Sandwich Bay is a long sweeping inlet of the sea between
Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...
and
Deal
A deal, or deals may refer to:
Places United States
* Deal, New Jersey, a borough
* Deal, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* Deal Lake, New Jersey
Elsewhere
* Deal Island (Tasmania), Australia
* Deal, Kent, a town in England
* Deal, ...
, on the east coast of
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The coastal area consists of sand flats with their associated salt marshes and coastal sand dunes. The ''Sandwich Flats'' stretch for about five miles (8 km) along the coast. The coastal habitats are of high ecological importance.
Most of the bay bears national and international nature conservation designations. These include the Sandwich Bay to Hacklinge Marshes
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
(SSSI), the Sandwich Bay
Special Area of Conservation
A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...
(SAC), the Thanet Coast and Sandwich Bay
Special Protection Area
A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cert ...
Ramsar Site
A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O)
*** Permanent 8 ha (P)
*** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts)
**
Lestes barbarus
''Lestes barbarus'' is a species of damselfly of the family Lestidae, the spreadwings. Its common names in English include southern emerald damselfly, shy emerald damselfly, and migrant spreadwing.Clausnitzer, V. 2009''Lestes barbarus''.The IUC ...
'') was found here in 2003, only the second site in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
at which this vagrant species had occurred. There are several
Geological Conservation Review
The Geological Conservation Review (GCR) is produced by the UK's Joint Nature Conservation Committee and is designed to identify those sites of national and international importance needed to show all the key scientific elements of the geological a ...
sites within the SSSI. The bay is also home to the Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory Trust and the Monk's Wall nature reserve.
The sand dunes at the top of the beach give way to the private road leading through Sandwich Bay estate. There is a 24-hour toll on this road for non-resident motorists of £7.00 per car or £4.00 per motorcycle (2020) but cyclists and pedestrians pass for free. Charges apply 24 hours a day and you buy a ticket at the toll house, or online via the Sandwich Bay website when the toll house is closed. The bay closes to visitors half an hour after sun set and re-opens half an hour before sunrise. However, night fishing is allowed if a ticket is bought in advance. Security patrol the estate and seafront 24 hours a day. The road itself runs along on the top of a concealed sea wall separating the beach from the golf courses which back onto it. Via the toll road the beach is only 3–5 minutes from the historic Cinque port town of Sandwich. There are also scenic footpaths leading from the quay in Sandwich, along the river and over the golf course on the dunes to the bay, which can take anything from 30 minutes to 1 hour to walk. Cycling over this route is not advisable due to the length of the path situated upon the dunes and golf-course, but the road route takes only 10 minutes by bicycle.
The beach at Sandwich Bay is largely shingle, and relatively steep in profile at points along its width, but the receding tide reveals some areas of sand. Towards the northern end of the beach Sandwich Bay is separated from the
Isle of Thanet
The Isle of Thanet () is a peninsula forming the easternmost part of Kent, England. While in the past it was separated from the mainland by the Wantsum Channel, it is no longer an island.
Archaeological remains testify to its settlement in anc ...
by the River Stour estuary, where the Pegwell Bay nature reserve and salt marsh can be found. The only facilities on the beach are a small toilet block and areas at the edges of the dunes for parking. Sandwich bay also has a sea wall, which has a road built on top to stop the waves from reaching the low-lying land behind. Every spring,
beach replenishment
Beach nourishment (also referred to as beach renourishment, beach replenishment, or sand replenishment) describes a process by which sediment, usually sand, lost through longshore drift or erosion is replaced from other sources. A wider beach can ...
is carried out, taking materials from the north of the bay, which has travelled up due to long shore drift, and is piled up against this wall to prevent any damage that may be caused by the waves.
The northernmost end of the beach is frequently used as an unofficial naturist beach.Naturist UK Fact File /ref>