Little known fact: The word
yule comes from the
Norse winter celebration. So considering the
Isle of Thanet was frequently attacked by Vikings, it seemed like an appropriate place to go for the long Christmas weekend. Yuletide, like pretty much all Norse holidays, includes lots of drinking, so we did our part in honoring that tradition in
Margate, or
Shoreditch-on-Sea.
After taking the afternoon train, we checked into our vacation apartment
Horatio Heights, then set out to explore the surrounding neighborhood. Cliftonville is home to one of the region's many micropubs,
The Tap Room (top left). These cozy little spots consist of a few tables and a stripped-down selection of bar offerings on rotation, usually a collection of beer and cider housed in a manner befitting a frat's DIY keg-party construction project (top right). Next, we headed downhill and downtown to
The Lifeboat, a Brewdog establishment (bottom left) that had a nice yule log burning in the fireplace (bottom right).
The next morning, we took a stroll along the shores of the former island, which is now a peninsula since the
Wantsum Channel dried up. There was no water left in the abandoned
lido below the cliffs or our neighborhood either (top left). On its graffiti-covered surface, Margate appears to be decaying, but it is revitalizing itself as a holiday destination with the renovation of
Dreamland, a hip, new amusement park across from the city's historic, old
clock tower (top right). One of the city's oldest structures, the 16th-century timber-framed
Tudor House (bottom left), stands out amid all the concrete that lines the city's tidal harbor (bottom right).
The harbor is the central feature of another isle town,
Ramsgate (top left), which was bustling with people picking up last-minute gifts and supplies at the city's Saturday market (top right). There was quite a line at
Taylor Meats, possibly due to its display of Christmas hams (bottom left). We already had our protein for dinner the next day, so we grabbed some sausage-roll snacks and headed to
The Ravensgate Arms, which was also decked out with lots of holiday cheer (bottom right).
Perhaps we should have saved our lunch stop for
Sandwich, whose
fourth earl, John Montagu,
"invented" the noontime staple (top left). As a tourist destination, the city is more well-known for architectural than culinary developments due to its many timbered buildings, including the
Guildhall, one of only two institutions in the world to own both a copy of the Magna Carta and the follow-up
Charter of the Forest (top right). We took a break in the wood-framed pub
Admiral Owen, named after the British naval officer who mapped the entire eastern coast of Africa (bottom left). After we returned to Margate, we continued the maritime theme with a Christmas Eve dinner at
Buoy and Oyster (bottom right).
On Christmas morning, we didn't wake up to any presents under the tree, despite the fact that we encountered a coterie of Santa Clauses during our dog walk (top left). As we proceeded through the park, we realized they were holly, jolly participants in a 5K (top right). Inspired by their health consciousness, we opted for an extra-long walk along
Palm Bay (bottom left). After reaching the point of the clifftop, we descended to the seaside promenade and worked our way back to the ramp to our apartment (bottom right).
For many, a Christmas walk consists of a stroll to the neighborhood pub, to share holiday cheer with the community. We set out for a micropub on Margate's
Harbour Arm, but it wasn't open yet, so we tided ourselves over with a drink at
The Lantern Cafe (top). Later in the afternoon, we returned to find the
Harbour Arms open -- and hopping with cheerful characters (bottom left). We made the long walk back to the micropub after friendly patrons at the
London Tavern (bottom right), including a beer aficionado we met at The Tap Room two days earlier, told us it was worth the trek. They were right.
By the early evening, the pubs closed and the streets cleared as people, ourselves included, headed home for Christmas dinner. With our apartment kitchen, we managed to put out quite a spread, including a main dish of game and fowl stew (left). After our meal, TJ and Sage, with tired feet and full bellies, settled in for a long winter's nap (right).
After a good rest, we were ready for another pedestrian adventure, this time in the form of the
Turner and Dickens Walk, which connects the residences of the artist and author. Being Boxing Day, most attractions were closed, but from the outside, we observed
Drapers Windmill, a smock mill whose sails were in storage for the season (top left). We cut through numerous cabbage fields (top right) on our way to
St. Peter-in-Thanet (bottom left), a church whose graveyard holds the remains of 54 casualties of the world wars, including John Parr, believed to be the first British soldier killed on the Western Front in 1914 (bottom right).
In the small parish village, we made two stops, starting with
The Four Candles, which bills itself as the smallest brewpub in the United Kingdom (top left). Indeed, it was tight quarters inside, especially when seven people and three dogs crowded around the counters (top right). There was much more room, for humans and canines alike, at the
Yard of Ale (bottom left). Perhaps the pub's past contributed to the lesser patronage: It is housed in the former stables of a funeral home (bottom right).
With the short winter days, the sun was going down by the time we hit the end of the trail in
Broadstairs, which supposedly was Dickens' inspiration to write
David Copperfield. We were too late to visit the museum created in his former home, so instead, we passed
Crampton Tower -- a water tower, not a castle turret -- as we headed waterside (left). At the beach, we had some snacks and conversation at
The Tartar Frigate (right), then stopped in
Mind the Gap, a public-transport-themed pub, before we caught the bus back to Margate.
On our last morning, everything was opening up after the holiday, so we were able to look inside the
Old Kent Market, which houses a cafe in a double-decker bus (top left) and
The Little Prince, the smallest pub -- not brewpub -- in Great Britain (top right). The market had an artistic feel, but the true modern masterpieces were found in the
Turner Contemporary museum across the street (bottom left). An artist on the harbor wall adjacent to the museum appeared to be channeling Turner, known for his ability to paint light, and Thanet, whose skies he described as "the loveliest in all of Europe" (bottom right).
