I visited 'crime-riddled' seaside town in Kent and made a surprising discovery

Margate, Kent, is a pretty town that sits on the Kent coast in the district of Thanet. One of the UK’s oldest seaside resorts, over the past few years it has had a bit of a renaissance.

Within the last two decades the town has seen an influx of artists and younger people from outside the town who have been attracted by the trendy coastal lifestyle.

With this, there has been a burgeoning arts scene, one boosted by the restoration of the 1920s Dreamland theme park and subsequent investment thanks to more money entering the local economy.

Furthermore, there have also been reports of celebrity spots in the town with the likes of Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, and Tracey Emin reportedly spotted in the area.

Despite an apparent sense of cool beginning to weave its way through its streets, Margate, one of the UK’s earliest seaside resorts, has seen both crime and house prices begin to rise. Earlier this month, I visited Margate to find out what the town was like.

According to recent analysis, Margate has seen the rate of crime rise dramatically in the past few years. The Telegraph reported that it had risen to 157 incidents per 1,000 people, 79 percent higher than the national crime rate in both England and Wales.

What’s more, alongside a rising crime rate, Margate is also considering a tourist tax for people who only want to stay overnight or for the weekend.

Councillors from Thanet District Council, which covers other towns such as nearby Ramsgate and Broadstairs, are considering the move to “reduce the impact” of visitors. According to the MailOnline, a report suggested that the council should “actively investigate opportunities to maximise income to the council from the visitor economy”.

A subsidiary of visitors who travel to Margate and similar towns are known as DFLs. Standing for Down from Londoners, it refers to people travelling from the UK’s capital to nearby towns on the UK’s coast.

Although not staying for the night, when I visited Margate earlier this month I was technically a DFL. On a hot May day, it certainly looked the part with the sun bouncing off the sands and Dreamland on the main promenade.

The Old Town was practically bustling too. As I walked into the Market Place it was as if I’d stepped through a portal and into a trendy London café spot with the Greedy Cow doing a roaring trend and The Margate Bookshop also proving popular.

Not all was sunshine and butterflies, however. Before finding my way into the Old Town I’d walked up the High Street which looked decidedly more run down with shut shops and much fewer people there.

With time, this will probably change as Margate’s economy grows and more Londoners, who can get to Margate on a fast train from St Pancras in around 90 minutes, decide to settle there.

On the beach meanwhile, the raucous and Max Maxian spectacle of an event known as Malle Mile Beach Race – my reason for travelling to Margate in the first place- was coexisting seamlessly with the crowds attending and public sunbathing nearby.

While a public beach race may sound like a recipe for disaster because it covers such a small area, the majority of the beach is still left over to the people simply wishing to enjoy the glistening sand and sea.

For those who had had access to the two-wheeled spectacle, it was a true show of rider’s skill. The motorbikes varied from road-legal delivery rider scooters all the way up to dirt bikes and custom-built superbikes.

Coupled with a surface that was literally changing every single second, these drag races were a fantastic platform for riders to demonstrate their bravery and skill as their machines sped across the surface in front of Margate's famous promenade.