The Isle of Sheppey is a largely rural island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary. The whole north coast is dotted with caravan parks and holiday homes.

Understand

Birds roosting at Elmley

The island is separated from the British mainland by a channel called the Swale. It has an area of 36 square miles (93 km²). Sheerness is an industrial port town and the remainder of the island to the east is more rural.

Sheppey is derived from Old English Sceapig, meaning "Sheep Island".

The largest town on the island is Minster with a population of 20,000 (2019). Other towns include Sheerness and Leysdown-on-Sea. There is also a naturist beach beyond Leysdown, towards Shellness.

Many of the island's resident population of 40,300 commute to the mainland via the Sheerness-Sittingbourne rail link and the new Sheppey Crossing Bridge.

History

Sheppey is one of few parts of what is now the United Kingdom to have been lost to a foreign power since William the Conqueror's invasion in 1066. This was in June 1667, when a Dutch fleet sailing up the Thames Estuary for the Medway captured the fort at Sheerness. The fort at the time was incomplete and the garrison underfed and unpaid, so resistance to the heavily armed Dutch Navy was hardly enthusiastic. According to Samuel Pepys's diary, the Dutch Navy was to a large extent composed of deserters from the English Royal Navy. Pepys, then secretary of the Navy Board, described Sheerness as lost "after two or three hours' dispute". The Dutch quickly overran and occupied the whole island for several days before withdrawing. Prior to leaving, the Dutch took supplies, ammunition and guns, then burned everything that was combustible.

Get in

The A249 is the main road from the mainland via the Sheppey Crossing.

There are trains and buses from Sittingbourne. Walkers and cyclists can use the older Kingsferry Crossing which is a lifting bridge.

By train

• 1 Sheerness-on-Sea station. (updated Apr 2022)
• 2 Queenborough station. (updated Apr 2022)

See

Beach at Leysdown

• 1 Elmley Nature Reserve, 1 Kings Hill Cottages, Elmley, Minster on Sea, ME12 3RW, ☏ +44 1795 664896. A national nature reserve which is great for bird-watching. They have a range of glamping accommodation. Glamping £90. (updated Apr 2022)
• 2 Eastchurch Aviation Museum, Wright's Way, HMP Standford Hill, Eastchurch, ME12 4AA. Tu Th–Sa 10AM–3PM. Volunteer-run aviation history museum. (updated Apr 2022)

Do

There are Blue Flag beaches at Minster and Leysdown.

Buy

• Sheerness has Tesco and Aldi supermarkets, near the station.

Eat

• Sheerness has a few restaurants and cafes.
• There are cafes along the seafront in Minster and Leysdown.

Sleep

There are several caravan parks on the Isle of Sheppey, but these mainly have long term pitches for caravans owned by weekenders, with only a few pitches for visitors.

• 1 The Shurland Hotel, 79-81 High St, Eastchurch, ME12 4EH. from £60. (updated Apr 2022)
• 2 Warden Springs Caravan Park. Touring pitches for caravans and tents, next the sea. Tavern and outdoor swimming pool. from £15. (updated Apr 2022)

Connect

As of May 2022, Sheerness and the west side of the island have 4G from all UK carriers. Coverage on the east side is patchy, O2 has the best signal. 5G has not reached this area.

Go next

• Sittingbourne