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Margate and Folkestone ranked among coolest places to live in Britain, according to The Times

00:00, 14 March 2017

updated: 08:50, 14 March 2017

Two Kent towns have been hailed as among the coolest places to live in Britain.

According to new rankings published in The Times, Margate and Folkestone are both achingly cool.

Margate was ranked third in the chart.

The Turner Contemporary
The Turner Contemporary

The write-up said: "Dreamland — the revamped retro amusement park where Damon Albarn is curating a one-day music festival this June — and the Turner Contemporary gallery have turned Margate into a hipster holiday destination.

"Local artists claim that there are more creative studios in Margate per head of the population than in London. Resort Studios, in Cliftonville, has writers, puppet makers, architects and sculptors."

Folkestone came in eighth place, with a lot to recommend it.

The newspaper even suggested artist Tracey Emin could be thinking of moving to the town.

It said: "Tracey Emin is reportedly leaving east London after being refused permission to expand her Spitalfields art studio and is looking for a new space on the Kent coast, possibly in Folkestone, where she could have a “giant studio and be really relaxed”.

Folkestone Harbour Arm. Picture: Gary Browne
Folkestone Harbour Arm. Picture: Gary Browne

"She’s not the only one who has had that idea — since 2002 the Creative Foundation has run a “creative quarter” populated by artists in the Kent old town.

"Its Harbour Arm has a champagne bar, gelateria and a bakery and brewery in a shipping container."

The short write-up about Folkestone mentions the tourist magnet Harbour Arm which will be open for its third summer at the end of this month.

The redeveloped stretch offers views of France, Dungeness and Folkestone along with a champagne bar and pop up eateries.

It comes after Margate was ranked as one of the best places to live in the South East in The Times.

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