Margate Scooter Rally 2024

Margate is such an iconic rally venue and we both have many happy memories of the town in the 1980s, but the 2007 visit had been disappointing, probably because we were in an awful hotel and I was pregnant with Daniel.

Margate wasn’t the first choice for Big 7 SC, but they couldn’t use the Ardingly showground this year so it was better to put something on in the south east than miss a year.

So, in 2024 it was time for the town to redeem itself and the weekend started with a wonderful ride to the Kent coast from West Sussex.  Despite featuring on the patch, Lee couldn’t ride his Vespa chop as it wasn’t handling right after encountering potholes on the way to its MOT.  He has rebuilt the forks but there were still question marks over whether it would make the trip to Margate in one piece so we played it safe and he went on my T5.

Friday

We’d arranged to meet Keith and Dean at Buck Barn on the A272/A24 crossroads and pulled in right on time at 10.30.  Keith was chief navigator and had planned a route which took in some of the best scenery and prettiest villages England has to offer.  It’s just as well he had a satnav though because we rode along some very minor B roads, and at times I wondered whether we were actually heading in the right direction.  But in Keith I trusted, and we pulled into our planned lunchtime stop at the Brecknock Arms in Bells Yew Green just before midday.

As it was gloriously sunny we sat in the garden and ordered lunch, spending a good hour catching up and putting the world to rights.  It was time to move on though and we picked up the satnav route heading north east and after a brief petrol stop we continued to Ashford and then beyond, to Canterbury. 

The traffic was heavy there and my arthritic fingers were struggling with all the clutch action so we pulled over for a little rest, to stretch and re-energise for the final leg of the journey. 

13 miles later we rode into Margate and made a beeline for the Premier Inn which is right next to the train station and very close to Dreamland.   Keith and Dean carried on to the campsite which looked very picturesque on the cliffside, just north of the town.

Friday Evening

In the evening we headed in search of the rest of our gang, and found them sitting in the sun outside a bar in the old town.  Mark, Loz, Donna, Champs and Trotsky were staying at a caravan park just up the road and they’d had a good journey too.  Booty had ridden solo from the Midlands and luckily arrived without incident (which shouldn’t surprise me but in recent years there are usually tales to tell about scooter breakdowns and other shenanigans en route!)

We then stopped off at Wetherspoons which was buzzing with scooterists.  Nice to see some familiar faces and catch up but I then managed to throw my pint of cider down myself so spent 10 minutes in the toilets dancing under the hand dryer to try and dry my trousers!

Then it was time for the do so we walked the short distance to Dreamland.  Dreamland is a massive venue and Craig David was performing at the outside stage!  We were inside though, where there was a soul room, main room (roller disco area) and a room for bands upstairs.  Springtide Cavalry were playing and I had a nice boogie to their Amy Winehouse cover.   Then the singer’s son joined them onstage for an upbeat original number, dancing along, much to the crowd’s delight.

What was quite mesmerising was the big screen behind the band, which was displaying various graphics and videos, and every couple of minutes Lee’s scooter ‘rode’ onto the screen, paused, and then rode off again!  We gave it a small cheer every time!

When the band finished we went downstairs where Lee got a round of coffees in.  Time for more chats and listening to the tunes being played by the two Daves,  Lloyd and Porter. There’s plenty of room inside Dreamland and some of their old fairground ride carriages are arranged as seating places – which looked really quirky seeing a couple of scooterboys in a waltzer car having a natter!

I also bumped into these lovely ladies, who are always such a delight to chat with and I hadn’t seen their gang for ages so there was plenty to talk about!

We went back upstairs for the headline act, Dad Manners, who were bouncing around the stage.  They were a great tribute act and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

I was knackered though, having been awake since 3am (don’t you love menopausal insomnia?!) so we went back to the hotel for some much-needed sleep…

Saturday

We met up with Booty, Keith and Dean at the Coffee Shed for breakfast in the old town, and then caught up with the rest of our gang who were eating al fresco outside Charlie’s bar.

Then it was on to Dreamland for the custom show and parts fair.  I picked up a patch and rally vest, both of which featured Lee’s chop.  There weren’t many scooters in the custom show, which I’m guessing had something to do with them needing to drain their tanks in order to take part. 

There was a parts fair and various stalls, including Alison Bowen and Henry promoting their epic ride around the 80s rally locations they visited in their youth, all in aid of Alzheimer’s. Visit their Before We Forget website to find out more!

I also bumped into Pete Davies so had to get my traditional rally photo of him!

We also met lifelong friend Danny there, who now lives in Margate and was making the most of the scooters being in town. He and Keith knew each other from the early 80s so they had a lot of catching up to do.

Next we walked along the prom to the Harbour Arm which is where the rideout was gathering.  Lee took Booty further around the corner to try and find the pub which was CS gassed in 1986.  Weirdly, he and I had both been in the pub when it happened, he was upstairs and I was downstairs.  We wouldn’t meet for another 25 years but I’d love to relive that night and see if I could see him in the crowd. 

I stayed and took lots of photos of the rideout crowd and at around 12.30 the scooters were ready to leave.  There were a good number in attendance, and they headed along the prom in a massive convoy with lots of visitors along the route to watch.

