Dreamland Margate

Sitting just inland from the sandy beach at Margate in Kent, Dreamland has had a chequered history. From its beginnings as an entertainment venue in the mid-1800s, it expanded to become one of the most visited tourist attractions in the UK in the 1980s and early 90s.

Dreamland’s fortunes took a downturn and the park was closed in 2005 with the threat of its land being redeveloped, but a “Save Dreamland” campaign was launched by local residents. After a decade of shuttered gates a new reimagined Dreamland opened in 2015.

Today’s Dreamland operates primarily as a heritage amusement park, and features a mix of preserved vintage fairground rides and more modern attractions. Centre stage is the historic Scenic Railway, the oldest wooden rollercoaster in the UK which first opened in 1920.

Much attention has been given to the landscaping and overall look of the park, resulting in a fantastic atmosphere which both harks back to a rose-tinted view of the fifties and sixties, and reflects a more modern quirky design aesthetic.

A few years ago, I would have written Dreamland off as one of the UK’s lost seaside amusement parks – indeed when I visited in 2004 it was a dirty mess of a few cheap fairground rides plonked down on cracked tarmac – but its resurgence is remarkable.

It’s now a very high quality modern park, filled with life and colour and some great fun rides. It succeeds in both looking back and celebrating the past while feeling contemporary and up to date at the same time.

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More on Dreamland Margate

• Trip: ECC Dreamland Margate (8 June 2019)