Kent Guide

From Margate to Manor

Guide

No. 43 • October 2026

‘Margate’s thriving... All that Kent coast. And I could have a giant studio and be really relaxed,’ said Tracey Emin when she decided to leave London behind. Join us on a journey through Kent, taking in cottages, gardens, galleries and the places where artists have found refuge.

text and photos: Sarah Knigge

1. PROSPECT COTTAGE

1 Dungeness Road, Dungeness

1 Dungeness Road, Dungeness

In the vast, flat expanse of Dungeness, Prospect Cottage, with its bright yellow window frames, rises like a fever dream: a beautiful oasis between the sea on one side and the nuclear power stations on the other. It was the home of filmmaker, artist and writer Derek Jarman (1942-1994), who moved into the black fisherman’s cottage in 1987. Around it, he created a garden of sculptures made from flint, driftwood and rusted iron, alongside hardy plants that could take root among the shingle: poppies, sea kale and medicinal herbs. As his health deteriorated in the years that followed due to HIV, the garden became for him ‘a therapy and a pharmacopoeia’, a place he continued to tend until his death.

Fig 2. photo: Howard Sooley

Derek Jarman

‘Apart from the past that haunts me – film, sex and London – I have never been happier […] I look up and see the deep azure sea through my window in the February sunshine, and today I saw my first bumblebee. I have planted lavender and clumps of red-hot pokers.’

2. UPDOWN FARMHOUSE

Fig 3. A burst of bright orange, the library is one of the delightfully laid-back rooms in the hotel’s seventeenth-century manor house

2. UPDOWN FARMHOUSE

Updown Road, Deal

Updown Farmhouse feels less like a hotel and more like the country retreat of friends who have got everything just right: three hectares of grounds with a kitchen garden, swimming pool, several cottages and a seventeenth-century manor house with a library and a drawing room opening onto the terrace. Here, a pair of wellies is all the encouragement you need to venture into the garden, even when the British weather is less than inviting. The wonderfully relaxed atmosphere owes much to the wild, informal gardens and the personal art collection of its founders, chef Oli Brown and his partner Ruth Leigh. You don’t have to stay the night to enjoy it: come for an Italian dinner at the restaurant or stop by for a drink at the newly opened cocktail bar, Vita.

3. Margate

Fig 4. Margate from above: a seaside town with rough edges and plenty of character, where historic façades meet sand and sea

Twenty years ago, Margate, on the north-east coast of Kent, was hardly the place to be: a slightly shabby seaside town that had seen better days. Thankfully, it hasn’t lost all its rough edges. But over the past two decades, artists and creative entrepreneurs escaping London’s soaring rents have breathed new life into the town, gradually turning it into a lively destination filled with galleries, artists’ studios, independent shops, restaurants and hotels.

4. FORT ROAD HOTEL

Fig 5. The Fort Road Hotel has found its home in one of Margate’s oldest buildings

4. FORT ROAD HOTEL

18 Fort Road, Margate

In 2018, Frieze magazine co-founders Matthew Slotover and Tom Gidley bought one of Margate’s oldest buildings, a faded beauty in need of some attention. Together with developer and designer Gabriel Chipperfield, they transformed it into the Fort Road Hotel, which opened four years later with fourteen individually designed rooms, a restaurant, bar and rooftop terrace. Gidley, an artist himself, curated the collection of art on display, largely twentieth-century abstract works by local artists, shown alongside mid-century Danish design. The hotel makes a wonderful base for exploring Margate’s historic centre.

5. TURNER CONTEMPORARY & TKE

Rendezvous & 99 Victoria Road, Margate

Fig 6. Outside Turner Contemporary stands Antony Gormley’s sculpture Another Time, a solitary figure that disappears beneath the waves at high tide

Rendezvous & 99 Victoria Road, Margate

Housed in a striking seafront building designed by David Chipperfield, Turner Contemporary takes its inspiration from J.M.W. Turner, the great painter of seascapes. The gallery has no permanent collection, although works by Antony Gormley and Tracey Emin can be found outside, and instead presents a changing programme of exhibitions featuring international contemporary artists. For more contemporary art, visit Tracey Emin’s TKE Studios Final Show during the summer season, showcasing work by artists who have taken part in the studio’s residency programme.

6. SARGASSO

Fig 7. Cucumber with strawberries, feta and mint: at Sargasso, even the simplest ingredients become something extraordinary

6. SARGASSO

Stone Pier, Margate

At Sargasso, the chefs bring a Mediterranean influence and an experimental touch to local, seasonal ingredients, with fresh fish, seafood and colourful vegetables taking centre stage on an ever-changing menu. Even with just a handful of dishes to choose from, deciding what to order is no easy task. Take the staff’s advice or let yourself be tempted by the daily specials.

7. LES ANIMAUX

Fig 8. Les Animaux feels more like someone’s living room than a boutique, inviting you to linger, try things on and happily lose track of time

7. LES ANIMAUX

1 & 3 Lombard Street, Margate

After years in the fashion industry, including a stint at Viktor & Rolf, Lisa Jackson launched her own label, creating timeless designs with sustainability at their heart. On Lombard Street, you’ll find two shops: one dedicated to womenswear and home to her atelier, the other offering menswear, books, magazines and coffee. Her hand-painted, seasonless pieces are designed to be worn all year round, while the lifetime repair service provides the perfect excuse for another trip to Margate.

8. FORTS & XYLO BREWING

8 Clifton Terrace & 2-14 High Street, Margate

Fig 9. At Xylo, the ambition is to brew beers that are ‘big and bold’

8 Clifton Terrace & 2-14 High Street, Margate

Forts is a firm favourite among Margate locals, and for good reason: with excellent coffee, brunch and sea views, it’s the perfect place to start your day. If you fancy something a little stronger later on, head to microbrewery Xylo for a locally brewed craft beer. Enjoy it on the terrace or take it down to the beach and watch the sun go down.