The TMH Edit: five things for a fun-filled August
School’s out and it’s officially the summer holidays. And so, with getaways on our mind, this month’s cultural and culinary round-up takes us on a jolly tour of the UK. From an art-filled hotel in Margate to a seafood restaurant with rooms in Aldeburgh and a month-long festival in Edinburgh, here are five things for a fun-filled (and hopefully sun-filled) August.
Edinburgh Arts Festival
This month, we’re starting things off in the Scottish capital for Edinburgh Art Festival. Now in its 18th year, the annual event is uniting 34 of the best art galleries, museums and cultural institutions from across the city for a month-long celebration of the UK’s most exciting emerging names and renowned talent. We’ll be heading to Fruitmarket to view clay work by London-based artist Daniel Silver, to Jupiter Artland for a large-scale sculpture by Tracey Emin and to Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art for a retrospective of Barbara Hepworth. While you’re visiting the city, why not check out the other major events happening in August, including Edinburgh International Film Festival and, of course, Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Edinburgh Arts Festival runs until 28 August.
Fort Road Hotel
There are plenty of reasons to visit Margate this August, not least for its seaside amusements and sandy beaches. If you’re going, be sure to stay at Fort Road Hotel. The formerly decaying building, a short stroll from both Turner Contemporary (more on which below) and the beach, was snapped up at auction four years ago by the co-founders of Frieze, Matthew Slotover and artist Tom Gidley, alongside developer Gabriel Chipperfield, son of architect David. And, on 29 August, the trio will open the doors to their coastal retreat.
Each of its 14 rooms has been meticulously designed, while work by local artists, including Tracey Emin, Hannah Lees, Lindsey Mendick and Sophie von Hellermann, fills its communal spaces. Then there’s its restaurant, helmed by head chef Daisy Cecil, who previously worked in the kitchen of The River Cafe. Here, locally sourced ingredients will be whipped into dishes inspired by the late 19th- and early 20th-century female cookery writers Isabella Beeton, Elizabeth David and Jane Grigson, who waxed lyrical about their love food from the land and sea of Kent.
Antony Gormley: Another Time at Turner Contemporary
A trip to Margate isn’t complete, in our opinion, without a browse of Turner Contemporary. While you’re there, spot one of Antony Gormley’s solid iron figures on the shore, where it will now stand – much to the delight of the gallery – until 2030. Titled ‘Another Time’, it’s one of 100 sculpted figures based on Gormley’s own body, which was created, in his words, as “an attempt to bear witness to what it is like to be alive and alone in space and time”. Its other iterations are located all around the world, from the River Thames in London to Kunisaki in Japan. Back in Margate, this particular body is visible for roughly three hours a day around low tide, which you can discover the times of here.
The Suffolk
From one coastline to another: over in Aldeburgh, there’s a new restaurant with rooms in town opening on 17 August. Suitably named The Suffolk, it’s the latest venture from the team behind London-based eatery L’Escargot, which recently held a nearby pop-up. Following on from its success, head chef James Jay has formed a menu that’s a love letter to local produce, with seafood-focused plates featuring oysters, roasted langoustines, lobster and barbecued monkfish tail served with samphire butter. With one eye on its Wes Anderson-esque website design, we can’t wait to see what its six rooms look like. For more tips on what to do in Aldeburgh, keep your eyes peeled for our Residents’ Guide to the area, coming very soon.
Lyle’s Guest Series with Trisha Greentree of 10 William Street
Sydney might be best known for landmarks such as the Opera House and Bondi beach, but its food scene is also noteworthy – and this month, you can get a taste of it in London. As part of Guest Series at Lyle’s in Shoreditch, which sees culinary talent from around the world take over its kitchen, head chef James Lowe will be joined by Trisha Greentree of 10 William Street – a much loved spot in the Australian city – on 23 and 24 August. Just like James, Trisha has an appreciation of the highest quality seasonal produce and her restaurant is similiarly known for its stripped-back interiors, making Lyle’s the perfect backdrop for her Italian-inspired dishes. Plates include anchovy and potato zeppole (a deep-fried doughnut), orecchiette with mussels in a tomato sugo, and Dexter beef with peperonata. Yum.
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