 2, Margate)

Hot(ish) on the heals of part one of my Weekend Wandering in Kent blog post, is part two. Whereas part one covered Deal and Sandwich, albeit in small measures, part two covers Margate which was our base for the weekend. I ended up taking several pictures each day, sometimes as we were navigating our way out of Margate to visit other places, sometimes as we explored Margate. I definitely have too many pictures for a single Margate post so will split this into at least two parts.

Before I begin however, I have a bit of conundrum in terms of how I present Margate. Each day showed us different aspects to it. If I base my post simply on my experiences of the first day, then it would have been a rather sorry tale of a run down seaside resort, whereas if I include only what I saw on other days it would paint a much rosier picture. Therefore, I will share all my experiences, covering all aspects of the visit, so you will see me flipping between subject matter and different days, but hopefully still maintaining some cohesion. Still with me? Then let's begin ...

Unfortunately by the time we arrived in Margate it was quite a dreary day. After checking in, we wrapped up warm and headed down to the seafront. If I'm honest, our first impression was a bit of a sorry one, and we were wondering if we should have based ourselves elsewhere for the weekend. The weather definitely did not help as we navigated our way through litter strewn streets and dog's mess.

As regular readers will know, I'm a bit of a sucker for ghost signs, and this building fitted the bill perfectly, still sporting most of the lettering from its previous use as a depository.

F.L.Pettman Ltd., Depository, Margate, Kent

You only need to do a quick internet search to see what the Margate Lido looked like in its heyday. Sadly today it's less than a shadow of its past.

Margate Lido, Cliftonville, Margate

Margate Lido, Cliftonville, Margate

Margate Lido, Cliftonville, Margate

Margate Lido, Cliftonville, Margate

As promised, this post will move around in content quite a bit, so from the run down lido we now move on to something a bit more uplifting ... ghost signs and doorway mosaics in the old town ... and some sunshine.

Doorway mosaic, King Street, old town, Margate

Not sure whether the ornate, blue section of the mosaic below is a more recent addition, or whether it was part of the original. I assume the clear section in the middle is there to allow some light into the basement below.

Doorway mosaic, King Street, old town, Margate

And above the this mosaic, a wonderfully preserved sign showing the shop's former use.

Ladies & Gentlemen's Tailor

and Breeches Maker.

H.B.SMITH

Old shop sign, Kind Street, old town, Margate

I was not sure whether to include this as a ghost sign as it seems to have been very recently renovated, however it tells a story and on closer inspection above the brightly painted signage is a sign for

STUPPELL Hair Cutter

Ghost signs, old town, Margate

A closer inspection of the signs reveals the hairdresser's sign in its full glory.

Ghost signs, old town, Margate

Old town, Margate

Another beautifully preserved shop sign, this time for

Clothier

T.W.STIGANT

Hosier

Old shop sign, King Street, old town, Margate

The final picture from part 1 or my Margate post is of street art in the old town.

Street art, Margate

I have plenty more pictures to share from Margate, and also other places we visited over the weekend, so stay tuned folks for further instalments.

And if you missed my earlier post in this series, here's the link to the one I wrote about Deal and Sandwich.