Margate

The small town of Margate lies at the centre of a fruit-growing and agricultural district about 10km south of Kingston on the Channel Highway. Traces remain of the old railway line which once linked Margate and a once productive coal mine to the west, but these days the town is distinguished by its Florist and Craft co-operative which displays the work and arrangements of more than 200 local craftspeople. Margate is part of the Kingborough municipality - perhaps Tasmania"s fastest growing areas - and is one of a chain of Channel Highway villages. It is a short drive south to the delightfully named town of Snug which still bears the scars of the 1967 bushfires which destroyed most of the town's buildings. Coningham Beach on the southern shore of Snug Bay is one of Tasmania's most sheltered, offering year-round swimming. The highway eventually leads to Ketterling where you can join the vehicular ferry for Bruny Island.