Herne Bay is a seaside town in Kent, South East England with a population of 38,563. It is only 4 miles from Whitstable and is sometimes, perhaps unfairly, seen as the poor relation. The seafront is home to the world’s first freestanding purpose-built Clock Tower, built in 1837 and until 1978 it had second-longest pier in the United Kingdom.
The town’s origin was in receiving goods and passengers from London en route to Canterbury and Dover. It later grew into a seaside resort during the early 19th century but it’s popularity as a holiday destination has declined over the past decades (as have many English seaside towns).
It has a little more sand than Whitstable though it mainly a shingle beach with colourful beach huts, seafront gardens, pier and bandstand. It is forever being touted as the next property hotspot on the South East coast.
