Empire of Light - Film Location Leaflet

From Academy Award®-winning director and writer Sam Mendes, EMPIRE OF LIGHT is a moving drama about the power of human connection during turbulent times. Set in and around a faded old cinema in an English coastal town in the early 1980s, it follows Hilary (Olivia Colman) a cinema manager struggling with her mental health, and Stephen (Micheal Ward), a new employee who longs to escape this provincial town in which he faces daily adversity. Both Hilary and Stephen find a sense of belonging through their unlikely and tender relationship and come to experience the healing power of music, cinema, and community.

Much of Empire of Light was filmed at locations across Margate, while a few key scenes were filmed on Broadstairs seafront

The film map highlights the venues and locations that were used during filming and the scenes in which they featured, alongside key areas of interest in each town.

www.visitthanet.co.uk/empireoflight

Powell-Cotton Museum Exhibitions, Birchington

The Powell-Cotton Museum is an internationally important museum of African and Asian natural history and cultural objects, neighbouring the stunning Quex House and Gardens.

2023 new exhibitions 

• Open from 24th June Namibian Narratives - display of work created by six women from Ovamboland (Northern Namibia) who were commissioned to make objects that represent themselves.
• Open from 24th June Creative responses to the collection - a second creative response to artefacts from the Angola/Namibia border comes from students at the University of Namibia. The students have created appliques and a silk screen printed textile in response to photographs of objects collected by Diana and Antoinette Powell-Cotton in the 1930s.
• Living Lineages: Bajuni Island Lives in the Powell-Cotton Archives - a selection of photographs taken by Diana Powell-Cotton of the community inhabiting the Bajuni Islands (an archipelago off the coast of Somalia and Northern Kenya) in the 1930s

https://powell-cottonmuseum.org

50th Anniversary of Dickens House Museum and new walking trail

2023 marks the 50th anniversary since Dickens House Museum opened on Broadstairs seafront. The house was once the home of Miss Mary Pearson Strong on whom Charles Dickens based much of the character of MIss Betsey Trotwood, in his novel David Copperfield. The museum commemorates the novelist’s association with his beloved Broadstairs, with the house containing memorabilia, pictures, letters and items that once belonged to Charles Dickens plus displays of Victoriana and costumes of the time.

A new walking trail has been created to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Dickens House Museum is available. The trail starts and ends at the Museum, highlighting the author’s connections to Broadstairs.

www.dickensmuseumbroadstairs.com

The Granville Theatre, Ramsgate

Reopened in May 2023, The Granville Theatre has been restored as a home for entertainment, providing a wide array of entertainment and a varied programme of events.

As well as providing a new performance space for producers, performers and creatives to showcase their work, the theatre is committed to providing an inspiring and welcoming venue, plus providing future generations of performers a place to excel and grow.

www.thegranvilletheatre.com

Turner Contemporary Exhibitions 

Built on the site of the guest house that JMW Turner stayed at during his time in Margate, see contemporary and historical art.

• 7th October 2023 - 14th January 2024: In The Offing 
• 7th October 2023 - 14th January 2024: Oh! Dreamland
• 18th October - 3rd December 2023: Platform Graduate Award 2023
• 3rd February - 6th May 2024: Beyond Form: Lines of Abstraction, 1950 -1970
• Until November 2030: Antony Gormley- 'Another Time' (Behind gallery in sea)

www.turnercontemporary.org

Margate Leisure Centre

A multi-purpose activity and events space hosting Black Axe Throwing and Klak (boule/pétanque).

Black Axe Throwing is available on three lanes. Over 18s only, £24 per person. Each session lasts one hour. Booking required.

Klak is named after the noise the pétanque balls make on meeting. The Klak boule bar offers the largest indoor petanque facility in the UK. Perfect for all ages, the friendly instructors guide you through the addictive game of petanque. There are four pistes, each one available for up to six people.

There are two Hammerschlagen logs for you to pit your skills against your friends. Drive a four inch nail into the log before anyone else, but there’s always a twist! Also features a Pizzeria, bar and music. 

www.blackaxethrowing.com/margate

Chapel House Estate 

Chapel House Estate is a destination wedding venue in Minster, which includes the converted gorgeous Chapel House with three en-suite bedrooms, a honeymoon suite with a private terrace, plus an arts and crafts style garden.

As well as hosting large weddings of up to 150 seated, the Walled Courtyard within The Chapel House Estate, provides the perfect backdrop for intimate and private midweek weddings. With a private bar and No9 restaurant seating up to thirty guests, this secret space is a sun trap with an Italian vibe.

The estate offers a beauty treatment and massage lodge, plus nine luxury hideaway lodges that sleep up to 18 adults plus children.

www.chapelhouseestate.co.uk

Newly restored and opened Fort Road Hotel

Fort Road Hotel was purchased at auction in 2018. The building has now been rebuilt and reimagined by partners Matthew Slotover, Gabriel Chipperfield and Tom Gidley, with Fleet Architects. It re-opened on 1 September 2022.

An additional top floor and terrace has been added to create a 14-room hotel with distinctive colour schemes, carefully selected artworks and period furniture. The roof terrace, open to hotel guests, offers 360° panoramic views of the vast Margate seascape and skyline, the perfect place to experience Margate’s famous ‘Turner sunsets’.

