Swalecliffe is a part of the ribbon development of the north Kent coast between Whitstable and Herne Bay in Southeast England.

[4] Swalecliffe's only mention in Hasted's monumental history of Kent records the gift in 1581 of a farm called "Bodkin's" (worth £11 6s 8d) to Gonvyle and Caius college in Cambridge University.

[6] The description in the National Gazetteer of 1868 reads:[7] Swalecliffe, a parish in the hundred of Bleangate, lathe of St. Augustine, county Kent, 7 miles N. of Canterbury, its post town, and 2 E. of Whitstable.

The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, contains monuments to the families of Loggin, Duncombe, and Wykeham.

The A2990 Thanet Way runs between Swalecliffe and the neighbouring settlement of Chestfield and provides access to the main transport network.

[10] According to the Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust it functioned from prior to August 1946 up to c. 1950, however there is a picture taken on 28 June 1934 which purports to be at Swalecliffe Aerodrome.

[12] To the north of the village the links provide a recreational resource and include a skateboard park.