Things to do in Herne Bay

Lot's of people come to Herne Bay for a visit and when they pop in to Beach Creative they ask us about things to do locally, so we thought we'd write a little guide to our home town. Herne Bay, tucked between the oyster-famous shores of Whitstable and Margate, is a coastal gem that deserves far more attention than it gets. With its Victorian seafront, thriving independent scene, and a genuinely passionate creative community, this South East Kent town is the kind of place you arrive at for a day and find yourself planning a return trip before you've left.

Whether you're drawn by the sea air, curious about the arts, or looking for live music and cultural experiences, Herne Bay has something real to offer. Here's your guide to making the most of it.

The Seafront: Where It All Begins

No visit to Herne Bay starts anywhere other than the seafront. The town has one of the most characterful promenades on the Kent coast, anchored by its iconic 80ft Victorian Clock Tower — believed to be one of the earliest freestanding clock towers in the UK, and still a striking landmark today.

The Herne Bay Pier a colourful, lively space filled with food outlets, independent retail huts, and sea views in every direction. It's the kind of pier that feels properly alive, and catching the sunset from here — with the golden light stretching across the Thames Estuary — is genuinely one of the best free experiences in Kent.

Just along the front, the Victorian Bandstand hosts concerts throughout the warmer months, keeping the town's long tradition of outdoor entertainment very much alive. And for a quieter moment, the Waltrop Gardens — a sunken seafront garden celebrating the town's German twinning — offer a beautiful spot to sit, breathe, and take in the view.

History and Heritage

Herne Bay wears its history lightly but with pride. The Herne Bay Museum and Gallery is the place to start — a small but fascinating collection that takes you from coastal fossils to the bouncing bomb prototype tested off these very shores during World War II, built by Barnes Wallis for the famous Dambusters raids.

At the eastern end of the seafront, keep an eye out for the statue of Amy Johnson, the pioneering aviator who became the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia in 1930. She was last seen near Herne Bay before her plane came down in the Thames Estuary — a poignant and powerful memorial to an extraordinary life. The statue depicts her in a famous striding pose.

A few miles along the coast, the twin towers of Reculver rise dramatically against the sky. The remains of a 3rd-century Roman fort and medieval church, Reculver is the endpoint of a stunning clifftop walk from Herne Bay along the Oyster Bay Trail — an ideal route for fossil hunters, birdwatchers, and anyone who just wants to walk somewhere genuinely beautiful.

Live Music and Entertainment

For live music and entertainment, The King's Hall is the centrepiece, sitting right on the seafront promenade. A stunning Edwardian building with original period features, it hosts an eclectic programme throughout the year — live bands, comedy nights, festival events, and more. It's the kind of venue that feels genuinely special, and whatever's on, the setting alone makes it worth the trip.

The town's broader music scene is supported by a network of pubs, community venues, and the annual Herne Bay Festival — a month-long celebration in July and August that brings together folk music, jazz, carnival days, fireworks, live performances, workshops, and community events. Much of it is free, all of it is rooted in the spirit of the town.

Arts, Culture and Galleries

Herne Bay punches well above its weight when it comes to the arts. The town has a genuine creative culture — not performed for tourists, but lived by the people who actually call it home.

She Rose gallery, a few minutes from the seafront, is the studio and gallery of artist Jo Oakley, offering an ever-evolving collection of original artwork alongside gifts, homeware, and a deeply personal, welcoming atmosphere.

The town's art trail culture extends to pop-up exhibitions, independent spaces, and community-led events throughout the year. And for those who like their culture with a bit of history attached, the Herne Bay Cartoon Festival brings an irreverent splash of colour and wit to the pier and town centre each year, regularly hosted by Beach Creative.

Beach Creative: Herne Bay's Creative Heart

Right in the centre of town, housed in the beautiful Beach House on Beach Street — a Victorian building dating back to 1899 — you'll find Beach Creative, Herne Bay's community arts hub and one of the most welcoming spaces in Kent. Beach Creative has a gallery and a cafe and is a genuinely inclusive space, offering creative workshops and supporting local creatives.