Art plays a key role in the hotel’s interior design. The basement bar features artworks by contemporary artists with close connections to Margate, including Tracey Emin and Hannah Lees. A specially commissioned mural by Sophie Von Hellermann fills the stairway between the 35-cover restaurant and the two-storey basement bar. 20th century abstract and figurative works decorate the rooms, and the corridors are lined with vintage Margate-themed photographs, postcards, memorabilia and antique maps.

The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, tea and cake and dinner.  A menu has been created with inspiration by late 19th and 20th-century female food writers including Isabella Beeton, Elizabeth David and Jane Grigson

https://fortroadhotel.com/

Elev8 - Indoor Inflatable Activity Zone

Opened on 8th October 2022, an immersive multi-activity zone of bouncing, jumping, and climbing and the latest interactive experiences. There are two parks, one for under fours with less challenging features and the main arena suitable for over fours.

Party nights with music and atmospheric lighting are held on Friday and Saturday nights. There are toddler mornings and after school sessions.

The bounce park is the first phase of the project with plans for new features to be added.

www.elev8fun.co.uk

Selina Margate

The 40-room Selina Margate hotel marks the sixth UK opening for the rapidly growing hospitality and experiential brand targeting millennial and Gen Z travellers.

As with Selina’s flagship hotel in London, and its properties in Brighton, Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester, Margate combines eclectic accommodation across a variety of room types plus coworking, recreation, wellness and experiences.

Selina prides itself on designing properties by using artwork and advice from local artists, creators and tastemakers, breathing new life into existing buildings in interesting locations. Set in an elegant Victorian property close to the famous Grade II listed Walpole Bay Tidal Pool, Margate exemplifies this premise.

A large cowork space and meeting rooms present guests, residents and locals alike with an inviting and calming space to work, for a day, a week, a month or longer. In addition, a large beer garden is the place to grab lunch or dinner and a cocktail as the sun goes down.

www.selina.com/uk/margate

No.42 by GuestHouse, Margate

Continuing their mission to bring happy hotels to historic buildings on some of Britain’s most desirable streets, boutique hospitality group GuestHouse, has opened the doors to the third property in their portfolio in a Victorian beach-front building overlooking Margate Main Sands in July 2023.

Guests stepping inside the elegant, seafront property will find 21 bedrooms, a restaurant, a rooftop bar, a beachfront café serving healthy and organic food throughout the day, a lounge space and a spa. All these spaces have been designed by GuestHouse’s in-house interior design team, drawing inspiration from the colourful and unfading seaside character of the town. In addition to all furniture being British-made, the interiors celebrate local talent, artists and highly skilled makers from Margate’s abundant creative community, showcasing their work and giving a sense of place to the interior design. 

www.guesthousehotels.co.uk

The WonderWorks, Margate 

Previously Hornby Visitor Centre, this reimagined experience featuring new miniature worlds and layouts alongside incredible exhibition pieces of Hornby, Airfix, CORGI, Scalextric and Pocher. After all the exploring visit the redesigned café with an updated menu featuring local produce or browse the shelves of the shop. Look out for daily workshops and special events. 

www.wonderworksmargate.co.uk

West Bay House, Westgate-on-Sea

West Bay House is a vast and opulent home with unbeatable views across the stunning West Bay. Located in Westgate-on-Sea, the house sleeps up to 18 in nine en suite bedrooms. It features a large family dining room, kitchen, two sitting rooms and a cardroom-come-library. It is available for private hire all year round.

The house was originally designed in the Queen Anne Revival style by renowned Victorian architect Sir Ernest George and his partner Harold Ainsworth Peto. In 1882 it was awarded the title of ‘House of the Year’. It would go on to become a school and hotel before returning to residential use. It has now been brought back to a contemporary version of its original grandeur.

The house’s west facing position makes for the most memorable sunsets. It is a unique offering for overnight stays, corporate retreats, events and away days, the perfect getaway for groups and large families.

www.westbayhouse.co.uk

Royal Harbour, Ramsgate - Harbour Highlights Audio Tour

Mischievous Theatre CIC joined up with Stephen Frost and Tracy Russell to produce Harbour Highlights, the first of a series of audio trails for Ramsgate and beyond. Harbour Highlights is an audio tour of Ramsgate’s historic Royal Harbour, starting at the lighthouse and finishing at the Royal Harbour Brasserie.

Listen to Lady Emma Hamilton, Billy Biscuit, King George IV, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and other engaging and charming characters from Ramsgate’s colourful past.

The trail is free to download onto a smartphone (iOS or Android) on the Useeum App - search for Ramsgate and click on the Harbour Highlights tour. The audio tour can be paused at any point, giving plenty of opportunity to make the most of the food and drink outlets on the waterfront.

Thanet Experiences

Looking to tick something off your bucket list? Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate may just be able to help you with a range of experiences. From foraging along the coastline to create a meal, learning new cookery skills to taking to two wheels on a cycling tour or cracking the code

• Margate Cookery School - a broad range of courses from fun approachable wine tasting to more advances patisserie skills
• Dr Forager - 2 hour foraging walk along the Thanet coastline, followed by a cookery demonstration and lunch from the foraged food
• Nordic Walking - enjoy a taster or tailor-made Nordic Walking stay alongside potential for wellbeing treatments
• Col’s Kent Bike Tours - discover our coastline’s past, present and future on two wheels, taking in sandy bays, iconic sights and local secrets
• Captcha Code - The Escapement - mix an escape room with a treasure trail solving the puzzles as you explore the town

www.visitthanet.co.uk/experiences