Visiting Herne Bay, United Kingdom: Top Sights on Foot

Herne Bay is a seaside town in Kent with a story shaped by tourism, local communities and the buildings that remain around the town and its nearby villages. The best things to do in Herne Bay include discovering its museum, galleries, churches and historic entertainment venues on foot. Neywo has a free audio guide for Herne Bay with 9 narrated places, available in 11 languages.

What to See in Herne Bay

The Seaside Museum Herne Bay

The Seaside Museum Herne Bay is a good place to begin exploring the town’s past. Its collections cover archaeology, social history, local art and Herne Bay’s development as a tourist resort.

The museum was established in 1932 as Herne Bay Museum. In July 2015, Canterbury City Council awarded its management to the Herne Bay Museum Trust, which reopened it under its present name. One of its most unusual objects is a World War Two bouncing bomb, while local art exhibitions add a more contemporary view of the town and its community.

Bay Art Gallery and Herne Bay Christ Church

Bay Art Gallery offers another perspective on the local setting. It is also associated with Herne Bay Christ Church, a church building in the town. Together, these two places make a useful stop for visitors interested in Herne Bay’s artistic and religious heritage.

Church of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart

The Church of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is a Catholic church building in Herne Bay. Its presence adds to the variety of religious architecture found around the town and makes it one of the stops on a self-guided exploration of central Herne Bay.

Church of St Bartholomew

The Church of St Bartholomew, also known as St. Bartholomew’s Church, is another local church to look out for. It is one of the places that helps give Herne Bay’s streets their historical character.

King’s Hall

King’s Hall has served several roles in Herne Bay’s entertainment history. The building began as The Pavilion, constructed between 1903 and 1904, and later became the King Edward VII Memorial Hall in 1913. It has been used as a theatre, concert hall and dance hall.

Although the name King’s Hall was already being used in 1912, the building was still at the planning stage at that time. Its changing names and functions reflect the importance of public entertainment in a seaside town.

St Andrews Church in Hampton

In Hampton, St Andrews Church is a local place of worship and a notable point of interest. Visiting it takes the route beyond the immediate centre of Herne Bay and into the surrounding area.

St John the Evangelist

St John the Evangelist was once associated with Herne Bay, but the church building has since been demolished. Its name remains part of the town’s story, offering a reminder that the heritage of a place can include buildings that no longer survive.

St Peter in Greenhill

St Peter is a church in Greenhill, Kent. This quieter stop provides another opportunity to explore the religious buildings connected with Herne Bay and its nearby communities.

Church of St Mary the Virgin, Reculver

Further along Reculver Lane stands the Church of St Mary the Virgin, the parish church of Reculver. The present building dates from the late nineteenth century and is a Grade II listed example of Gothic Revival design.

It was built between 1876 and 1878 to replace an earlier church on the site. Joseph Clarke designed the present building. Its history also reaches further back: materials from the church that once stood within the Roman fort at Reculver were incorporated into its construction. That earlier church was founded in 669 and mostly demolished in 1809.

The baptismal font probably came from the medieval All Saints’ Church at Shuart, on the Isle of Thanet. These connections make St Mary the Virgin more than a local parish church; it also preserves elements of earlier places of worship in the area.

Explore Herne Bay with a Free Audio Guide

A Herne Bay self-guided walking tour is a simple way to connect these places without joining a group or following a fixed schedule. Neywo’s Herne Bay Seafront Heritage Stroll covers 3.09 km, takes about 69 minutes and includes 5 narrated stops.

The walk includes the Church of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Herne Bay, Bay Art Gallery, The Seaside Museum Herne Bay, King’s Hall and the Church of St Bartholomew. Each story plays as you reach the place, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule. The free audio guide includes 9 narrated places in total, and its narration is available in 11 languages.

Download Neywo to explore Herne Bay while the app tells the story of each place as you arrive. For more ideas across the country, continue exploring England or the wider United Kingdom.