Langdon Beach

The shingle beach at Langdon stretches out grey and honest, with nothing pretentious about it. You get proper views across the Channel from here - on a clear day you can pick out the French coast, which makes it feel less like a corner of Kent and more like standing at the edge of something. The beach itself is all pebbles and rock pools, the kind of place where you can actually find things if you bother to look rather than just sunbathe.

It's a working beach in a working part of Dover, no ice cream vans or amusement arcades. Walkers absolutely get the best from Langdon because the clifftop paths are excellent, and the whole stretch from here up towards the White Cliffs is genuinely striking. Kids will spend time mucking about in the rock pools for a bit, maybe an hour, but it's not the sort of beach where you can park up for a full day - the shingle gets uncomfortable quickly.

The practical side: it's free to access and there's parking nearby. Allow an hour or two depending on whether you're just grabbing a look or doing the proper clifftop walk. Best visited outside school holidays when it's quieter. If you're staying at Parkdean Resorts St Margaret's Bay Holiday Park just up the road, Langdon makes a solid morning or afternoon excursion. The camps at Hawthorn Farm and Kingsdown Camping are within easy reach too, making it a natural stop when you're exploring this stretch of the Kent coast. Go for the views and the walk, not for a beach day in the traditional sense.