Kingsgate Bay Beach: Visiting Guide 2026
Kingsgate Bay is a sheltered sandy cove located on the Kent coast near Broadstairs. The 150 meter wide beach is backed by white chalk cliffs and overlooks the seaside village of Kingsgate. If you are looking for peace and quiet, this is definitely the beach to go to.
There are no facilities, tearooms or playgrounds, so most people head to other beaches in the area that have all of these – which is great for everyone else! Just make sure you bring your own food and drink, because there is really nothing there!
Kingsgate Bay is considered one of the best beaches in the area for families and dog walkers due to its gentle sloping sands and calm, protected waters. It also looks very pretty and sheltered from the winds as cliffs are quite high.
PIN TO KEEP FOR LATER
The beach is also known for its sea caves and fossils along the base of the cliffs, which can be explored at low tide. My favourite is the archway at the end of the cliffs which looks like a window.
Small beach chalets are available to rent at the top of the steps leading down to the sands.
Parking at Kingsgate Bay is limited, but the beach is within walking distance of the larger Joss Bay car park about a mile away.
While the beach does get cut off at high tide, the sandy bay remains accessible via a set of steep steps leading down from the cliffs above.
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Kingsgate Bay Practical Information
- Type of beach: sandy with not too steep sloping into the sea
- Location: Whiteness Road, Broadstairs, Kent CT10 3QH
- No lifeguards
- No public restrooms
- No direct parking
- No refreshments (bring your own food & drink)
- The nearest facilities can be found 15 minutes away at Joss Bay or Botany Bay or there is the Captain Digby pub on top of the clifftop with children’s play area
EXPLORE MORE OF COASTAL KENT
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The bay’s name origins
Right in front of the bay, you can see a interesting white building, which is Holland House – an 18th century Georgian country house. It was built between 1762-1768 as a retirement home for Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland (1705-1774), who also owned the original Holland House in Kensington, London. Holland House is a Grade II listed building today and it’s partly being use as flats and holiday lets.
The house sits in a dip between two clifftops overlooking Kingsgate Bay and the English Channel. It originally had access to the beach below via a stone archway called Bartholomew Gate, later renamed King’s Gate when King Charles II reputedly landed there in 1683 on his way to Dover.
A Latin inscription on the gate recorded this event and the name change. It translates to: “I once by St. Bartholomew was claim’d, But now, so bids the King, am Kingsgate nam’d. King Charles II and James, Duke of York, landed here, June 30, 1683.”
KENT COASTAL HISTORY
The Kingsgate Castle
You can also see a castle above the cliffs, which looks a lot like a large version of the Broadstairs Bleak House. The Kingsgate Castle is a historic 18th century castle, which was built in the 1760s as the stable block for nearby Holland House, the seaside residence of Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland. Lord Holland’s main residence was Holland House in Kensington, London. You can still see the Holland House when you climb the steps to the top of the cliffs.
The castle was designed in a medieval style based on Bodiam Castle, with input from architect Sir Thomas Wynne. In the 19th century, Kingsgate Castle was home to John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury, before becoming a fashionable hotel in the 1920s. It was converted into 32 private apartments in 1954.
This blog post was originally published on 19 January 2024 and last updated on 19 January 2024
