beach

Monday 15th June 2026 – moving into East Sussex after a stop off at Folkestone….

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A bit more of a grey day today with some very half hearted attempts at rain first thing as we pack up and make ready to leave Canterbury and Kent behind.

First though we find parking on the seafront on the south side of Folkestone in Sandgate and walk along the promenade on Sandgate Beach heading northwards….

Passing Sandgate’s small castle….

Before rounding the headland onto Folkestone Beach, somewhat lost to the tide in places….

Folkestone Beach giving way to the deeper shingle Mermaid Beach which butts up to the Port….

The clouds here looked fairly dramatic but only produced a couple of spots of rain fortunately as we made our return to the van parked beyond Sandgate.

Moving on a couple of miles and stopping briefly on the seafront at Hythe to capture the beach….

Here the parking was chargeable so we decided to continue on our way to our next campsite another 40 or so miles along the coast in East Sussex at Normans Bay CCC and once we had arrived and were pitched, we crossed the road to explore our resident beach for the next week or so – Normans Bay Beach….

A nice bit of off lead time for Tilly and a nice bit of sea air to help us sleep!!

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 65
  • Miles walked – 6
  • Beaches – 5
  • O/N – £11.10 no EHU

Sunday 14th June 2026 – a coastal walk along the beaches and castles of Deal….

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Another fine walking day with the same gentle coastal breeze as yesterday. Today we continue our journey around the coast heading south and find seafront parking at the northern end of Deal by the site of the former Sandown Castle and at the start of the promenade.

Sandown shingle beach continues north for several miles to Pegwell Country Park just shy of Ramsgate backed by several golf courses along the way and southwards towards the coastal town of Deal….

Apart from the odd fisherman dotted along the shore, the beach is pretty deserted until we arrive near the centre of Deal where the beach becomes Deal Beach….

The town itself and the promenade are quite busy on this lovely Sunday afternoon as we continue our walk passing the Time Ball Tower a Victorian Maritime Signal Tower, now housing a museum – the time ball is mechanically programmed to rise up the mast at 5 to 1 and drops at 1pm every day (we are too late to see this) and a little further on is Deal Castle ….

Beyond the castle the beach is occupied by a few fishing boats and wild flowers and looking back on Kent’s last remaining fully intact pleasure pier….

Pressing on along the promenade we wander past the village of Walmer (now pretty much absorbed into Deal) to it’s castle….

And very deserted but prettily strewn with wild flowers, shingle beach which eventually leads to Kingsdown which is just a tad too far for us, as we make this our turning point and after a time on the beach, we head back to the van….

Another lovely long walk not exactly beach walking but promenade walking which has to be the second best type and easily preferable when the beach is shingle!

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 36
  • Miles walked – 7
  • Beaches – 3
  • Fuel – £99.63
  • Groceries – £51.71
  • O/N – £9.50

Saturday 13th June 2026 – a lovely walk along the Botany Bay Walking Trail….

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A perfect walking day for us today, a little cloud and breeze around making for comfortable walking conditions as we head back up to the coast just to the east of Margate and find free seafront parking in Cliftonville where we join the Botany Bay Walking Trail at Palm Bay Beach, a lovely sandy crescent shaped beach backed by white chalky cliffs….

The trail is actually along the tops of the cliffs but there is an undercliff walk for part of this trail, suitable for when the tide is out or at least when the seas are relatively calm and this was our choice today….

As the undercliff walk finished and we rejoined the upper cliff trail just before we reached the lovely wilder end of Botany Bay Beach….

Around a small headland the wider Bay of Botany Bay opened up….

Surprisingly quiet on this beautiful Saturday afternoon, we continued along the trail until Kingsgate Castle came into view….

Sitting high above the rather lovely Kingsgate Bay with it’s dramatic and perfectly formed chalk archway….

A little further along and the last bay on this section was Joss Bay, probably more popular because of it’s proximity to a car park – this was our turning point….

On returning to the van we drove a few short miles to Broadstairs where we opted for paid parking away from the seafront as it didn’t look like the seafront was as accessible and wandered down through the busy village to Stone Bay to the west and St Mary’s Bay still largely engulfed by the tide….

In the centre of. the town is Viking Bay, clearly the most popular….

Walking along the promenade to the east of town is the much quieter and equally sandy Louise Bay….

Our day is not done yet as we move further south and make a brief stop on the seafront in Ramsgate, choosing the north and quieter end of town to find free parking and walk from Winterstoke Gardens end along the top above Winterstoke Beach

And finally down onto Ramsgate Beach and back along the lower promenade….

A fabulous day, lots of lovely beaches and plenty of good walks.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 45
  • Miles walked – 9
  • Beaches – 10
  • C/P – £2.20
  • O/N – £9.50

Friday 12th June 2026 – a lovely walk along the White Cliffs of Dover….

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Still a bit damp this morning but soon drying up and the clouds gradually thinning as the day wore on and we are keen to get out and about again.

Today we are heading for Dover, well more specifically the White Cliffs and headed for the National Trust car park up above the Port and Dover. The small motorhome specific car park (only taking 8 vans and certainly nothing over 7.5m in length) had just the two spaces left – lo and behold either side of an identical van (me on the right)….

We set off on a rather windy walk along the tops of the White Cliffs with views of Dover castle behind us and the white cliffs ahead (west)….

We were soon looking down on the black sands of Langdon Beach (accessible through a tunnel and steep metal steps – so not for us) and out at the cloud shadows and glimpses of sun out across the English Channel unfortunately it is definitely not clear enough to catch any glimpses of France….

We reached South Foreland Lighthouse and decided to continue along to the next village of St Margaret’s at Cliffe visible along the cliffs in the distance….

A steep climb down onto the beach at the bottom where we took a while recharging our batteries before making the climb back up….

Our return route was slightly more inland and away from the worst of the wind through lush green meadows with glimpses back along the cliffs….

Rejoining the cliff path for a look at the busy Port and down onto Dover and it’s beach in the distance….

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 41
  • Miles walked – 9
  • O/N – £9.50

Wednesday 10th June 2026 – a walk from Birchington to Margate….

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Still some heavy showers around through the morning but the day improved with age. Today we drove to the seafront and free parking at Birchington the next village along (east) of Herne Bay and waited out a particularly heavy downpour before venturing down onto Minni’s Bay, a long stretch of low tide mostly sandy bay….

From here we followed the concrete promenade below the low chalk Birchington Cliffs to the not so sandy Grenham Bay….

Shortly arriving at the lovely sandy West Bay at Westgate-on-Sea….

Around the next headland to the stunning St Mildred’s Bay with it’s seawater paddling pool….

A little further along the path and around the next headland to Westbrook Bay as we arrive into Margate-on-Sea….

And lastly Margate Bay with another tidal pool….

At Margate Bay I had to be a little careful when taking photos because there were several groups of young school children enjoying out of the classroom activities on the beach.

At this point we decided to turn about and make our way back the way we had come – a very enjoyable and totally dry walk.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 41
  • Miles walked – 7
  • Beaches – 6
  • O/N – £9.50