All You Need To Know About Kitesurfing In Kent

Kitesurfing in Kent

The wind and weather that run across the South of England, and the English Channel in particular, make coastal Kent one of the best regions in the country to kitesurf or to learn. Kent also has something Cornwall and Devon do not: it is easy to get to. Transport links from London and the North are far more direct, which matters more than people expect when you are learning and need to be on the water often rather than once a summer.

The county covers a real spread of conditions. The north and east coasts give you shallow, flat, open water; the Channel side gives you chop and a shore break. That means the right beach depends as much on the wind direction and the state of the tide on the day as it does on how good you are. This guide covers how to choose between them, then the beaches themselves.

Choosing a kitesurfing beach in Kent

Kitesurfing is an extreme watersport, and a beach that is perfect one day is the wrong choice the next. Three things to check every time:

• The hourly forecast, not the daily one. An average for the day hides the gusts and the lulls. Heavy rain and the wrong wind speed decide whether you can ride safely at all.
• Tide times. Several Kent spots are only rideable on part of the tide, so the tide decides your window far more than the forecast does. Our tides and weather page has the local numbers.
• A beach assessment when you arrive. Walk the site before you rig and identify the hazards. UK beaches are often at their most awkward at high water. If you have not ridden the spot before, speak to a local kitesurfer or the nearest centre — they know what people get caught out by.

Kent’s kitesurfing season

Schools and centres generally run from March to November. Experienced riders kite right through the winter at many Kent beaches, and the wind is stronger and the waves bigger for it, provided you are properly equipped. Our winter kitesurfing tips cover what changes when the water gets cold.

The best kitesurfing beaches in Kent

Six spots worth knowing, running round the coast from the Thames estuary to the Channel.

Minster-on-Sea, Isle of Sheppey

Water: flat and open · Tide: rideable at any state · Suits: flat-water riding

One of the biggest beaches on the Isle of Sheppey, with a vast amount of flat open water. One of its real benefits is how quiet it stays — even through Kent’s busy summer months very few people holiday here, so you are rarely working around swimmers.

It is fun at any state of the tide, with two things to watch. At low water it can be extremely shallow in places. As the tide comes in, the pull of the water can be surprisingly strong given where the beach sits, so if you are not yet comfortable riding upwind, stay closer to the shore.

Whitstable Bay

Best wind: northerly · Launch: designated launch areas · Suits: all levels

Perhaps the most popular kitesurfing spot in Kent, and one of the best known in the UK. Whitstable has been a place for kitesurfers new and experienced to get an action-packed session for a long time.

It picks up some of the best northerly winds in the country. Because so many kitesurfers use it, obstacles have been cleared from the launch areas and designated launch spots put in place, which makes it a more predictable place to rig than somewhere you have to improvise.

Minnis Bay and Birchington

Best wind: firm northerly · Tide: restricted at high water · Suits: beginners upwards

On the north coast between Herne Bay and Margate, Minnis Bay comes into its own on a firm northerly. It is popular enough to have its own kite centre, associated with the Kent Pirates Club.

It is a good place to learn: there is more shallow water here than at most other Kent beaches, which takes a lot of the intimidation out of early sessions. The one real drawback is the tide — kiting is restricted at high water because of the large concrete flood wall running along the coast, so check the times before you drive over.

Pegwell Bay

Water: flat · Access: nature reserve, restricted launch areas · Suits: riders who have checked locally first

Pegwell Bay is a flat-water bay, and it is also a national nature reserve, which brings real limits on how and when it can be used. Keep off the mudflats at all times. In practice that means riding at low tide when no birds are feeding, or at high tide approaching through the western Undercliff.

Since 2004 the local kitesurfing association has agreed to launch and ride only from specific spots, because of conservation and wildlife concerns. Work out before you go where you are allowed to launch and where you are allowed to ride, and check with the local kiteboarding school first. This is not a spot to turn up at and improvise.

Sandwich Bay

Best wind: a wide range — the beach faces east · Tide: ride around low water · Suits: beginners at low tide, intermediates upwards otherwise

On the east coast between Ramsgate and Deal, Sandwich Bay faces east, which makes it work in a wider range of wind directions than several neighbouring beaches can handle. That is what makes it worth the drive on a day when the wind is doing something awkward.

As the tide starts to recede it opens out into a wide shingle beach with sand and stones exposed. There can be beach deposits at high water, so if you are less experienced, ride around low tide.

Greatstone Beach and Romney Marsh

Water: chop and some larger waves · Tide: high water for experienced riders · Suits: intermediates upwards, or beginners with an instructor

This is our home beach. The shape of Greatstone Beach and its position on the English Channel mean there is more chop here and some slightly larger waves to hit, which is exactly what you want once you are past the flat-water stage.

You can kite here at high tide, but we would only recommend it to more experienced riders — the shore break genuinely challenges people, and it is where a novice is most likely to get into trouble. On the lower half of the tide it is far more forgiving.

Learning to kitesurf in Kent

Every spot above rewards local knowledge, and the fastest way to get it is to be taught on the water rather than to work it out alone. We are a BKSA-qualified school based at Greatstone, around 70 minutes from London, and our kitesurfing lessons run from the beach itself.

Worth knowing before you book: for most people it takes around 15 to 20 hours to be properly kitesurfing — riding, holding upwind, and getting back to where you started. You will be up on the board sooner than that, but a few seconds up is not the same as riding.

And do not buy a kite before your first lesson. Gear you have been taught on is gear you understand. When you are ready, our kitesurfing shop in Kent is on the same beach, and you can try a harness or a wetsuit on before you buy it.