We found Danny and other half Tina and went to a local café for a drink and cakes. 

Then we decamped to the pub and luckily chose to sit inside because the heavens opened a little while later, which wasn’t ideal for those who were sitting on the patio.

Something had happened to my ribcage overnight – it’s a long story but I’d fallen over running the previous weekend, and bruised my ribs causing minor discomfort – and now I was in proper pain, especially when I needed to laugh.  Lee actually came out with some funny jokes for a change, which caused particular agony!   It got worse and worse when we were in the pub, to the point where it was constant, so we said our goodbyes and walked back to the hotel via Boots to stock up on pain relief.

After a quick rest, we headed out again to meet up with Dean, Keith and Booty who were in search of fish & chips.  After a leisurely stroll up to the old town and then back towards Dreamland we found a place and ate inside, it felt very traditional to be at a British seaside resort having a fish supper!  There was a nearby shop which we thought suited Booty down to the ground 😂

I have to say that Margate is so much nicer than it was in 2007.  The old town is vibrant, arty and fun, and the old-style seafront still has all the family entertainment you’d expect.  Lee was gutted that the funfair at Dreamland wasn’t open (due to the music events there over the weekend) because he was desperate for a go on the rollercoaster.  It was very busy in the town though, with lots of ‘normal’ visitors as well as scooterists.  It’s good to see how the regeneration is having such a positive effect on the area.

Saturday evening

After our dinner we headed to Wetherspoons and spent most of the evening there, just chatting between ourselves and random friends who wandered past.  I had great hugs with various ladies, including nurses Carla and Joanne who stopped for a lovely natter and gave me medical advice on my pain.  Then I met Niamh Pennington in person for the first time ever!  Niamh organises the Mersea rally, and I built their website over 4 years ago, but we’d only even talked via email and a single Zoom meeting.  It was so lovely to finally meet, and we had a nice chat too.

By now I realised that there was no way I could ride home the next day as I couldn’t even breathe without rib pain.  So I came up with various plans, discounted most of them, and finally reached out to the awesome Alison Bowen who offered to take my scooter back to her home in Uckfield, which is much closer to Bognor than Margate is.  What a superstar!  She also offered to take me home (which is beyond any kindness I could imagine) but I was worried about potholes etc, so opted to take the train.  Lee could then go and pick up the scooter on Monday, so we had a plan!

At around 10.15, Keith, Dean and Booty wanted to get back to the campsite so they waited for the shuttle bus while Lee and I went back into Dreamland.

Red Hot Riot were playing on the main stage and were brilliant!  Sadly we only caught the final two songs in their set, but hopefully another rally organiser will book them soon.

We went downstairs to get some drinks and hung around, listening to the main room DJs blasting out the tunes at the roller disco area.  Then it was back upstairs for the final band, Sex Pistols Expose.  We’d seen them before and they are great; very much in character from the start.  The lead singer is a dead ringer for Johnny Rotten, it’s uncanny!  We stayed for a few songs but then started to flag so returned to the hotel for much-needed sleep before the journey home.

Sunday

It was another sunny day and I was gutted not to be riding back on my scooter.  Lee took the Lambretta up to the campsite where it was safely deposited into Alison and Henry’s van.  He got a lift back to the hotel on the back of Keith and so the boys were all set for their ride back to the south coast.

I bought an extortionate one-way ticket from Margate to Bognor (nearly £80!  On a Sunday!) and began my journey home courtesy of British Rail.  Although the pain isn’t quite as bad as it was on Saturday, it was too much to ride anywhere, let alone on the potholed roads of the south east. 

When I was changing trains at Victoria I spotted a lovely Pullman train, all set up for a posh luncheon. It looked so lovely and made me want to find out more about where they go and what it’s like on board. If anyone has experienced this treat please do let me know!

I got home safe and sound after my lovely sister picked me up from the station and thought that was my chance for a chilled afternoon of getting some bits done around the house, but that peace was shattered with a call from Lee.  He’d broken down at Shoreham!  So my boys helped me get his work stuff out of the van and I drove over to bring him back.  Ali’s Recovery Services to the rescue once again!

He thinks it’s the stator plate so I’m sure will be firing on all cylinders once that’s rectified.  I thought it was too good to be true – a scooter rally with no incidents would be boring wouldn’t it?!   Roll on Weymouth…

My train journey home gave me time to reflect on the weekend and think about what a lovely time I’d had with friends old and new. Although some people were complaining about various aspects of the Dreamland experience, the truth is that we are simply not used to commercial venues like this and their rules. I found the security staff to be very relaxed and I know that they were very accommodating at times, letting people leave and re-enter and not being overly strict about bag searches. Most scooter people were in good spirits and enjoyed the weekend, and at the end of the day it’s what you make of it isn’t it? It’s the company that makes the weekend and we were lucky to spend time with some lovely people, with plenty of banter and lots of laughs along the way. The scootering spirit was also demonstrated perfectly by Alison Bowen, going out of her way to help me out in my hour of need, as well as Lee’s riding crew who stayed with him when he broke down. Friends like that are priceless…

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