Kent-SUP
Paddleboarding-Queenborough to Deadman’s Island
Paddle to Deadman’s Island: Queenborough, Kent
Paddle out from Queenborough into the muddy, tidal waters of the Swale and ahead lies a low, uninhabited strip of marsh with a name that needs no embellishment: Deadman’s Island. More than two centuries ago, men and boys who died from disease aboard the notorious prison hulks moored nearby were buried here in wooden coffins; now the sea is eroding their graves, exposing coffin timbers and human bones from the mud at low tide. Local folklore adds red-eyed dogs breaking open coffins, headless bodies and howls carrying across the water towards Queenborough – but as you paddle around an island where the tide is quite literally uncovering the dead, this is one ghost story where the truth is considerably more unsettling than the haunting.
Distance free range.
Access restrictions No licence required.
OS map OS Explorer 149 Sittingbourne & Faversham
Start point Slipway, Crundell’s Wharf, North Road, Queenborough, ME11 5AD. Grid ref. TQ 906 722; What3Words scaffold.truth.payer.
Parking Park Road Car Park (charges), Park Road, ME11 5AA. Grid ref. TQ907722; What3Words steered.forest.roughest.
Launching Slipway, Queenborough Hard, short walk from car park.
Pitstops quaint and friendly local, good roasts, The Old House at Home, tel. 01795 662463; huge array of beers, fabulous pizza, and great atmosphere, Admiral’s Arm Micropub, tel. 01795 668598; tasty lunch and cakes, Bosuns, tel. 01795 669448.
Special points Best ± 1.5hrs of HW to avoid the mud banks below the Hard. The whole area is low lying and exposed to wind. Check wind and tides at www.metoffice.gov.uk at nearby Sheerness beach for local conditions.
Offshore wind: S (if heading to Deadman’s Island).
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