Minnis Bay

Birchington · Thanet · sand

Sandy bay with tidal pool, popular with families and watersports.

What the tide does here

At a spring high tide only about 23% of Minnis Bay is out of the water. By spring low the sea has drawn back roughly 330 metres, uncovering 79% of it — about 112 hectares of sand.

Minnis Bay at high water: the dry beach shaded on a satellite map — **High water, 4.4 m above chart datum.** About 24% of Minnis Bay is out of the water.

Minnis Bay at low water: the dry beach shaded on a satellite map — **Low water, 0.9 m above chart datum.** About 66% is uncovered.

Dogs

Dogs are banned from the main area of Minnis Bay all day from 1 May to 30 September. From 1 October to 30 April, dogs are welcome.

Water quality

Classified Excellent by the Environment Agency in 2025, sampled as "Minnis Bay, Birchington", a designated bathing water since 1988. Daily pollution risk forecasts appear on this page in the bathing season.

Lifeguards

RNLI lifeguards: weekends 23 May-12 Jul, daily 18 Jul-6 Sep, 10:00-18:00.

Awards

Blue Flag & Seaside Award 2026.

Facilities

Nearby: public toilets, parking and a café or kiosk. Access: a step-free path, accessible toilets and pushchair-friendly access. Good promenade access; flat sandy approach to waterline.

All Kent beaches on Beach Days

Tide predictions © UK Hydrographic Office. Beach shape from Environment Agency LIDAR survey data, © Environment Agency, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Facilities and places from OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Bathing water classifications from the Environment Agency. Satellite imagery © Mapbox, © Maxar.