Do you know what you need after a rubbish week, a girls weekend away by the sea. A few months ago, my fave girls and I decided we needed an excuse for a girls weekend away, and with birthday’s looming it was the perfect occasion to scour air bnb for a gem. We decided on Margate, a quirky old seaside destination, and a Scandi themed flat right opposite the Turner contemporary overlooking the coast. Our flat worked out at £33 pp for 1 night ( A STEAL) and we let loose on the cute lanes and the old town. Now Margate often has some negative connotations – whenever I mentioned to someone we were going there, the responses would be ‘Margate, of all places, why’, and tbh I wasn’t expecting much, but afterwards I left feeling so refreshed and happy that I can’t stop raving about the place. Although parts may be rundown, the abundance of quirky vintage shops, cutesie cafes and fun attractions, and your fave gal pals, what else could you ever need?
We spent the Saturday afternoon enjoying food, the Shell Grotto (OMG, like £3-4 and so fascinating), traipsing vintage shops and finishing off the day on a bar terrace overlooking the sea and enjoying a vast array of different cocktails, life really couldn’t have been much better. We then popped back to our flat, prettied ourselves up and headed out for a hearty Italian meal at Giorgios which was buzzing with locals, parties and tourists, after which we headed for a few more drinks before calling it a day! The Sunday morning we checked out Greedy Cow for a hearty breakfast, a spot we had eyed up for lunch on the previous day, but due to being such a fab spot for a bite to eat, had no spare tables – so we made a mental note to make sure to get there early enough on the Sunday to nab a seat, and it was so worth it. After we loaded ourselves up on tea, OJ, bacon sandwiches, sausage sandwiches and the most amazing Turkish Eggs, we then checked out the old market, complete with an old red bus which was also a bar, the Turner Contemporary, more shops, and finishing up in another cafe for some refreshments before piling into the car and heading home.
The weekend had gone a little too well for us, so of course some sort of fiasco had to happen, and alas on the way home we might’ve encountered a puncture and after being stranded on the motorway, we finally made it home on the back of a pick up truck! FYI I totally recommend doing a thorough tyre check before you set off on a long journey etc, and if this happens to you then deffo check out Point S, as it can help save some dollar,and they have some great tye checking tips.
It was the most perfect weekend with some of my most favourite people, and I can’t recommend Margate as an easy weekend away enough. it literally has everything you could need for a refreshing mini break!
What are your fave destinations in the UK for a mini break?
Sophie xxx