Getting There

StreetMap 

Travelling by car, Swalecliffe can be reached by way of the A2990, from junction 7 of the M2. Turn off at the Chestfield roundabout. and pass under the railway, then immediately turn to the right into St John's Road. Car parking (Plough Lane) is fairly limited, but there is more space behind the beach huts in Marine Parade towards Tankerton (west of Swaleciffe and about 1 mile from the beach).

The nearest railway station is Chestfield and Swalecliffe about 1/2 mile inland. Turn right outside the station, cross the road at the mini roundabout, turning left then right into St Johns Rd. At the of the road follow the footpath in either direction to arrive at the signs [mentioned above] which designate the "not condoned" beach.

Buses stop at the Plough Inn (1/4 mile along Plough lane where it meets the roundabout with St Johns Rd, then follow the directions given above along the footpath.)

Either way involves about a 5 minute walk, but if the tide is in one has to walk the entire length of the beach on the footpath south of the stream which divides the beach from the mainland and cross the wooden bridge which leads to the beach if coming from the Tankerton end. This is necessary for about an hour either side of high tide.

Sometimes it is possible to cross the stream at the Tankerton end by paddling, but the council dredge this once a year and it effectively cuts the beach off at that end at high tide for a few months until the sea silts it up again.

Description
The beach itself isn't the most picturesque, consisting of pebbles with sand and exposed mud at low tide. It also tends to be windy with no natural shelter, so windbreaks are useful. The tide goes out quite a long way as the beach is quite gently sloping, There is also a nearby sewage works which "can smell quite unpleasant on occasion if the wind is from the SW" . On the plus side it is easy to get to with no climbing or marathon walking involved, there are views of shipping in the Thames Estuary, the Isle of Sheppey (Leysdown is usually visible) and the remains of WW2 gun emplacements off the coast.

Despite the change of status and council disapproval the beach continues to be used by a number of naturists:

" Following the erection of the signs, beach usage rapidly dwindled, to the point that there were just a couple of regulars with a smattering of occasional visitors in exceptionally good weather. Any one attempting to use the beach as a location for exhibitionism and public masturbation has been encouraged to leave and not return... . Last year we had a visit from a policeman who astounded us by informing us we could safely ignore the signs as legally they were meaningless."

"Currently there are still a few naturists regularly using the beach, quite a few dog walkers who seem fairly naturist tolerant, and increasingly kite boarders are using the beach, generally outnumbering the naturists at weekends by about 4:1. There are also a few textile families who have started to encroach onto the beach at either end, even though the beaches either side of Long Rock are usually deserted, so I assume they are pretty naturist tolerant also. While the kiteboarders are also naturist tolerant their activities launching their kites take up quite a bit of space, particularly the less proficient ones who allow their kites to skirt along the beach at head height, which is starting to create bit of a naturist ghetto in the middle"

"This year there have been a few new faces, but we could do with more so we don't lose the beach by default."

Naturists wishing to use Long Rock beach are strongly encouraged to stay below the top of the shingle ridge on the seaward side so as not to offend anyone walking past on the footpath.

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nudist beach swalecliffe
written by garry, August 28, 2007

went there aug bank hoilday there was no one on there

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