Beach Creative is a genuinely special place. Run as a Community Interest Company with strong volunteer involvement and a fiercely inclusive ethos, it's a hub for artists, makers, writers, musicians, and anyone who's simply curious about creativity. Over more than a decade, it has woven itself into the fabric of Herne Bay life, supporting emerging artists, bringing people together, and making art accessible to everyone regardless of age, ability, or background.

What's on offer? Quite a lot. The centre features two gallery spaces — the Duchamp Gallery and the Marcel Gallery — with a rolling programme of exhibitions including open call shows and spotlights on local artists. There are also creative workshops and courses covering everything from screen printing and painting to photography and mixed media, led by experienced local tutors. The Darkroom is a fully equipped black-and-white darkroom offering classes in film photography for all ages and abilities — a rare find anywhere, let alone in a seaside town.

Beyond the gallery and studios, Beach Creative is home to writers' groups, peer support circles, young artist programmes, and community craft sessions. And at the centre of it all is TOAST café, a welcoming space serving great coffee and simple, healthy food — the kind of place where you can linger over a flat white and look at the latest exhibition without feeling any pressure to hurry.

Rooms and gallery space are also available to hire, making it a brilliant base for your own workshops, events, exhibitions, or classes.

All profits go back into the venue and the wider community, which means every coffee, every workshop booking, and every piece of art you buy directly supports creativity in Herne Bay.

Visit Beach Creative at Beach House, Beach Street, Herne Bay, Kent, CT6 5PT. Open Monday to Saturday, 10am–4pm. Find out what's on at beachcreative.org.

Coastal Walks

Herne Bay sits at the heart of one of the finest stretches of coastal walking in the South East, with trails fanning out in both directions along the Saxon Shore Way — a long-distance path that traces the ancient coastline of Kent from Gravesend all the way to Hastings.

West to Whitstable is the classic easy option — a gentle, mostly flat five miles along shingle beaches, past the famous rows of beach huts at Tankerton, and on to Whitstable Harbour. It's a leisurely two-hour stroll in either direction, with brilliant views across the Thames Estuary toward the old Maunsell Sea Forts at Red Sands. The train makes it perfect as a one-way walk — take the train to Whitstable and walk back, or vice versa.

East to Reculver is the more dramatic of the two routes — and for many walkers, the more rewarding. The path heads along the promenade before leaving town and opening up into quieter stretches of shingle beach under Beltinge Cliff, where sea holly grows along the shore. The route then climbs onto the clifftop and follows a grassy path with sweeping views inland and out to sea, arriving eventually at the extraordinary twin towers of Reculver — the remains of a medieval church built atop the Roman fort of Regulbium. At around three and a half miles one way, it's very manageable, and the King Ethelbert Inn or the café at the Reculver Visitor Centre makes a well-earned halfway stop before you turn back or catch a bus home.

For the more adventurous, both routes connect into longer sections of the Saxon Shore Way — continuing east toward Birchington and Margate, or linking up with the Viking Coastal Trail around the Isle of Thanet. These are among the finest coastal walking routes in the whole of Kent, and they all start or end in Herne Bay.

Birdwatchers will want to keep their binoculars close on any of these routes — the coastline supports sanderlings, turnstones, fulmars and curlews, and the wider Thanet Coast forms part of a designated conservation zone of national importance for migrating birds and marine ecology.

Getting to Herne Bay

Herne Bay is easy to reach by train — Southeastern run direct services from London Victoria and London St Pancras, with the journey taking just over an hour and twenty minutes. By car, the M2 is your best route, with the drive from London taking about one and a half hours.

From the station, it's a pleasant 15-minute walk down to the seafront (through the beautiful Herne Bay Memorial Park).

Herne Bay isn't trying to be Whitstable or Margate. It's doing its own thing, at its own pace, with a warmth and authenticity that's harder and harder to find on the coast. Come for the sea, stay for the art, and make sure to pop into Beach Creative!