Margate

Published 20 September 2026 · By the Guide to London editorial team · Editor: Terje Moy

Margate is a Kent seaside town with a wide sandy beach, a free contemporary art gallery, a vintage amusement park you can walk into for nothing, and a strange shell-lined cave under a residential street. Direct high-speed trains from London St Pancras take about 1 hour 29 minutes, and an off-peak day return cost £35.00 in October 2026.

For much of the twentieth century Margate was where Londoners went for a week by the sea, and when cheap flights arrived it emptied out. What has happened since is unusual: the arrival of Turner Contemporary pulled artists and small businesses into the Old Town, and the amusement park reopened as a restored version of itself.

The result is a town of two halves that still has rough edges. The seafront, the gallery and the Old Town are the reason to come. Bring low expectations of the rest and you will have a good day.

The high-speed line, and the stop most people miss

Southeastern runs high-speed trains to Margate every hour, and Turner Contemporary points out that they leave from Stratford International as well as St Pancras. If you are staying in east London, that can cut twenty minutes and a Tube journey off each end of the day; our guide to Stratford explains where the international station sits in relation to the Underground one.

Slower mainline services also run from London Victoria, Charing Cross, Cannon Street and London Bridge. They take longer and are not always cheaper, so on this route the high-speed train is usually the right choice, which is the opposite of the advice we give for Whitstable further along the same coast.

An off-peak day return cost £35.00 when we checked for an October weekday, with some services priced at £43.70 or £56.30, so the exact train matters. Advance singles started at £15.70. Our page on UK train tickets explains why, a railcard takes a third off, and our station guide covers St Pancras.

Turner Contemporary: free, and closed more often than you think

Turner Contemporary stands on the harbour front in a building designed by David Chipperfield, and it is named after J. M. W. Turner, who painted this coast and its skies repeatedly. Entry is free and the gallery is clear about why: art is for everybody, and donations are invited rather than required.

Opening hours change with the season. From April to October it opens 11am to 5pm, Tuesday to Sunday and bank holidays. From November to March it opens 11am to 5pm, Wednesday to Sunday and bank holidays. Mondays are out all year, and Tuesdays are out in winter.

The gallery is a five-minute walk from the Rendezvous car park and the nearest bus stop is Cecil Square, served by the Thanet Loop and routes 8, 8A, 8X, 32 and 36. It sits on the Viking Coastal Trail with bike racks outside Droit House. Children under 12 need to be with an adult. If free galleries are your thing, our list of free museums in London covers the same at home, and Tate Britain holds the national Turner collection.

Dreamland: free to walk in, pay for what you ride

Dreamland is the amusement park behind the seafront, with vintage rides, a roller disco, arcades and street food. The entry model catches people out in a good way: the park itself is free to enter, and you buy ride wristbands, tokens or season tickets at the token booths once you are inside.

That means you can walk in, look at the rides, eat, use the arcades and leave without spending anything on admission. It also means the published prices are on the booths and the booking system rather than on a simple list, so budget by deciding in advance whether your group wants wristbands or a handful of tokens.

Opening is seasonal and limited outside summer. For autumn 2026 the park was open every weekend through September and October, plus every day of the October half term from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November inclusive. On the weekend days we checked, the park opened at 10.30am, rides ran from 11am to 6pm and the roller rink from 10.30am to 5.45pm.

The Shell Grotto, and why you should book your day around it

Under a house on Grotto Hill, a few minutes uphill from the seafront, is a network of underground passages and a chamber lined from floor to ceiling with shells arranged in patterns. Nobody knows who made it, or when, or why. It came to light in the nineteenth century and the arguments have been running ever since.

It is small and it is cheap: £6 for an adult, £5 concession, £2 for a child aged 4 to 16, free under 4, and £13 for a family. Allow about 30 minutes. It is open Wednesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm, and every day from 21 October to 1 November.

