Thanet & North Kent Coast Tourist Information

Rochester Medway North Kent Coast

Rochester, the hub of the Medway towns in North West Kent, is rich in historic attractions. Its links with Charles Dickens have made the town a firm favourite with Dickens fans. Charles Dickens spent much of his life in the Chatham and Rochester area, indeed he died at Gad's Hill Place (now an independent school) just outside Rochester. The town celebrates its Dickens Festival annually in May/June. Rochester Castle ranks as one of England's most striking castles. This huge Norman architectural gem has one of the tallest keeps in England. There's no end to Rochester's historical treasures - alongside the castle, Rochester has England's second oldest cathedral - a mish-mash of gothic and more Norman glorious architecture with well worn pilgrims steps. Add to this boat trips in one of the countries few remaining power steamers along the River Medway and a huge choice of chic restaurants and specialist shopping particularly along High Street and you have all the ingredients for an exciting Kent holiday base.

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Chatham & Gillingham Medway North Kent Coast

Chatham is seeing an exciting revival of its historic dockyard. Still a working dockyard, museums, exhibits and a refurbishment of the many historic buildings on the huge Chatham Dockyard site is now seeing it go for World Heritage Status! Chatham, like Rochester, also has strong links with Charles Dickens. The superb and popular family attraction, Dickens World, situated adjacent to the historic dockyard, is an excellent introduction to Dickens for children.

Nearby Gillingham is home to the Royal Engineers Museum, one of the best for military engineering history. Everything from wartime diaries to medals and uniforms is here on display, alongside oral histories and photography.

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The Swale - Faversham, Sittingbourne & Sheppey

The Swale area of North Kent, including main centres Sittingbourne, Faversham and the Isle of Sheppey, is actually one of Kent's most interesting for industrial heritage, fine Kentish beers, blue flag beaches and one the country's most treasured marshlands - Elmley on the Isle of Sheppey. Sittingborne's industrial heritage in paper making, barge production and brick making (courtesy of local large deposits of clay) is a fascinating history. Many of Victorian London's buildings will have Sittinghborne brick in them and the Sittingborne Paper Mill once provided the paper for London's Daily Chronicle.

Faversham has long been a centre for fine Kentish ale - hops are grown in the area extensively, and the annual Faversham Hops Festival celebrates pays due homage to this heritage. Well known Kent beer makers Shepherd Neame are located in the heart of the town and brewery tours are available. The Isle of Sheppey really demands your time. This beautiful and historic island, separated from the mainland by the Swale waters which are sheltered and popular for jet skiing and water skiing, played host to Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn during their honeymoon at Shurland Hall near Eastchurch. Glorious blue flag beaches are at Sheerness and on the Leydown eastern side of Sheppey, whilst to the south are the RSPB Elmley Marshes, a most popular area with birdwatchers and walkers.

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Margate Thanet Coast

Exciting changes and regeneration are currently afoot, spearheaded by the planned new Turner Contemporary gallery. Architects have been appointed and you can view the new rather spectacular gallery building design via the Turner Contemporary webguide. Turner had strong links with Margate of course, visiting numerous times, staying in a lodging facing the harbour (the site for the new Turner Gallery). This builds on Margate's natural gems - its beautiful long sandy beaches (all Blue Flag now) offering a host of watersports opportunities, tidal pools and childrens playgrounds lining Margate Main Sands. Windsurfing and waterskiing are particularly popular in the area. Alongside Margate's Blue Flag Main Sands beach a choice of other Blue Flag beaches are situated both east and west of the resort. To the west, Westgate-on-sea is Margate's quieter seaside base offering spectacular beach bays and cliff top walking, plus a choice of elegant hotels lining the cliff top seafront.

Margate's history as one of Britain's most popular seaside resorts is legendary, for the early bathing scene to taking the lead in seaside resort development through the 19th and 20th centuries. It's a rich history this, and brilliantly explored through exhibits in Margate's acclaimed museum within the historic old town hall. Hidden gems like the mystical Shell Grotto blend with superb entertainment venues such as the Winter Gardens which retains its Edwardian character and Margate's Theatre Royal. Fingers crossed for the preservation and development of Margate's Dreamland Theme park site which contains one of Britain's last spectacular Deco Cinemas and the country's oldest still working roller coaster.

