Holiday: Margate (Day 2) – Birthday Boy (2025)

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Happy Birthday to me! 😁. We’re with Paul & Sue in Margate for a few days, soaking up the sights and sounds of a town I’ve never been to before! Richard & Nicki are joining us after Breakfast.

Birthday Breakfast

9.20am: Paul & Sue joined us for my Birthday breakfast. They surprised with me with some gifts to celebrate my special day too! Lucky me!! 😊😊👏

10.25am: After breakfast, we headed for the nearby Spitfire and Hurricane Memorial Museum. It was only a short distance away, and we grabbed a cab from the Station next door. Luckily, there was one already there, driven by Hassan – and as the day would unfold, he would become our new BFF.

Spitfire and Hurricane Museum

10.45am: We were soon at our destination where, from that point on, Hassan became our ‘driver for the day’! 👍👍

The Memorial Museum is situated on one of the very few surviving airfields that participated in the Battle of Britain – RAF Manston. Its location meant it was only 10 minutes from occupied France but it also bore the brunt of Luftwaffe attacks in the early days of WWII.

We met Richard & Nicki and the six of us began to explore the Museum. If you love the shape and sound of Spitfires as much as I do, this is one of the few places where it’s possible to get ‘up close and personal’ to these iconic warbirds.

The main attraction of the Museum was a fully restored a Spitfire Mk XVI and similarly, a Hurricane Mk IIc.

With a bit of PRE-booking it’s possible to try out their flight simulator to pilot either a ‘Spit’ or a Lancaster. Sadly, we hadn’t, and both were fully booked today. ☹️. Meanwhile, in the other half of the Museum, the Hurricane awaited.

We all agreed that it had been a great visit! There was plenty to see, where it was all presented in easily digestible ‘bite-sized chunks’. There were plenty of staff on hand too – all Volunteers, but better still, it was a free entry! It was one of those Museums that really should charge for entry, even if it’s only a fiver 👍. Definitely worth a look, if you’re in the area.

Broadstairs

11.32am: Hassan picked us up in double-quick time, and we headed for Broadstairs. He took us, by mutual agreement, on a slightly convoluted route. Originally from Turkiye and now a local (for 15 years), he wanted to show us how the area was being decimated by all the new house building. We’re used to that back at home, but this was in a different league! New builds EVERYWHERE, it seemed. We also saw the massive out-of-town retail park called ‘Westwood Retail Park’ in the middle of the Isle of Thanet. It was simply enormous, and easily explains why the town ‘centres’ of Ramsgate and Margate are struggling.

12.05pm: We were soon mooching around Broadstairs. It was coldISH, but we were suitably dressed for the occasion. The town was busier than Margate, and we got a sense that it was more affluent than its neighbours – and certainly very popular for dogs! Like the new builds earlier, they were everywhere! 😀

If I only ever remember one thing about Broadstairs, it’ll be its gorgeous beaches👍 – there’s sandy beaches and very sandy beaches and then there’s Broadstairs! Fantastic!!

It was great, just wandering around, soaking up the sights. In addition to the beauty of the beaches, the town looked good too. Many of the buildings were quite old and from an architectural point of view, very interesting to look at. We even saw a Church that date back to the 11th century.

Elevenses in Broadstairs

12.20pm: Elevenses? Well, it was close! It was still somewhat breezy out there so we sought refuge in the nearest eatery – The Pavilion (& Garden on the Sand).

Not quite the full complement of ‘Northants Nutters’ (Geoff & Rhonda are sunning it in Cyprus!)

Service was swift, and we were soon assembling our table for six before tucking into some delicious mid-morning snacks. We spent about an hour there before deciding to continue our exploration of the town and a beach walk too around the area of of Louisa Bay.

1.15pm: The beach, maybe understandably, was pretty much deserted except for a few brave souls taking in the view out to sea. We couldn’t see anyone actually in the sea, but it was easy to imagine how busy the area would be during the Summer months.

Yes, Broadstairs certainly got our vote today, even if the weather could have been warmer! Not only did the area look affluent, so did the seagulls! Easily about twice the size of ones I’d seen elsewhere! 😯

As we wandered away from Louisa Bay and towards the shopping area, we could see that the town appeared to be in rude health. There were plenty of people shopping (including US stocking up on Lottery tickets for the big draw tonight!) and the numerous eateries, easily outnumbering what we’d seen in Margate, were all doing very well, thank-you.

