Sunny Sands Folkestone

Folkestone · South Kent · sand

Folkestone's only sandy beach, by the harbour.

What the tide does here

At a spring high tide about 16% of Sunny Sands Folkestone is out of the water. By spring low that rises to 87% — around 17 hectares of sand.

Sunny Sands Folkestone at high water: the dry beach shaded on a satellite map — **High water, 6.5 m above chart datum.** About 18% of Sunny Sands Folkestone is out of the water.

Sunny Sands Folkestone at low water: the dry beach shaded on a satellite map — **Low water, 1.4 m above chart datum.** About 76% is uncovered.

Dogs

From 1 May to 30 September dogs are banned from Sunny Sands and must be on a lead on the promenade. From 1 October to 30 April, dogs are welcome on both.

Water quality

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

Lifeguards

No RNLI lifeguard patrol here.

Facilities

Nearby: public toilets, parking and a café or kiosk. Access: a step-free path, accessible toilets and pushchair-friendly access. Good access beside Folkestone Harbour; level sandy approach.

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.