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LEYSDOWN- Our traditional seaside resort with a history of award winning beaches
and facilities.
Busy, lively central main street leading to the promenade
with many Traditional Seaside
Amusements, souvenir shops and a variety of cafe's ,takeaways, pubs
& clubs.
Running parallel to the main street is the "Spinny" a grassy Picnic area with flower beds and a younger children’s play
area, where
on hot days you will find holiday makers relaxing having refreshments and
soaking up the sun. Opposite the Spinny, on Sundays you will find our popular
Sunday market, where a variety of goods are for sale. Also on Sundays,
just out side Leysdown, is our famous Sunday boot fair, where you will
always find bargains galore.
Click
here to find out all the details then Enter Leysdown in search engine.
Our Beaches are particularly suitable for families, the main sandy beach has
few currents and is shallow at most times. Power boats and Water skiers are
restricted to deep waters beyond buoys and are only allowed to beach at a
controlled area 300 Mt's to the northwest of the main promenade.
Just a few minutes walk away is our Coastal nature park
covering 45 acres, with a SSSI Site
occupying former historical airfield.
Adjacent is a Picnic Area with Adventure play ground. 9 Hole golf course
& Pitch and Putt. Along side are 1.2 Km's of unspoiled Bathing
ideal for Sun
Bathing & Sea Fishing.
Naturalists Beach - follow road to 200 Mt's before Shellness
Hamlet, free parking opposite beach.
Shellness Nature Reserve/Bird Sanctuary - free parking by Shellness
Hamlet, walks through the Nature Reserve/Bird Sanctuary or across country,
along dike, to Harty Church and hamlet.
LEYSDOWN
BEACH
Leysdown beach is another European Union designated bathing beach with
many of the amenities associated with a popular British Seaside Resort.
The beach itself is one of the few sandy beaches on Sheppey and the most
popular. Lifeguards are on duty during summer school holiday weekends to
maximise safety. However the beach is relatively safe because of its
shallow waters and controlled power boating at the nearby Little Groves
Beach.
LEYSDOWN
COASTAL PARK
As a contrast to Leysdown beach the Coastal Park with its adjoining beach
is designed as an area of completely different character from Leysdown
Beach, but only 400 metres away from it. The Coastal Park Beach, a regular
award winner, is another European Union designated bathing area.
For those wanting a change from bustling Leysdown it is ideal. There are
forty-five acres of unspoiled greenery to walk, relax in, enjoy a picnic,
have a round of 9 holes golf, pitch and putt, or have a snack at the
refreshment kiosk or cake
Adjoining the open space is 1.2 kms of unspoilt beach, half of which is
classed as a site of special scientific interest.
THE
NATURIST BEACH
Following the road through Leysdown, and the Coastal Park, towards Swale
National Nature Reserve, the Naturist Beach is reached 200 metres before
Shellness Hamlet; a small residential area on the most easterly tip of the
Island.
It is an official naturist area in a secluded position with a convenient
free parking area opposite the beach.
EASTCHURCH
- Two miles from Leysdown on the B2231, Eastchurch was once the home of the early
pioneers of aviation. Lord Brabazon of Tara, holder of Pilot's License No.1, and the late Sir Winston Churchill were both taught to fly at the
old Eastchurch aerodrome. Visit the splendid stone memorial to early
aviators directly opposite All Saints church and inside view the stained
glass windows which commemorates 2 aviators killed when flying in 1910. Near the church stands the ruins
(now under archeological investigation) of the 16th century Shurland Hall where
Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn spent their honeymoon.
SHEERNESS /B2231
to A249 roundabout, follow signs - is the largest town on the Isle of Sheppey with a string of naval
connections and a traditional seaside holiday centre. The docks today are
among the largest and most modern in Britain and the waterway with its
shipping and sailing craft provide an ever-changing picture. Stand on the promenade
and look across the estuary to Southend whilst close by delight in the
award winning seafront and gardens, amusements, leisure centre and
swimming pool. The town has many shops and eating establishments. On the
outskirts of town are famous cement figurine manufacturers making a variety
of ornaments for garden and the home.
