Dungeness Beach In Kent - 5 Good Reasons to Visit
Dungeness is a headland on the coast of Kent, UK, and like many Kent beaches largely consists of shingle.
If you take out a map of Kent with a view to finding different things to do in Kent, it is well worth visiting Dungeness just to experience the lonely atmosphere.
However, be warned, if the weather is misty or foggy it can seem strangely eerie.
Dungeness is also the name given to the "village" along the beach although it's not exactly a village, more a scattered collection of dwellings.
Most of the homes are small wooden houses which are lived in by the fisherman whose boats are drawn up on the beach.
Some are home to people trying to escape the pressures of modern-day life.
Despite their shack-like appearance the properties bring a high price the property market.
5 Reasons why you should visit Dungeness Beach in Kent 1.
Dungeness is one of the largest expanses of shingle in the world.
It is of international conservation importance which is recognised and protected mostly through its conservation designations as a National Nature Reserve (NNR), a Special Protection Area (SPA), a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and part of the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) known as Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay.
2.
Kent people might be rare at Dungeness but there is a remarkable and unique variety of wildlife living there, with over 600 different types of plant (a third of all those found in Britain).
It is one of the best places in Britain to find insects such as moths, bees and beetles, and spiders; many of these are very rare, some found nowhere else in Britain.
The flooded gravel pits, both brackish and fresh water, provide an important refuge for many migratory and coastal bird species.
The RSPB has a bird sanctuary there and every year thousands of bird watchers descend on the peninsula to catch a glimpse of a rare bird from the bird observatory.
3.
There have been lighthouses at Dungeness since 1615.
The present black and white lighthouse was commissioned in 1916 since when the Old Lighthouse has become a tourist attraction.
If you climb its 169 steps you get a bird's eye view of the shingle beach.
4.
Go to see the most famous house on dungeness beach, Prospect Cottage, formerly owned by the late artist and film director Derek Jarman.
The cottage is painted black, with a poem, part of John Donne's "The Sunne Rising", written on one side in black lettering.
The garden is the main attraction.
Made of pebbles, driftwood, scrap metal and a few hardy plants it echoes the strange, lonely atmosphere of the whole area of Dungeness 5.
The Village has two Public Houses "The Pilot" and "The Britannia", both serving seafood.
Fresh seafood can be purchased from several outlets across the shingle.
If you take out a map of Kent with a view to finding different things to do in Kent, it is well worth visiting Dungeness just to experience the lonely atmosphere.
However, be warned, if the weather is misty or foggy it can seem strangely eerie.
Dungeness is also the name given to the "village" along the beach although it's not exactly a village, more a scattered collection of dwellings.
Most of the homes are small wooden houses which are lived in by the fisherman whose boats are drawn up on the beach.
Some are home to people trying to escape the pressures of modern-day life.
Despite their shack-like appearance the properties bring a high price the property market.
5 Reasons why you should visit Dungeness Beach in Kent 1.
Dungeness is one of the largest expanses of shingle in the world.
It is of international conservation importance which is recognised and protected mostly through its conservation designations as a National Nature Reserve (NNR), a Special Protection Area (SPA), a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and part of the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) known as Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay.
2.
Kent people might be rare at Dungeness but there is a remarkable and unique variety of wildlife living there, with over 600 different types of plant (a third of all those found in Britain).
It is one of the best places in Britain to find insects such as moths, bees and beetles, and spiders; many of these are very rare, some found nowhere else in Britain.
The flooded gravel pits, both brackish and fresh water, provide an important refuge for many migratory and coastal bird species.
The RSPB has a bird sanctuary there and every year thousands of bird watchers descend on the peninsula to catch a glimpse of a rare bird from the bird observatory.
3.
There have been lighthouses at Dungeness since 1615.
The present black and white lighthouse was commissioned in 1916 since when the Old Lighthouse has become a tourist attraction.
If you climb its 169 steps you get a bird's eye view of the shingle beach.
4.
Go to see the most famous house on dungeness beach, Prospect Cottage, formerly owned by the late artist and film director Derek Jarman.
The cottage is painted black, with a poem, part of John Donne's "The Sunne Rising", written on one side in black lettering.
The garden is the main attraction.
Made of pebbles, driftwood, scrap metal and a few hardy plants it echoes the strange, lonely atmosphere of the whole area of Dungeness 5.
The Village has two Public Houses "The Pilot" and "The Britannia", both serving seafood.
Fresh seafood can be purchased from several outlets across the shingle.
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