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Kingsgate bay broadstairs

Botany Bay


The most northerly of all of the seven bays of Broadstairs and closest to Margate, Botany Bay is a favourite of locals looking for a little more solitude in the height of the summer months. 

Despite its fairly remote location, Botany Bay still boasts a kiosk, which serves hot and cold drinks, including Lavazza coffee and Botany Bay lager, as well as an impressive range of ice creams from a traditionally whipped soft-mix to a salted caramel flavour and a selection of refreshing sorbets. 

Beach favourites such as hot dogs and chips are also on offer, and the café generally opens at Easter and runs through to September, occasionally weather dependent. 

Deckchairs and parasols are also available to hire as you take in the views with comfort – although the beautifully soft sand is perfect just to pitch up a towel, too. 

For sea-bathers, the idyllic waters were awarded an international Blue Flag status in 2022 and in previous years, making Botany Bay one of Kent’s best blue flag beaches and one of the county’s best swimming spots.

The award celebrates excellent water quality, alongside recognising well-maintained beaches with an environmental education programme. 

Eager swimmers should note that the English sea is can be rather chilly, even in the summer months! Perfectly warm enough for a leisurely swim, but usually around 17-20 degrees Celsius.  The beach is life-guarded during peak months.

Back on dry sands, the scenery is spectacular and the bay is one of Kent’s most picturesque coastlines - a great spot for photography, particularly during sunset hours.
Louisa Bay Broadstairs
Louisa Bay Broadstairs, Secret Beach
Reached by a flight of shallow steps, the beach itself makes for a walk with a view and stretches all the way around to Joss Bay. It is strongly advised to check tide times and the RNLI website if you’re planning this walk as you run the risk of being cut off by the tide. Never allow children to walk around the cliffs unsupervised.

The stretch of light sand is ideal for daytrippers and dog-walkers. But please note that dogs are banned from 1st May to 30th September from 10am to 6pm, but the light across the cliffs in the evenings close to sunset is a beautiful time for a stroll.

Enclosed by stacked white chalk cliffs, Botany Bay is also an ideal spot for fossil hunting and rock-pooling when the tide is out. If you’re keen to set your mini-explorers a challenge - in 2020, an echinoid (sea urchin) fossil, dated at around 90 million years old, was found on the beach at Botany Bay!

If talk of ancient creatures doesn’t impress any budding paleontologists, then try a tale of the pirates and smugglers who called the coastline their home in the 18th century.  Carved into the cliffs by the smugglers themselves more than 300 years ago, there are a number of caves still to be found.

Named after Botany Bay in Australia – to where many criminals were deported - the bay plays an integral part in the smuggling history of Broadstairs. 

Just off of the beach is Botany Bay Hotel. The hotel is an ideal spot for a short break and its menu, which includes everything from sandwiches to steak, is suitable for either a light lunch or an evening meal. With a veranda that sweeps around the sides of the hotel and overlooks the coastline, the hotel has several tables inside and outside and is family and dog friendly. 

Toilets are available on the beach but are limited so can become very busy in the peak summer months. 

Parking is also limited to a small car park. Most avenues off of Botany Bay are for permit-holders only, but Palm Bay Avenue, which is just a cliff-top walk to Botany Bay, has many parking bays available.