SHEERNESS BEACH
Sheerness beach is Kent’s first Blue Flag award winning beach. It is
located only 200 Metres from Sheerness High Street and is a European Union
designated bathing beach. As such its waters are regularly tested for
quality and motorboats are not allowed in the bathing area.
The beach is patrolled by lifeguards from May-September and has many
attractive amenities close at hand including the modern Sheppey Leisure
Complex and Swimming pool. There is also a children’s paddling area and
a large sand pit containing the “Galleon” play area.
There is ample parking right against the sea wall and access for the
disabled on the promenade is made easier with wide ramps.
Dog owners are reminded that dogs are strictly controlled on the promenade
and that no dogs are allowed on the beach between May and September.
MARINE
PARADE BEACH
Still within Sheerness this beach
is primarily for sailing. All craft must use the waters beyond the yellow
marker buoys and not travel above 8 knots on the landward side of them.
Call Catamaran Yacht Club on
01795 663031– or Sheppey Yacht Club on 01795 663052 for details
BARTON’S
POINT COASTAL PARK
This recreation ground features a
lake with boats to hire, a pitch and putt course, a model railway; picnic
area and windsurfing hire and tuition are available.
Call 01795 585113 for details.
THE
SHINGLE BANK The Shingle bank is Sheppey’s windsurfing beach and the uncluttered
nature of the beach is ideal for the sport. Windsurfers frequenting the
beach have formed a club and now provide their own lifeguard and rescue
craft. The shingle bank also contains a launching area, which is popular
with fishermen and dingy sailors.
MINSTER LEAS
The leas is the most accessible length of tranquil beach on Sheppey and
has regular awards for its cleanliness. It is a good recreation beach with
a bathing area between the Shingle beach and the Little Oyster. Lifeguard
cover is provided during weekends from Easter to September.
It is an increasing popular fishing and walking area with good views of
the Thames Estuary.
Public toilet facilities are available adjacent to the White House
Restaurant.
Parking is available at the Little Oyster car park and on the Leas Road
itself.
THE
CONSERVATION COAST
This stretches for approximately three miles from the Leas to Warden Bay.
It is the only area on Sheppey where cliffs rise steeply from the beach.
Due to the soft character of the rock it can be a dangerous area with
landslide occurring, so please take care on the foreshore.
As conservation area the coast is of great interest to naturalists and
geologists. Many shells can be found on the beach and the rocks contain
some interesting Eocene and Pleistocene period fossils. Only the keenest
of walkers should attempt to follow this section of our coastline from end
to end.
LITTLE
GROVES BEACH
Access to this beach is from the Little Groves Leisure Park. A mainly
sandy beach safe for bathing with a separate channel marked out for boat
launching and water-skiing, Ample parking available
QUEENBOROUGH /near
Sheerness - old
fishing port - with much to remind visitors of it long history as a seafaring town,
is well worth exploring. In the High Street is the Guildhall on the site
of an earlier courthouse captured by the Dutch in 1667. The artist Hogarth
stayed in the town during his famous peregrination through Kent. The
All-tide landing provides safe access to the Swale at all states of the
tide for visiting yachts and people using the waters. Also visit the Holy
Trinity Church, built around 1367 by Edward III, which contains many interesting
features such as a very early memorial to Henry Knight, Mayor and Ship
Master, who made 27 voyages to Greenland in Elizabethan days.
GUILDHALL
MUSEUM QUEENBOROUGH
Visit the Queenborough Guildhall Museum, which
tells the fascinating story of this historic town. From a small Saxon
settlement to a wealthy Borough and Royal Castle built by Edward III.
Queenborough is full of Victorian industrial heritage still evolving to
this day. The town was also home to hundreds of minesweeping vessels
during the Second World War.