We liked Broadstairs! 👍👍👍👍👍👍

A quick call to Hassan and we were soon heading back to the Premier Inn. On the journey back, we took a slight diversion to learn more about the area. Just coming out of Broadstairs, we passed ‘Millionaires Row’ (not its proper name, but you get the picture!) a very long development of properties where the very rich people of the area reside. Not only gated, it had security barriers too, as if to say: ‘Begone, riff-raff! Next stop took us past the Lido and Botany Bay Beach and then onward through the area of Cliftonville. Hassan explained that a lot of the ‘proper English’ shops had already closed here, although to me, the area still looked quite busy.

On a more positive front, as we approached the now familiar seafront area of Margate, Hassan explained that things could be on the up here. For those of you who have fond memories of the area, it seems that there has been significant investment in the area in recent times. As an example, Hassan pointed out about five retail units that until recently, had been boarded up – were now trading under new owners 👍😊

2.55pm: As we arrived back at the Premier Inn, we said our farewells to Hassan, as Richard & Nicki arrived around the same time. A quick hello and then time for ‘feet up’ for a short while before my Birthday celebrations began.

Pre Dinner Dwinkies

5.20pm: It was all around to ours for some Birthday fizz! As six of us attempted to cram into an area designed for two, we were soon beginning the celebrations!

6.15pm: Time to jump aboard the Taxi for the short ride to my Birthday celebration.

Secret Spices Restaurant

6.32pm: Here we are at ‘Secret Spices’ a well-known Indian Restaurant in Margate. You can’t beat a good curry – especially on your Birthday! 👍😊

The slightly tired exterior gave way to a very modern interior, and on looking through the menu, we knew immediately we were in for something ‘a little different’. The ‘Staff Curry’ and ‘Dangerous Curry’ immediately stood out! Nice prices too!

There was a bit of a wait for our food to arrive, but it was worth it! It gave us time to look at their numerous awards! 😊

The obligatory pile of Poppadoms made their appearance, and tempted by the ‘Dangerous Curry’ on the menu, Nicki and I asked for a small sample of the sauce, to act as an accompaniment.

As Richard, Nicki and I dived in, we could immediately see how it got its name. The spiciness didn’t ‘hit’ immediately, it was more of a slow burn – but when it did, what a burn!! Most of us like it hot, but even we thought that a WHOLE CURRY with this as the sauce, would be too much! 🥵🥵🥵

The above is just a small sample of the food we’d ordered. Typically, we had all chosen too much, and with the rice and the various naan breads, we almost needed a bigger table! But ‘over-ordering’ is all part of the fun isn’t it!? It was certainly a meal to remember – for all the right reasons – and good to be sharing it with friends.

No Indian Meal would be complete without the usually appalling Dessert choice – and judging by the menu, it all looked pretty ‘usual’. But do you know what? For the few of us who had room, our choices were delicious! 👏😋😋. And if that wasn’t enough, my scheming friends had arranged an ‘extra’ something spookily accompanied by the restaurant’s dimmed lights and supporting soundtrack by 50 Cent: ‘It’s your Birthday!’ Luckily for my friends and the other guests in the restaurant, I chose not to dance to it, preferring to concentrate on the ‘gift of Cheesecake’!

8.55pm: The time passed quickly, and even though we’d allowed 2½ hours, it ended all too soon. Not surprisingly, we were all full, and I vowed never to eat food ever again! (yeah, right!) 😆

And when I said: “I’ll never eat food again” that didn’t include drinking. We grabbed our Taxi and headed back to the Premier Inn – and their Bar!

9.05pm: What a perfect end to the evening! Chilling out over a drink or two with friends! Thanks for sharing my day with me. We’d seen a lot, eaten a lot and were especially appreciative of Hassan (and later, his son Burak) who did much more than just ‘taxi us’ around today. Another example of the ‘kindness of strangers’ and as I said goodbye to the last of my ‘sixty something’ Birthdays, somehow, it made the day even more special 😍😍

I have no idea what time this Birthday Boy eventually went to bed – 10.30pm maybe? Today, for once, I was almost a ‘Party Animal’ 😆😆😆. Almost!! Nighty-night! 💤🥱💤🥱

Tomorrow

We’ve got plans to head off to Whitstable by train and maybe nearby Herne Bay, if time allows. We’ve also got another celebratory meal booked at the George and Heart in Margate in the evening. See you then!