Botany Bay, Kent

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Looking southeast across the bay. The Thanet Wind Farm can be seen on the horizon. Botany-bay-kent-east.jpg
Looking southeast across the bay. The Thanet Wind Farm can be seen on the horizon.
Looking northwest across the bay. Botany-bay-kent-west.jpg
Looking northwest across the bay.
Detail of chalk stack, across the eastern side of the beach. Detail of Chalk Stack, Botany Bay, Beach in Broadstairs, Kent.png
Detail of chalk stack, across the eastern side of the beach.

Botany Bay is a bay in Broadstairs facing the north sea, Kent, England. Botany Bay is the northernmost of seven bays in Broadstairs. [1] The bay features chalk cliffs, formerly a sea stack and is a popular tourist location. [2] Bathing is reportedly safe for swimming, surfing, and kayaking, and lifeguards are on duty from May 25 to September 1 (2024 dates). [3] [4]

Contents

Use

Botany Bay is a popular film location, having been used by productions such as BBC's D- Day: The Last Heroes, [5] Tamil action drama Thaandavam, [6] Sky Atlantic comedy Hunderby, [7] BBC drama True Love [8] as well as music videos for Bat For Lashes, Bebe Black, Shawn Mendes' song "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back", and commercials for Land Rover, Sainsburys and Natwest and photoshoots for many fashion editorials. "Dress Code" [9] an episode from the web series, The Mute Series, was also shot there. In the 2020s, Botany Bay became popular with day-trippers from London. This led to an increase in rubbish being left on the beach, which local councillors attributed to Londoners. [10] In 2024, the sea stack collapsed due to natural costal erosion. [11]

Naturists

The Foreness area at the western end of the beach is popular with naturists, although the area does not have official designation as a naturist beach despite media outlets claiming it does. [12] [13] [14] [15] Thanet District Council has considered putting signs to inform or warn non-naturists of the possibility of encountering naturists, although at present there is no signage. [16]

References

  1. "Broadstairs - A Personal Perspective". Stella Maris. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  2. "Broadstairs UK". www.itraveluk.co.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  3. "Botany Bay Beach Lifeguarding". RNLI Lifeguarding Botany Bay Beach. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  4. "Botany Bay". www.forces-of-nature.co.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  5. Kent Film Office. "Kent Film Office D- Day: The Last Heroes Film Focus".
  6. Kent Film Office (17 September 2012). "Kent Film Office Thaandavam Film Focus" . Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  7. Kent Film Office. "Kent Film Office Hunderby Film Focus" . Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  8. Kent Film Office (11 June 2012). "Kent Film Office True Love Film Focus" . Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  9. "Dress Code — from The Mute Series". www.muteseries.com. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  10. Dex, Robert (14 August 2024). "Huge crowds of Londoners blamed for leaving mountains of rubbish on Broadstairs beach". The Standard. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  11. "Iconic sea stack loved by selfie-takers collapses". Kent Online. 29 November 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  12. Young, Lyndsey (24 June 2022). "Five Kent beaches where you can get naked this summer". Kent Live. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  13. Club, Saturday Walkers. "Botany Bay - near Margate - Kent - Naturist Beach - SWC". Saturday Walkers Club. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  14. Delahaye, Julie (28 February 2024). "UK's 'most photographed' beach is a sandy paradise with crystal-clear waters". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  15. MacDougall, Lauren (29 August 2021). "Kent's little known nudist beaches where you can sunbathe in the buff". Kent Live. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  16. Bailes, Kathy (15 June 2023). "Thanet council considering nude bathing warning signs for area of Botany Bay". The Isle Of Thanet News. Retrieved 10 May 2024.

51°23′20″N1°26′5″E / 51.38889°N 1.43472°E / 51.38889; 1.43472