BLUE
TOWN /near Sheerness - originally inhabited by dockyard workers who
painted their wooden houses blue and used Admiralty paint. The area has
been restored, and along the dockyard wall and adjoining Regency style
terrace are shops and pubs.
MINSTER
ABBEY /between Eastchurch & Halfway (The Church of St. Mary with St.
Sexburgha) Founded 664. Part of
the original 'nuns' chapel built with Kentish ragstone containing flints
and Roman tiles can be seen in the northeast corner of the present church.
The building contains many interesting features such as a stone effigy of
Sir Robert de Shurland and his faithful horse, Grey Dolphin, the Northwode
brasses (13th century) and the tomb of Sir Thomas Cheyney, treasurer to
Henry VIII.
GATE HOUSE MUSEUM
- unique building located
next to Minster Abbey. Depicts Sheppey's history with a wide range of
exhibits including fossils, costumes, paintings & photographs. Superb
views from the battlements 200ft above sea level. Minster Abbey is above
Minster village, where you will also find a quaint high street with fine
pubs and takeaways.
HARTY
HAMLET & CHURCH - Just 10 minutes drive from Priory Hill/on B2231,
follow sign,- is the
untouched hamlet of Harty, the early Norman Church of Saint Thomas stands sentinel
overlooking the Swale and will amply reward visitors with its timeless and
peaceful atmosphere. Still lit by oil lamps and candles, the 900 year old
buildings contains such treasures as a 14th century carved chest with a
carved design of two nights jousting. Nearby is the famous Harty Ferry
Inn, where, weather permitting, you can partake of excellent
refreshment in the gardens overlooking the view across the sea to Sittingbourne,
where once all sailing vessels bound to and from London and the continent
would pass via the Swale rather than risking the more hazardous coastline
of Sheppey.
Boot
Fairs There are numerous boot fairs on
and off the Isle of Sheppey, famously is the one on the outskirts of
Leysdown, just at the junction towards Warden Bay. For more details of
local boot fairs click the link .
THE
SWALE
The Swale is the stretch of water separating Sheppey from the mainland. It
is an area that is rich in wildlife, and much of it has sites of special
scientific interest status.
Near Shellness is English Nature’s Swale National Nature Reserve that is
open throughout the year.
Further west is the Elmley Marshes Nature Reserve that is managed by the
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Redshank, Lapwing, Pochard and
Shoveller are some of the waterfowl that nest in these protected marshes.
Thousands of white-fronted geese and ducks congregate in the winter when
birds of prey such as the Hen Harrier arrive. Avocets, Black-Tailed
Godwits and many other species of waders may also be seen from the hides
at the R.S.P.B’s Elmley Reserve, Kingmill Farm, off Sheppey Way (A249)
Call 01759 665969 for details.
On the Northwest side of the Kingsferry Bridge water-skiing is available
to members of the Long Reach Club
Call 01795 511116 for details.
QUEENBOROUGH
HARBOUR
The main Quay is operated by the Council and has recently been updated. It
is well located close to the Thames and Medway estuaries. The open sea can
be reached in minutes. An all tide landing makes land accessible at any
time of the day.
A range of all tide and tidal moorings are available for casual, seasonal
and all round year hire. Both yachts and cruisers can be catered for.
Buoys are available for visitors, and groups can be accommodated by prior
arrangement. Dingy and boat launching facilities are available
For all mooring enquires and reservations of visitor and service
facilities contact –
The Harbour Controller on 01795 662051
PLEASE
DO -
Put your litter in a bin or take it home with you
Read the notices displayed on the beaches
Use beaches designated as bathing beaches for bathing, and windsurfing
beaches for windsurfing.
Leave all wild animals and plants in their natural homes
Park in the proper car parks
Have fun and come back again
Please note - all information
is given in good faith and taken from local tourist brochures, for opening
times and any admission fees please ring our local Tourist Information
Centres, or ask at our office for latest brochures. E&OE
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