A visit to Dreamland in Margate
The life of a roller coaster
The Scenic Railway in Dreamland Margate has a long history
We often say life is a roller coaster…
This is literally true when talking about Margate’s life and its famous roller coaster. Dreamland’s uniquely wooden roller coaster, will be 100 years old soon, making it the oldest one in the UK. A brakeman is still required to travel with the train to control its speed, manually applying brakes when needed. In our lives full of technology and speed, isn’t great to know that being on this roller coaster you are travelling 100 years into history?
When in 1919, John Henry Iles bought the European usage rights to the scenic railway, he would have never imagined the adventures that would follow. Partly destroyed by fire in 1949 and then again in 1957, the Scenic Railway was damaged in 2008 by an arson attack and knocked down by high winds in 2014. It is great to see it today live again, having given its Grade II listed status.
The best thing about the Scenic Railway and Dreamland nowadays is its ubiquitous retro style. From the moment you arrive, you get welcomed by the fantastic 1930s Art Deco cinema entrance. Enter inside the park and it is as if you walked into the 1960s and 1970s. Strong retro colours and music welcome you at the roller skating area, which then leads you to the outdoor rides and theatrical scene.
We enjoyed spending time in the central theatre scene area accompanied by great music and surrounded by quirky food and drink vans.
Our favourite was the Naughty Floss, a family run business operating from ‘Gail’, a 1962 vintage caravan candy floss lab. We could not believe the variety of flavours available and it was good to hear it is all made by organic cane sugar.
Our son Alkis took his time to decide among the large variety of flavours and went for a classic sugar taste but you can choose from cookies to fruity or other colourful flavours, all being presented with a little decoration on the top (ours was a colourful parrot!).
But Dreamland is more than an amusement park, it is a local community hub, which is what makes it unique. It strives to promote local businesses, whether it is food chefs, artists or musicians and DJs. A perfect example of its partnership projects is Genetic Moo, a digital art group, who worked on a number of STEAM projects with Dreamland, teaching schoolkids how to be creative with computers. Or the Mural by the Sea, a project by local artists, who were commissioned to create an artwork that fills the giant billboard outside Dreamland’s Hall by the Sea. The most recent exciting project has to be Dreamland Proms, with the BBC Big Band providing the best swing, jazz and big band tunes for all to enjoy. With wedding and other events taking place in Dreamland, sky is the limit.
Next time you visit, enjoy 1000 smiles per hour, Dreamland’s welcoming motto.