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Broadstairs Thanet Coast

Broadstairs' links with Dickens and its Victoriana heritage are just one of the many reasons to visit this stunning Kent seaside town. Other delights await including a choice of glorious sandy beach bays, some of which have Blue Flag status, pretty promenade beach gardens, a fascinating local history in engineering, smuggling and more at the Crampton Tower Museum, a rather chic choice of arts and crafts shopping, seaside pubs and inns and numerous restaurants, plus an impressive events calender including the celebrated Broadstairs Folk Week in mid-August annually.

Attractions wise, Broadstairs' seven glorious sandy beach bays speak for themselves, interrupted by stunning chalky white cliffs. Two of the beaches have blue flag status, and main Viking Bay has a quality award and is perfect for beginner surfing lessons (see Kent Surfing School and Revolution Skate Park webguides for surfing and skating in Broadstairs). Around Broadstairs' harbour area there's plenty afoot with a choice of arts and crafts shops, Broadstairs Pavillion and Windsor Cinema and access onto the Viking Coastal trail which winds up from Broadstairs plast North Foreland Lighthouse.

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Ramsgate Thanet Coast

Ramsgate is the site for Kent's most important marina. Ramsgate Marina is on the up and up, hosting more international sailing and waterskiing competitions than ever, and offering a superb range of marina facilities. Ramsgate Main Sands beach has 250 metres ol golden Quality Award winning sand with popular family holiday attraction Westcliff Liesure Park and Boating Pool situated south of the ferry port at Westcliff Bay.

Nature lovers and birdwatchers will head for Pegwell Bay's Nature reserve - a stunning area of unprotected cliffs, home to numerous birds throughout the year. A rather famous resident in Ramsgate's past was Augustus Pugin (1812-1852), renowned architect and designer. His home, The Grange, sits on St Augustine's Road in Ramsgate and was designed by the architect. The Landmark Trust have restored the property and it's open to the public on Wednesday afternoons.

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Whitstable & Herne Bay North Kent Coast

Whitstable has really come to the fore in recent years as a tourist mecca, with its annual Oyster Festival in the summer, a revamped harbour with fish market and one of Kent's best seafood restaurants - the Crab and Winkle. The town has a rich maritime heritage, explored well in the Whitstable Museum where shipbuilding, diving history and the once thriving Tankerton Copperas industry are all explored in detail.

Whitstable offers all year round stunning coastal walking, with glorious sunsets and a lively watersports scene, particularly windsurfing and sailing from Whitstable's Yacht Club. There's a great arts scene here too, based at both the Whitstable Playhouse Theatre and Horsebridge Community and Arts Centre, as well as numerous live music venues including the Duke of Cumberland Inn and the spectacularly sited Old Neptune pub right on the beach.

Herne Bay pulls on its traditional Victorian seaside resort roots well with a central seafront bandstand, a centre for events and the tourist information office. The town is at its liveliest during August and the annual Herne Bay Festival running over 9 days which includes the popular parade. Boat trips are a particular highlight, running regularly from the Herne Bay coast taking you on birdwatching and seal watching tours, with opportunities for jet ski and swimming with seals. Some of the best coastal walking in Kent is on the menu on the Herne Bay stretch of coast, both along Herne Bay's long and flat level promenade and east along the Reculver cliffs.

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Hoo Peninsula - Higham, Strood, Cliffe & Allhallows

Framed by the Thames and Medway estuaries, the Hoo Peninsula is a haven for migratory and nesting waterbirds. The RSPB is a major landowner in the area, and popular RSPB reserves include Cliffe Pools and Northward Hill. Historic villages and towns in the area include Cliffe, Allhallows and Higham which has links with Charles Dickens. The village of Cliffe on the Hoo Peninsula has ancient Saxon roots. St Helen's church in the village dates from around 1260. Both Cliffe and Allhallows are perfect as bases for exploring local heron trails and visiting nearby RSPB reserves. Near the village of Cliffe sits Cliffe Fort built in the mid-19th century to defend the Thames estuary

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