Beaches in Camber Sands, Sussex Travel Guide

About Beaches in Camber Sands, Sussex

This glittering stretch of the Sussex coast with its endless golden dunes of Camber Sands is a magnet for beach bums, families, dog walkers, windsurfers and kite dudes. Rather than stay in the rather desultory village of Camber, the best local base is the medieval town of Rye, a half-timbered, cobbled dream of a town that's around 4.8km (3 miles) inland, and almost too pretty for its own good.

Beach:

Hidden behind a string of momentous dunes, Camber Sands is a famously wonderful, windswept beach, 11km (7-miles) long, and 1km (0.5-miles) wide at low tide. The sea is clean, the shallows gentle and the wind remarkably brisk. The dunes, unique along this bit of coast, are a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The beach is around 6.5km (4 miles) southwest of Rye, which is a nicer base than the forlorn village of Camber.

Beyond the beach:

Around 24km (15 miles) east of Rye is Dungeness, an isolated, strange, pebbled beach overlooked by the bulk of a nuclear power station. It's spookily bleak and somehow breathtaking. You can visit the uniquely beautiful garden of the former home of film director Derek Jarman, Prospect Cottage; it's filled with driftwood, strange objects and sculptural plants.

Family fun:

All the fun of the beach: trying to keep your windbreak up, building sandcastles, collecting shells, paddling, swimming, and exploring the dunes. Jurys Gap, around 3km (2 miles) to the west, is a huge destination for kiteboarders and windsurfers, as kites are now banned from Camber Sands.

Exploring further:

Take a walk across the flat fields from Rye to 16th-century Camber Castle, an English Heritage site and nature reserve. Guided walks are organised regularly and is open to the public at weekends from July to September.