Dark Margate Walk

 By Dan Thompson - Unreliable Historian

A Dead Good Festival Event

Sunday 1st November
11:00am - 12:30pm
Meet-up point: The Margate Bookshop, Market Place, Margate 

 £10

Finishing point:  Bar Nothing, 17 Cliff Terrace, Margate

Step into the hidden histories and stranger stories of Margate on a one-hour guided walk with artist, writer, anarchist and self-confessed unreliable historian Dan Thompson.

Wandering through lost rivers, sacred springs, ancient burials and chalk secrets, Dan uncovers a dark, rotten and wonderfully unreliable Margate, exploring two thousand years of local history and Kentish folklore. From Iron Age hillforts and Roman echoes to a medieval harbour and a Brutalist tower block; from the Lion Queen of England and East End gangsters to Zeppelin, David Bowie and the first woman to teach astronomy to girls — this is Margate as you've never heard it before.

Built on stories, strange connections and bad memories, the walk travels from prehistory to David Bowie's R&B band, uncovering the people, places and forgotten histories that have shaped this peculiar seaside town.

The walk lasts approximately one hour to one and a half hours, taking place on level ground with some gentle hills.

Ticket sales support the community programme at Marine Studios.

Come prepared to see Margate differently — to follow its forgotten paths, question its official stories, and meet the eccentrics and troublemakers hiding in its history. Expect folklore, forgotten secrets and one or two mysteries to wrangle with along the way.

After the walk, enjoy the Mystic Market at Bar Nothing

 (where the walk finishes)

WHERE YOU’LL FIND

• Witchy crafts & magical makers
• Tarot & palm readers
• Magickal Jewellery
• Handmade broomsticks
• Herbal remedies & plant alchemy
• Esoteric books & otherworldly guides

Browse the stalls, discover something strange and wonderful, have your cards or palms read, find a new book, pick up a piece of enchanted jewellery or simply settle in with good food and warming drinks.

FOOD & WARMTH

We’ll be serving up delicious, comforting, seasonal food, perfect for settling in and warming yourself after the walk.

 You can read our ticket terms and conditions here. 

ABOUT YOUR GUIDE

DAN THOMPSON

Dan is a historian, writer, anarchist, artist and storyteller based in Margate. Through his Seaside History Club, he explores the hidden, curious and often overlooked histories of coastal towns, bringing together local archives, folklore, archaeology and storytelling. 

His walks and talks reveal the strange, magical and eccentric stories woven into Margate’s streets, buildings and shoreline, offering a fresh and often unexpected way of seeing the town and its past.

danthompson.co.uk

@danthompson33