my weekend in margate

 Now that we're an old married couple, Dan and I don't tend to make much of a thing of the 'dating anniversary' that we used to mark annually. Having said that, right at the beginning of 2016, we realised that we'd soon be 10 years old! (I mean of course that we'd have been a couple for 10 years, not that we'd each have reached the wise old age of 10. We're still chasing that level of wisdom). We happily decided that this realisation called for some sort of treat. So off we popped to Margate for a big fat chill and to generally spoil ourselves at The Reading Rooms. I've done a full review of this, our favourite B&B, which you can read here. We loved it so much the first time round that we thought a revisit was in order and we're so pleased we returned. The Reading Rooms was as perfect as ever and there were lots of new things to see in Margate which easily kept us entertained for the weekend. The Reading Rooms breakfast is still my favourite thing to enjoy in Margate but to hear about other things I'd recommend to do, keep reading...   T U R N E R  C O N T E M P O R A R Y  :If you're feeling arty - as we usually are - then your first stop should be Turner Contemporary, an art gallery offering a rolling programme of temporary exhibitions. These have included shows by Grayson Perry, Tracy Emin, more recently a group show looking at Risk and of course work by Turner himself. Its building, designed by Sir David Chipperfield, is situated on the site that JMW Turner stayed when visiting Margate and celebrates his association with the town. It's got a lovely family/community vibe and is free to visit (though donations are gratefully received). Well worth a wonder round. W H E R E  T O  E A T  :We love food. After your deliciously filling breakfast at The Reading Rooms you won't need much for lunch but if you can manage to squeeze in some fish and chips then try Peter's Fish Factory. It's take away only so prepare to pull up a pew outside or maybe sit on the seafront steps or benches to enjoy your warming seaside fair. Our favourite places for dinner are The Ambrette and Handverk & Found. The Ambrette is an Indian restaurant celebrating a seasonal menu featuring a mixture of local and exotic ingredients. The decor is not exciting, but the food is! Hanfverk & Found is a little cooler, in a small but perfectly formed kind of way. The restaurant is tiny so you'll want to book. They specialise in fish and they do it very well. S H O P P I N G  :Margate Retro is an old favourite of ours. If you like vintage/bric-a-bracing on a large scale then check out RG Scott's and make sure you go downstairs to Junk Deluxe. If wellness is your thing then you must stop by Haeckels. It's a natural health and skincare brand, many of the ingredients found and distilled in Margate itself. Their hand crafted products are formulated in their cliff top lab and they own one of only two licenses to harvest seaweed from the English coast. You can imagine it's not a cheap shop but those who enjoy the benefits of natural ingredients expertly prepared for use in skincare, candles and general wellbeing, will love this place. If you don't want to splurge it's still well worth a walk around if only for the education and the smells. So that's art, eating, shopping and sleeping covered. All the important stuff me thinks! But if you have any suggestions of places to stop by in Margate for our next visit then do let me know in the comments below. I'd also be really interested to hear your thoughts on any other nice English seaside towns we should try. We love a bit of Whitstable and very much enjoyed the Cromer Carnival - 'must do' guide for that here. But which seaside town should we be making a beeline for this summer? Answers on a postcard? Or just in the comment box below would be fine too :)