XX · Margate
Margate Main Sands, with Turner Contemporary and the harbour lighthouse

XX The twentieth edition

Margate

Saturday 5 – Sunday 6 December 2026

Every year before Christmas, for twenty years. This year: an escape room, bowling, a Nepalese dinner with the gift exchange, a pub quiz on foot, and a sauna on the beach.

STHosted by Jason & Sam

To find your secret santa select ONLY your name

Everyone buys for two of the others, £10 each.

1Saturday 5 DecemberNow

9:30am – 12:15pm

Getting there

Two ways down. Pick one, and be in Margate in time for the escape room.

By train

9:30am

Meet at Stratford International

On the concourse. We go down together on the Southeastern high-speed train — direct to Margate in about an hour and a half.

By car

12:15pm

Meet us at The Escapement

Drive down in your own time and meet us outside the escape room. Leave room to park — it starts at 12:30 either way.

Either way: outside The Escapement by 12:15pm.

2Saturday 5 DecemberNow

12:30 – 2pm

The Escapement

A locked door and a clock. One of the best-reviewed escape rooms in the country, and the first thing we do off the train.

Dara Ó Briain’s post recommending the Escapement escape rooms in Margate
“The undoubted highlight was the brilliant escape rooms at Escapement, in Margate. Really immersive, original and well thought out.” Dara Ó Briain
  • Golden Key Award from The Logic Escapes Me
  • Top Escape Rooms Project Enthusiasts’ Choice, 2022 Top Room
  • As seen on ITV
  • Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards 2024

3Saturday 5 DecemberNow

2 – 4pm

Bugsy’s

Lunch, then the rest of the afternoon. Burgers in the diner first, then we split across the lanes, the darts and the shuffleboard table.

The Bugsy’s Tenpin Bowling sign on Ethelbert Crescent
Bowling on the neon-lit lanes at Bugsy’s
Bowling Ten pins, neon lanes
Three darts held up in front of the darts lane at Bugsy’s
Darts Auto-scored, so no maths
The shuffleboard table under neon signs at Bugsy’s
Shuffleboard One long table, winner stays on

Saturday 5 DecemberNow

From 3pm

Check in to the Airbnb

Home for the night: a seafront flat on Palm Bay Avenue, with the sea across the road. Bags down, beds picked, changed for dinner.

5Saturday 5 DecemberNow

6:30 – 8:30pm

Dinner and gifts at Gurkha

Nepalese dinner next door to the bowling: momos, curries and things off the grill. Secret Santa gets handed over at the table.

The dining room at Gurkha, with orange chairs and a Himalayan mural
Prawn curry, mushroom curry, black daal and fried rice at Gurkha The green exterior of Gurkha Restaurant and Bar, next to Bugsy’s

Bring your two Secret Santa gifts£10 each, wrapped, and with you at dinner — not left at the flat. See who you’ve got

6Saturday 5 DecemberNow

8:30pm – late

The walking pub quiz

Four bars, one quiz, and every question is about us: the trips, the people, twenty years of evidence. A round at each stop along Northdown Road.

STHosted by Sam & Jason

The map needs a connection. The four stops are listed below.

  1. The teal shopfront of Margate Arts Club at 276 Northdown Road1

    Margate Arts Club

    DIY arts club behind an old shopfront, with a serious sound system.

    276 Northdown Road ↗
  2. The Tap Room micropub, with its turquoise awning2

    The Tap Room

    Corner micropub. Craft beer and real cider.

    4 Northdown Parade ↗
  3. Banks Ale and Wine House, in a former bank on the corner of Northdown Road3

    Banks Ale & Wine House

    Ale and wine in a red-brick former bank.

    244 Northdown Road ↗
  4. A busy night under the mirrorball at Camp4

    Camp

    Mirrorball, tinsel bar, karaoke room. The big finish.

    125 Northdown Road ↗

7Sunday 6 DecemberNow

9 – 10am

Sea Scrub Sauna

Straight to the beach. Heat until you can’t, then the cold plunge — with the sea right there if you want it colder.

8Sunday 6 DecemberNow

10:30 – 11:45am

Curve Coffee Roasters

Proper coffee and brunch once we’ve thawed out. Margate’s own roasters, ten minutes’ walk from the sauna. Then home.

The orange shopfront of the Curve Coffee café in Margate
Flat whites, almond cake and a cookie on a table at Curve

Secret Santa