Kent Beachcombing Guide - Herne Bay Beach (East to Beltinge)

Kent Beachcombing Guide - Herne Bay East to Beltinge.

Type of Beach: Herne Bay East Beach is a mixed shingle beach, mainly of flint pebbles and gravel, with large areas of sand and clay as the tide goes out. When the tide is out (especially towards Beltinge) there are mussel beds, rock pools, and large rocks which trap fossils and other interesting things.

The beach has wooden groynes, and boulders, which make up the sea defenses. There are gentle, grassy slopes down to the promenade until you get to Beltinge creek, where the clay cliffs rise up. (and fall down! so be careful)

Beltinge is a very beautiful beach, with a view of the Reculver towers. There is a lot of  nature living in the cliffs and the surrounding countryside. There are rock pools at low tide at Beltinge, with a variety of sea creatures, and different sea weeds to observe.

It is a popular beach for dog walking, and sea fishing, and the people are friendly and chatty. There is car parking on top of the cliffs at Beltinge, which is free, and also along Herne Bay Slopes.



For Kids?

This is an ideal beach for kids and safe at low tide, with a shallow bed, that gets nice and warm in the summer, and can be crystal clear. I used to love going there as a kid.

Amenities: There are the toilets, shops, and cafes, of Herne Bay part the way along the east beach. As you head towards Beltinge the beach and surrounding areas become more natural and there are no amenities.

What Can Be Found There: 

Lot's of quartz types pebbles, some translucent, others pink, yellow, white, some with veins. Look for these at low tide, they are easier to see when wet, and can be found along the line where the shingle turns to sand.

Beautiful grey, yellow, and orange pebbles with bands of quartz. These stones were found along the bottom of the shingle, along the same line that I found the Quartz pebbles above.

Flint geodes with apertures and sparkling crystals. These can be found easily at low or high tide. These flint geodes can be spotted from the promenade even. Take a walk along the top of the beach, near to the promenade, and look out for sparkles.

Sea Glass. The sea glass can be found at low/ mid tide. The best place to find sea glass is on the first bank of pebbles from the sea. This is where the waves toss it, it ends up on the pebble bank and becomes trapped there. Colours that can be found are - a lot of greens, aqua, yellow, brown, white, olive.

A lot of the pieces of sea glass there are small though. Out of about 100 pieces I found at Herne Bay only 6 or 7 were bigger than a 10p piece.

Sea Bricks and Sea Pottery. There is plenty of sea brick and sea pottery at Herne Bay. The sea bricks are a a really nice shape, the majority have been worn into egg shapes and would make really nice home decor/garden accents. The sea pottery is small and delicate, nicely worn by the sea.

Pieces of Pottery. Though I didn't find anything exciting in the pottery department, I did find this old piece with some letters stamped on it. Not much pottery to be found.

Fossils. Lots of fossils to be found at Herne Bay East and Beltinge, esp Beltinge.

At Herne Bay East, look for sharks teeth in the gravel down by the sand at low tide, take a tub of the gravel and root around, it is more than likely that you will find a sharks tooth, or many sharks teeth. Look for dark grey and black colors amongst the gravel.

At Beltinge, look in the clay banks and mussel beds that are uncovered at low tide, you will find a variety of fossils- lots of sharks teeth, fossil shells, tiny fossil crabs, various fish bones and teeth, fossilised seed pods, and a lot of fossilised wood. People have also found fossil turtles and sea-snake skeletons at Beltinge. 

The fossils are mainly a black color in a grey stone, but there are some lovely bronze colored bi-valves, and the fossilised wood is pyrite. 

Shells. Some pretty and delicate shells to be found at low tide, on the sand and gravel part of the beach. I also found some beautiful, tiny, worn-down pieces of shells, amongst the stones. Oyster shells can be found here too, but no as frequently as Hampton, which is just down the road.

There were a lot of cockle shells, mussel shells, devils toe nails, and large whelk shells, along the top of the beach at the high tide mark, as well as various dried sea weeds, and egg cases.

Other fun things. I didn't find much in the way of 'novelty items' or exciting archeology, I found a blue glass bead, and a few weird metal objects, one of which could have been a cannon ball. 

Now I am going to give Herne Bay East to Beltinge marks out of ten for each item type.

Sea Glass                                             7/10 - lots of it in the shingle but mostly small 

Fossils                                                  9/10 - in the right conditions a lot of fossils 

Pretty Stones                                        9/10 - lots of pretty stones and pebbles here

Minerals                                               4/10 - beautiful quartz pebbles, not much else

Archeology and Interesting Finds          4/10 - I didn't find anything of note and never have, however I have   heard of Victorian coins and other interesting bits that have been found there.

Shells                                                   6/10 - Lot's of shells, no really special ones.

Sea Bricks and Sea Pottery                  9/10 - lots of nicely shaped pieces, large and small

Conclusion - Herne Bay East to Beltinge is an OK place to beach comb, but would not be my first choice unless I am looking for beautiful stones, fossils, or sea brick. 

For fossil hunting, it is great, esp at Beltinge - BUT the conditions are changeable, as sometimes the fossil beds become covered with a layer of sand. 

At the moment there have been two massive cliff falls, with clay fallen all over the beach at Beltinge. This clay is full of fossils, and over time, as the sea breaks down the clay and washes out the fossils, there will be even more to be found there.