Naturist / Nudist Beaches in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland

Botany Bay - near Margate

Kent

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Flat sand dunes at the quiet end of a spectacular sandy beach backed by low white cliffs. Easy access.

2013 07 25 17.59.17
2013 07 25 17.59.17

Jul-13 • edwbaker on Flickr

nuffbotanybay 10142299693

2013 07 25 19.59.38
2013 07 25 19.59.38

Jul-13 • edwbaker on Flickr

nuffbotanybay 10142302573

General

Botany Bay is located at Kingsgate on the north-eastern tip of Kent. It offers a long sandy beach with low cliffs, sand dunes and excellent clean waters. The area long used by naturists is to the north of the main beach. It involves a short walk and tends to be fairly quiet - apart from hot sunny weekends when some folk choose to avoid the masses on the main beach.

In 2009 local naturists have promoted the idea that the dunes to the north of Kingsgate beach could be designated as an "official" naturist beach.

Satnav: CT9 3EJ or CT9 3HL (easy climb), CT10 3SD (main beach access, walk along beach), CT9 3DQ (free beach level car park, but no acces at high tide)

Getting There

Botany Bay is on the north-eastern-most tip of Kent. Getting there by public transport is fairly convenient. The nearest railway stations are Margate (3 miles away) and Broadstairs (2½ miles away), with a regular bus service (The 'Loop', till late) to Kingsgate. Get off in Knockholt Road, right by a cut through to the beach.

Car drivers who can usually find plenty of free on-street parking in roads close to the beach.

There are 3 access points

  • The main beach access close to the pub - park on Percy Avenue or Kingsgate Avenue. The 'Loop' bus stops here. Access to the main beach is via two paved slipways (one with toilets). To reach the "naturist beach" from the main beach, turn left (i.e. northwest-wards) and walk about half-a-mile.

  • There is an alternative access via a short but rough path down the cliffs half way along the beach. Park in The Ridings or Knockholt Road (The Loop bus stops by a cut through to the beach). There is a cross path and a 'danger cliff edge' sign by the start of the short path down. You can see the dunes on the way down.
  • You can park for free on the beach by the Jet Ski World Cafe (access via a ramp off B2051 at the start of Palm Bay Avenue). Walk (east, right) along the promenade, and around Foreness Point but the this can be underwater and a problem at high tide.

Description

Botany Bay has two beach areas. The main (southern) beach is the one favoured by most of the public and especially families. It's close to the pub, their cars, has toilet and snacks facilities and is usually manned by lifeguards in Summer months. The "naturist beach" involves a short walk to the northwest and comprises a sandy beach with a narrow strip of sand dunes backed by low chalk cliffs.

Naturists tend to settle on the edge of (or in) the flat dunes. Although the dunes can be overlooked from the clifftops and there are some walkers (often exercising dogs) along the waters edge, there are few (if any) problems about use of this part of the beach for naturism. The dunes are almost flat, and the dune 'grass' in short, providing little cover unless you are lying down. The beach has no shade unless you are right next to the crumbly cliffs.

This part of the coast provides a good view of the busy shipping lanes serving traffic from The Thames, the North Sea and the English Channel, so there's plenty to see and a pair of binoculars can be useful.

If you want to see what Botany Bay looks like, there are some photographs at: http://www.kentcoast.org.uk/nforelandpeg.html

The Beach Kiosk at Botany Bay also has a website at: http://www.thebeachkioskatbotanybaykent.co.uk/

In 2011, a NUFF reader reported that on the 7th April, Police appeared on the beach and took names and addresses of the only two naturists present, claiming that they had "received complaints". Hopefully, this will prove to be an isolated incident and will not be repeated during the summer.

In 2016, the beach seemed fine, there were no signs, naturists and the clothed seemed to be co-existing peacefully.

Facilities

The only facilities at Botany Bay are: toilets on the access to the main beach; a kiosk selling light refreshments on the main beach; and the Botany Bay Hotel, a Shepherd Neame pub and restaurant on the clifftop about 150 yards from the beach access slipways.

There are no facilities on the area favoured by naturists.

Water Quality

In a word - excellent. This is the North Sea, though, so it can be chilly early in the season. The seabed is mostly sandy with few rocks - although non-swimmers need to be aware that the tides can create dips in the seabed sand.

Map

Comments

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Photos

Tag and share your photos to the UK Naturist Beaches group on Flickr.

Photos should be of the beach, or show the way to it. They should NOT have people in them.

nuff-beach
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2013 07 25 17.59.17
2013 07 25 17.59.17

Jul-13 • edwbaker on Flickr

nuffbotanybay 10142299693

2013 07 25 19.59.38
2013 07 25 19.59.38

Jul-13 • edwbaker on Flickr

nuffbotanybay 10142302573