Beach in Kent

Camber Sands on the East Sussex coast near Rye is one of the finest sandy beaches in southeast England, a broad expanse of dune-backed sand extending for approximately three miles along a stretch of coast that provides the widest and most naturalistic beach environment in the region. The combination of the extensive dune system, the wide sandy beach and the relative absence of permanent development gives Camber a character quite different from the more developed resort beaches of the Kent and Sussex coast. The dune system at Camber is one of the most extensive on the southeast coast, the sand dunes rising to considerable height behind the beach and providing habitat for the characteristic dune flora and fauna of this type of coastal environment. The dunes are managed as a nature reserve and the combination of the ecological interest of the dune habitats with the recreational appeal of the beach creates a destination of considerable variety. The shallow gradient of the beach makes Camber particularly suitable for families with young children and the beach is heavily used during the summer months when the proximity to London and the southeast makes it one of the most accessible beach destinations in the region. The medieval town of Rye, one of the finest and most completely preserved small towns in England, is accessible a short distance to the west and provides an excellent complement to the beach visit.

Viking Bay is the most picturesque of the several sandy bays that make up the Broadstairs seafront in the Isle of Thanet in Kent, a sheltered north-facing arc of sand below the Victorian and Edwardian seaside town whose combination of the excellent beach, the historic harbour, the chalk cliffs and the strong association with Charles Dickens creates one of the most complete and most characterful small seaside resort experiences on the Kent coast. The beach is one of the finest on the Kent coast, its sheltered position in the bay providing calm conditions for bathing and the chalk cliffs that frame it giving a distinctive geological setting. The harbour, a working fishing harbour that also accommodates pleasure craft, adds an active maritime element to the seafront and the fish and seafood available locally reflects the continued productivity of the southern North Sea fisheries. Charles Dickens was closely associated with Broadstairs, spending holidays in the town throughout the 1840s and writing David Copperfield while staying at the house on the clifftop now called Bleak House. The Dickens House Museum in the town preserves the house where Mary Strong, the original of Betsey Trotwood in David Copperfield, lived, and the annual Dickens Festival celebrates the connection with dressing in period costume and various events throughout the town.