Naturist / Nudist Beaches in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland

Leysdown / Shell Ness - Isle of Sheppey

Kent

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nuff-shellness

A long drive to a flat shingle beach at the far end of the island. 15-20 mins level walk along the beach path from parking.

Shellness Nudist Beach, Isle Of Sheppey
Shellness Nudist Beach, Isle Of Sheppey

Aug-14 • Sittingbourne Snappa on Flickr

nuffbeach nuffshellness 47924592566

Official naturist beach

General

This 'official' naturist beach is located near Leysdown-on-Sea at the far eastern end of the Isle of Sheppey on the north Kent coast. The beach is half a mile beyond (south-east) of the main beach at Leysdown near to the place identified on maps as 'Shell Ness' and the beach is also known as Shellness.

Google Map

Getting There

The Isle of Sheppey is reached via the A249 road from the A2 or junction 5 of the M2 near Sittingbourne. Follow signposts for Sheerness. Once over the Swale channel turn right on to the B2231 for to Leysdown-on-Sea.

Arriving at Leysdown, follow the road through the town and along the beach, for about one mile. The road veers away from the beach a bit then comes to a T-junction [of sorts] opposite the entrance to a caravan park. You follow the road (Shellness Road) round to the left here and the road ( in reality an unmade track) steadily deteriorates.

The nearest parking is a public car park at ME12 4RR on the coast road just before Muswell Manor Holiday park. The road leaves then rejoins the coast, where there are a few more parking spaces. After this point, the coast road is private, and, as of 2021, some locals are discouraging public access. The car park right by the beach has been dug up, so its about a 15-20 min walk to the beach. This also effects access to The Swale National Nature Reserve. From the car park, walk south eastwards past some old wooden holiday chalets. The Shellness free beach starts one hundred metres from the chalets. There are 'naturist beach' signs.

"Unfortunately, there is no longer parking at the beach itself. New visitors or those returning for the first time this year will find that the plentiful and very convenient parking below the dunes beside the (sea road / track ) to the private hamlet has been dug up to make it unusable. The nearest (legal) parking is in Shellness Car Park or beside the sea wall on the way out of Leysdown - about a 15-20 mins walk to the beach. That still makes it quite accessible by naturist beach standards but it's still a disappointment. -- Jul'21

Description

This beach is a mixture of sand, shingle, shells and - in places - mud. A recent visitor described it as 'small (fairly) clean sandy(ish) beach, over some dunes'. The scenery is typical of the Thames estuary - there are good views of Whitstable and of shipping in the Thames. At low tide the sea can be a long way out. Beach walkers on their way to Shell Ness may pass the beach but there are no reported problems. 'Free Sun' reported that the beach was sometimes used by '750 bods' - more recent reports suggest regular use by 20-30 naturists, with up to 100 at busy weekends.

Leysdown Naturists Facebook Group [private]

England Coast Path

The England Coast Path creates a right of way along the "private" coast road to Shell Ness (village), and a path behind the village to a viewpoint. The coast path continues around the entire island. See ECP - Shellness section, maps 6B and 6C

Facilities

No facilities are available on the beach, the nearest are to be found in Leysdown.

Water Quality

Water quality is affected by detritus from London and ship litter. Leysdown meets the minimal EEC standard.

Map

Comments

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Photos

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Photos should be of the beach, or show the way to it. They should NOT have people in them.

nuff-beach
nuff-shellness
Shellness Nudist Beach, Isle Of Sheppey
Shellness Nudist Beach, Isle Of Sheppey

Aug-14 • Sittingbourne Snappa on Flickr

nuffbeach nuffshellness 47924592566