A Few Unique Islands (off the Kent coast)
You’ve likely heard of the Isle of Sheppey (just off the North Kent coast) which has seaside towns, a harbour and two nature reserves (home to oystercatchers, redshanks, lapwings and marsh harriers).
Ian Crofton’s book on English islands has an extensive history of this island, which had unexploded bombs being left on the shoreline after World War II. Elmley National Nature Reserve draws birdwatchers with its rare waders and sweeping views.
Smaller islands off Kent’s coast include:
Burntwick Island lies in Medway Estuary, cut off from the mainland by muddy creeks and tidal water. There’s no access by road, but you can see remains of a shepherd’s house (long left with his sheep, due to flooding) and littered Victorian glass and pottery.
The island is now a protected nature reserve, the saltmarsh home to curlews and redshanks. Seals often haul out on its muddy banks.
Burntwick was a hideout for smugglers in the 18th and 19th centuries, and also used as a quarantine site during outbreaks of plague and cholera. Old gravestones are hidden in the grass.
Deadman’s Island was named after finding the remains of 200 men and boys who dyed on ‘floating prisons’ around 200 years ago. Now a protected wetland, nobody visits.
