Viking Bay Beach

Viking Bay owes its name not to an ancient invasion, but to a carefully staged arrival in 1949. Fifty-three Danes rowed a replica longship called the Hugin across the North Sea before landing on the sands of Broadstairs, where roughly 30,000 people gathered to greet them. The voyage commemorated 1,500 years since the legendary arrival of Hengist and Horsa in Kent, and soon afterward, what had been known as Main Bay became Viking Bay.

Only the navigator among the 53-man crew was a professional seaman, and a sextant was the only navigational instrument carried aboard. The Hugin had been built in Denmark and was later presented to the people of Thanet before being placed above nearby Pegwell Bay, where it remains on display.

Charles Dickens spent many summers in Broadstairs, and Bleak House overlooks the northern end of the beach where he worked on David Copperfield. Today, visitors can descend from the promenade by a seasonal cliff lift, because why simply walk to the shore when you can arrive by contraption at a beach named after one of Britain’s most successful maritime publicity stunts?