One of the most learner-friendly spots in the south-east: wide, gently-shelving sandy bay facing north. Best in NW, NNW, N, NNE, and NE. No kiting within 2.5 hours either side of high water — effectively no usable beach then; target the falling tide or low water. Flat to small chop. Free street parking as well as a paid car park. Schools: Tide Watersports, Kite Pirates.
No measured beach/groyne height for this spot yet — log a beach report to add one.
🧭 Wind directions
Minnis Bay, Birchington, faces ~N/NNE. Onshore NW–NE; HARD NO around high water (no beach). S winds are offshore.
green = works (brightest = side-on) · blue = cross-shore · orange = side-off / unproven (care) · red = offshore, never · grey = excluded locally
Next 7 days at Minnis BayBest of the week: Sun 19 Jul, ~16 kt around 06:00–09:00 BST (viable — a powered-down 12 m session) — gusty (+7 kt). Lighter option: Thu 23 Jul ~14 kt — marginal — larger kites (14 m+). AROME and UKV 2km agree (within ~2 kt) over the next 60 h — confidence good (lead model here: UKV 2km).
Windguru forecast
7-day forecast
Wind scale:<1010–1112–1314–1516–1920–2930+ kt ⚠
Multi-model composite: the first 60 hours come from AROME-FR 1.3km and UKV 2km (AROME first, UKV filling its gaps); beyond 60 h the best available of HARM-DK 2km → ICON 2.2km → Zephr-HD 2.6km → IFS-HRES 9km → GFS 13km extends the table to the end of day 7. Temperature blended from GFS. Tides from UKHO Admiralty (BST, 6-day window). Always verify on Windguru.
Marginal — ~10 kt, big kites only. Peak ~10 kt NE in the tide window. marginal — big kites (15 m+)/foils — most riders won't get planing; 15 m+/foil specialists only.
Viable session — ~16 kt N in the green window (08:00–09:00 BST). Working direction (N) with ~16 kt for 2 h inside the tide window (07:55–13:55 BST around the low tide). viable — a powered-down 12 m session.
Best window detail — 07:57–13:57 BST (UKV 2km hourly)
Hourly UKV 2km wind for the 2-hour tide window (★) plus an hour either side, averaging ~14 kt in the low-tide window.
TimeWindGustDir
07:0016 ktg23N
08:00 ★16 ktg23N
09:00 ★16 ktg23N
10:00 ★15 ktg21N
11:00 ★14 ktg20N
12:00 ★14 ktg21N
13:00 ★12 ktg18N
14:009 ktg14N
Time
Wind
Gust
Dir
Cloud
Temp
06:00
16 kt
23 kt
↓ N
51%
16°C
09:00
14 kt
21 kt
↓ N
68%
17°C
12:00
8 kt
17 kt
↓ N
55%
19°C
15:00
10 kt
14 kt
↙ NE
86%
19°C
18:00
10 kt
15 kt
↙ ENE
9%
18°C
21:00
10 kt
14 kt
↙ NE
—
18°C
Mon 20 Jul
HW 05:45 5.0mLW 11:35 1.2mHW 17:50 5.2m
Marginal — ~12 kt, big kites only. Peak ~12 kt N in the tide window. marginal — big kites (15 m+)/foils — most riders won't get planing; 15 m+/foil specialists only.
Best window detail — 08:33–14:33 BST (UKV 2km hourly)
Hourly UKV 2km wind for the 2-hour tide window (★) plus an hour either side, averaging ~8 kt in the low-tide window.
Marginal — ~11 kt, big kites only. Peak ~11 kt NE in the tide window. marginal — big kites (15 m+)/foils — most riders won't get planing; 15 m+/foil specialists only.
Best window detail — 09:12–15:12 BST (UKV 2km hourly)
Hourly UKV 2km wind for the 2-hour tide window (★) plus an hour either side, averaging ~8 kt in the low-tide window.
Not kiteable — the wind lands on the wrong tide. The ~18 kt ENE wind (18:00–19:00 BST) falls around high water (no usable beach / sea wall) at Minnis Bay. The rideable tide window is 10:00–16:00 BST, where the wind doesn't deliver.
Marginal — ~10 kt, big kites only. Peak ~10 kt ENE in the tide window. marginal — big kites (15 m+)/foils — most riders won't get planing; 15 m+/foil specialists only.
Best window detail — 11:07–17:07 BST (UKV 2km hourly)
Hourly UKV 2km wind for the 2-hour tide window (★) plus an hour either side, averaging ~7 kt in the low-tide window.
Important: Forecasts are model-derived and may change. Always verify on Windguru and check local tide tables before you go. LKSA accepts no liability for decisions made based on this forecast.
