Daytrip to Camber Sands, Kent
Forever in search of great beaches, regardless of country or climate, we found a fantastic sandy beach on the eastern coast of England in Kent. Known as Camber Sands, the beach is sandy and massive and well worth a trip!
Logistics
From London, there are a few different ways. Preferably, if one has a car, that would be the simpliest method because a car allows more freedom and less reliance on a rural public transport system. Instead, we relied on trains and buses - and managed just fine!
Leaving from London St Pancras every x:30, the hour long journey will have a transfer at Ashford International to Rye (Sussex). Using the great Trainline website, we were able to search for discounted fares and preferred train times. In the end, we decided on one of the first trains there at 7:30am so we could arrive at the beach by 9-9:30. Once in Rye, there is a really convenient bus, 102 - the Wave, that is right outside the train station. Leaving on the hour, it is a quick 15min bus ride to England’s sandiest beach. While a long journey, the beach will be worthwhile!
The Journey
Because we opted for the first train out of St Pancras, we were slightly rushed as we struggled to find the train platform! Thankfully, we found the train with minutes to spare, along with some unusual, funny town names listed on the destination - including Sandwich!
Once on the train, we had no problems finding our transfer at Ashford to Rye. Each train had plenty of room - perhaps due to our early train times! Unlike our trip to Brighton, we packed a breakfast, lunch, and snacks because we did not know what would be open. In Rye, there is a grocery store, Jempson’s Rye, where you can buy packaged meals but we wanted our own food.
Once we arrived at the station, there was a giant sign pointing to the Camber Sands bus stop. Turns out this is a popular day trip option…
Travel Tip: No need to bring cash if you have contactless on the bus! Cards are accepted on the bus.
Beach Time!
After we got off the bus, we were in beach heaven! The beach is amazing - very sandy! Because we woke up early and probably on the first train and bus here, we had the entire beach to ourselves which is really hard to do on a beach this size!
Unlike other beaches in the UK, this one is more remote and doesn’t have as many amenities nearby so for the most part, we hung out at the beach and enjoyed the sun and surf. This meant our picnic basket was put to good use and more time on the beach. Thankfully, we also had blue skies and zero clouds.
Cambers Sands is also perfect for walking along the beach. When I got bored of laying down or the freezing cold water, I went for a long walk and saw so many pasty white English people! It was quite amusing. While the beach does seem to go for miles, it does have definite end points that are just really far away from the main drag. Until later in the day, there weren’t any crowds and even then we had plenty of room.
The Walk Through Farmland
Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Around 4pm, we decided to head back to Rye and catch the train back to London. Unfortunately, the bank holiday traffic meant buses weren't running anymore… Then, after calling all the Rye taxi companies, taxis were not being sent to Camber Sands. We had a difficult choice to make with less than an hour and a half before the last train to London…
We walked. If we were walking by scenic countryside, I wouldn’t complain as much but for the most part, we were walking next to the road and through farm fields. For the hour plus walk, we had a hard and fast pace set because I did not want to miss the train. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger..
In the end, we made it with minutes to spare! Enough minutes to go get a cold drink at the grocery store! While I do wish we tried harder to get a taxi or a ride, it does make for an interesting story - as long as I try and forget the blisters! However, nothing could ruin the discovery of an excellent English beach!
The UnChartered Summary
Our day trip to Camber Sands was incredibly worthwhile because we saw picture perfect beaches, warm sunshine on our back, and freezing cold Atlantic waters. While our walk back certainly dampened our thoughts on the day trip, had we tried harder for a taxi or car ride, we probably could have avoided the walk. However, with our slightly tanned selves on the train, we had no other thoughts!
- Bring your picnic basket for a grand time!
- In hindsight, we should have thought about the crowd effects during the bank holiday weekend. This would have prevented some headache - but now we wish we stayed overnight!