• Numbers inside are limited to protect the mosaic, so at busy times you may wait up to 15 minutes.
• It is a confined underground space with limited ventilation, which matters if you are claustrophobic.
• Backpacks, suitcases and large bags are not allowed inside; leave them at reception.
• No dogs. Photography for personal use is fine.
• There is no parking at the Grotto; the nearest pay and display is Trinity Square, CT9 1QY.

One more thing about the Grotto: it is the sort of place that divides a group. Some people come out of it talking about nothing else for a week, and others wonder why they paid £6 to look at a tunnel. At half an hour and the price of a sandwich, we think it is worth the risk. The Grotto's own site sets out the competing theories about its origin without claiming any of them is settled.

The beach, which is actually sand

Margate Main Sands is the reason families keep coming back. Unlike the shingle along most of this coast, it is a genuine sandy bay right in front of the town, with a tidal pool at one end and the harbour arm at the other. At low tide it is very wide indeed.

That also means the sea goes a long way out. Check tide times before you promise anyone a swim, and remember that the sand is exposed to the wind straight off the North Sea, and a warm day in London can feel considerably cooler on the Kent coast. Our guide to the weather month by month is worth a look, and our family guide has more on what works with children.

The Old Town and the harbour arm

Behind the gallery, a small grid of narrow streets holds most of the independent shops, record stalls, vintage dealers and small restaurants. It is the part of Margate that has changed most in the last fifteen years, and it is compact enough to walk in an hour.

From there the harbour arm curves out into the sea with a lighthouse at the end and bars and studios along it. Walking to the end and back at sunset is free and is the single best thing to do in Margate on a clear evening.

A day that fits together

Note the shape of that day: everything opens at 10 or 11 and closes at 5. Margate is not a place to arrive at two in the afternoon.

Margate is also cheap to spend a day in, which is rare for a place two hours from central London. The gallery is free, the beach is free, Dreamland costs nothing to enter and the Grotto is £6. A family of four could see all four for the price of two adult museum tickets in the capital, and the train is the only real expense.

Margate, Whitstable or somewhere else?

Margate has the sand, the art and the funfair. Whitstable has the oysters, the shingle and the quieter high street. Rye and Camber Sands gives you a medieval town and a very wide beach on the other side of Kent, and Brighton is bigger, busier and closer to London.

If you want history rather than seaside, Canterbury is on the same side of the county with its cathedral and city walls. The whole range is compared in our overview of day trips from London.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to get to Margate from London?

About 1 hour 29 minutes on the fastest direct high-speed train from London St Pancras, with most direct services taking 1 hour 32 to 1 hour 39. The same trains call at Stratford International. Slower mainline services from Victoria, Charing Cross, Cannon Street and London Bridge take longer.

Is Turner Contemporary free?

Yes, entry is free and donations are invited. It opens 11am to 5pm, Tuesday to Sunday from April to October and Wednesday to Sunday from November to March, plus bank holidays. Check the gallery's website first, because it closes or partly closes between exhibitions.

Do you have to pay to get into Dreamland?

No. The amusement park is free to enter, and you buy ride wristbands, tokens or season tickets at the token booths inside. Outside summer it opens at weekends only, plus every day of the October half term.

How much is the Shell Grotto in Margate?

£6.00 for an adult, £5.00 for a concession, £2.00 for a child aged 4 to 16, free for under-4s and £13.00 for a family ticket. Allow about 30 minutes. It opens Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm, and daily from 21 October to 1 November.

Does Margate have a sandy beach?

Yes. Margate Main Sands is a genuine sandy bay in front of the town, which is unusual on this coast, and it becomes very wide at low tide. Check tide times before planning a swim, and expect it to feel colder than London because of the wind off the North Sea.

Sources

• Turner Contemporary - Visit us: opening hours, closures and getting here (checked September 2026)
• Shell Grotto - Admission and opening times (checked September 2026)
• Dreamland Margate - Opening times and entry (checked September 2026)
• National Rail Enquiries - London St Pancras to Margate, times and fares (checked September 2026)