Matthew Buck

Mr Whippy 99s dripping down chins. Digging boats in the sand behind stripy windbreakers. Chips eaten from the bag with sea-salty fingers. The English beach resorts of old may have gone out of fashion, but nostalgia for them certainly hasn't. 'Dreamland is all about taking all the best bits of the British seaside and recreating that with a modern twist,' says Eddie Kemsley, the amusement park's CEO. It first opened in the 1860s as Hall by the Sea before changing to its current name in 1920, and is now emerging from a £18 million transformation after a decade-long battle to save it from developers. The Grade-II-listed scenic railway - not big or fast enough to be called a rollercoaster today, but the views are still a thrill - has been restored plank by plank. The other 17 rides, including dodgems and teacups, a helter skelter and a Ferris wheel, are a whirl through fairground history.

Matthew Buck


'The rides are only part of it, though,' says Kemsley. DJs will play at the roller disco; a circus and high-diving show will arrive for the summer; drive-in movies and festivals are planned, while street-food vans serve candy floss, sea-salt-flavour ice cream and, of course, fish and chips. Margate's creative-driven rebirth - the Turner Contemporary opened here in 2011 - has meant that there's plenty of local talent to tap into: Zoe Murphy's screen prints of Dreamland scenes decorate tea towels and cushions on sale in the gift shop, alongside Keith Brymer Jones' slogan-stamped mugs. And the town's most famous luminary Tracey Emin, who worked at Dreamland as a waitress in the summer of 1977, is designing welcome neons (her 'I Never Stopped Loving You' glows from Droit House on the harbour arm).

Sure, there's still a boarded-up Woolworths, pawnshops and shabby arcades, but among the new cafés and boutique B&Bs in the old town there's an undeniable feeling of optimism - and for Dreamland this is just the first stage. 'It's an amazing work in progress, but it is a work in progress,' adds Red or Dead designer Wayne Hemingway, the creative brains behind the project. 'It was always about more than the amusements.' The next step will be to restore the Art Deco cinema and bingo-hall space: 'But for that to happen we need people to come down and enjoy a day out at Dreamland again,' he says. Adult tickets from £14.95; www.dreamland.co.uk

Matthew Buck

WHAT ELSE IS NEW?

HAECKELS

Dom Bridges and Alex Verier make scents and skincare in their Cliftonville lab (above)using botanicals foraged along the coast. They've even bottled Dreamland's scent: the 23' 5" N fragrance smells of rose with hints of smoky wood and leather from the railway fire in 2008. Their line has a second home at Shoreditch's Ace Hotel and now they're working on their next project: a spa in a traditional sea-bathing machine. www.haeckels.co.uk


ROOST

Margate's popular GB Pizza turns its attention to rotisserie chicken for its second spot, but with the same stripped-back style (up-cycled furniture) and a giant chicken rendered in yellow neon. www.roostmargate.com

PLINTH

Artists Leon Hatcher and Emma Gibson moved from London to open a lifestyle store selling unique homewares, artist editions and indie publications. 'In Hackney everything was becoming diluted, people were moving farther away as it was so expensive,' says Hatcher. 'Margate feels more exciting with more possibilities.' www.plinthspace.com

MARGATE ARTS CLUB

This is a new social space for the town's creatives on Northdown Road (handy for nearby art hub Resort Studios) with workshops, music events and yoga classes. Meanwhile, Transmission Records will sell vinyl, art and toys curated by founder Spencer Hickman and artist Kimberley Holladay.