Birchington

Birchington sits on the north coast of the Isle of Thanet in Kent, with a long shoreline at Minnis Bay where a concrete promenade runs beside stretches of sand and intertidal flats. The bay has a sequence of timber groynes and a modest sea wall that mark the high-tide line; at low tide the sand reveals channels and beds of seagrass. The village centre clusters around Station Road and a small square with shops, a post office and scattered cafés. There are primary schools, community halls and a sailing club that uses the bay when conditions allow, and the station provides regular rail services for commuters and day visitors.

Quex Park lies within the parish and contains the Powell-Cotton Museum, which displays large taxidermy dioramas assembled in the early 20th century alongside a notable collection of horse-drawn carriages and hunting trophies. The parkland includes formal gardens and woodland walks open to the public on set days. Local life mixes seasonal beach activity, market days and conservation efforts for the shoreline habitats, and the settlement retains a compact, village scale rather than larger urban development.