Broadstairs: Coast, Dickens and Town History

If you’re looking for a hotel in Broadstairs, deciding what you want from your trip can help you narrow down your choice of destination. The coastal attractions range from sandy bays and clifftop promenades to chalk cliffs and activities that depend on the tides. There’s also a Dickens connection, town history and a food festival. Before booking, you can weigh up whether you want your stay to focus on the coast, literary history or another cultural theme.

Coastal highlights in Broadstairs

Viking Bay has a long sandy bay, a clifftop promenade and a wooden pier. Botany Bay offers views of white cliffs and distinctive chalk formations. At low tide, visitors can look for fossils and explore rock pools. Low tide is essential for both activities; the bay combines them with views of the chalk coastline.

Joss Bay is a 200-metre-long bay and is regarded as Thanet’s best surfing beach. The coastal spots each have a different focus: Viking Bay is known for its sandy bay, promenade and pier; Botany Bay for its chalk cliffs and tide-dependent activities; and Joss Bay for surfing. This makes it easy to choose between coastal scenery, chalk formations and surfing.

Dickens and the town’s history

The Dickens House Museum is dedicated to Charles Dickens’ longstanding connection with Broadstairs from 1837 to 1851. Visitors can see letters about Broadstairs, Dickens’ writing box and a mahogany sideboard. The collection also includes an extensive print collection by H. K. Browne, known as “Phiz,” Dickens memorabilia, Victorian costumes and Victoriana, as well as an exhibition about “Our English Watering Place.” The letters and writing box highlight the Dickens connection; prints, costumes and Victoriana add further historical and visual themes to the collection.

The Broadstairs Town Trail offers insights into the town’s history, as well as some of its people and buildings, through ten illustrated panels and a guidebook. While the Dickens House Museum focuses on a specific literary connection and related collection items, the Town Trail turns the spotlight on local history, people and buildings. You can explore Broadstairs’ past in different ways: through museum collections or the themes covered by the trail.

Tours and festivals offer other highlights

On the St Peter's Village Tour, visitors encounter many costumed characters from past centuries. The tour also covers local conditions in the workhouse and involves less than a mile of walking on level ground. It therefore specifies both a particular historical focus and the length and type of walk. The tour programme may change depending on the season, and the route may also vary. Check the current tour description before your visit.

The Broadstairs Food Festival brings together independent producers from Kent, the wider region and beyond. The programme includes cooking demonstrations, talks with authors, and presentations by food and nutrition experts. The programme and participating producers may vary from one festival to the next. Alongside coastal and historical themes, the festival has its own focus on food, producers and expert contributions.

Discover more destinations: Stelling Minnis, Alkham, Minster, Hartley, Yalding, Doddington, Ash, Lyminge.

For the regional travel overview: Kent.