Great British Road Journeys - Kent - Dartford to Sheerness Ep. 18 

"The year 1080p" made me laugh way more than it should have!

"it must have worked, because we won" - lines like this keep me coming back!

1080p was a high quality year. Far more defining than most

The casual avoidance of Chatham and Gillingham, probably for the best....

Love how he puts down every place he visits.

Some nice little gems in this one; "Today, it looks likes a field, because it is", and "The year 1080p". Nice one Jon, your wit and humour makes these videos fun to watch

You visited Gravesend and managed not to mention the Black Death or Pocahontas. Amazing.

Ahh Rochester, the city that forgot to be city. If you don’t know what I mean, in 1998 during a local government reshuffle Rochester had to appoint charter trustees to maintain its city status and they didn’t so the city status was lost. Nobody noticed until 2002 and now that status can never be reclaimed.

I like this video so I pressed the button specifically for that 👉🏻

The Gravesend to Tilbury ferry unfortunately stopped running on 30th March 2024. A sad note to add to your excellent video.

6:35 - 'Get a fry up, go karting and throw up' 🤣 ☮

Interesting fact about the Kingsferry Bridge: I used to work for Southeastern Railway. The third rail power supply over the bridge does not include that part of the bridge that is lifted when a ship needs to pass through. This necessitates trains having to "coast" over that section before picking up the power again. Do trains ever fail to do that and get stuck? Oh YES!!!! 🤣🤣🤣

Interesting fact about Rochester: It used to be a city but is now just a town. As it has a cathedral. it was, by tradition, a city, but when the Kent boroughs of Rochester and Gillingham merged in 1998 to form the unitary authority of Medway separate from Kent County Council, the leaders of the council forgot to properly protect Rochester's city status and it lost it. They have been campaigning to get it back; so far without success.

“Must have worked, as we won”, genius.

Apparently Sheerness was the birthplace of some guy by the name of “Richard Beeching” What a Kent

As someone born in Chatham (although very nearly in Sheerness!), I wholly applaud John's putting down of the area (although Rochester IS actually quite nice).

Exploring Dartford to Sheerness by boat is even more fascinating. It really is a very interesting piece of the coast.

I grew up in these areas. Even watching the video of you driving through Dartford and Gravesend, I was reaching to lock my imaginary car door.

"Sheerness. What a treat..." Jon, your sarcasm and comic timing are spot on. I have been to Sheerness once, and once only. It appeared to be closed.

Stunning Jon 🥳 An area I was compelled to deliver the cheapest shoddy furniture in Christendom, early to mid 1980’s…….. much of the Medway towns has a veneer of shit…… although the Dickens festival in Rochester is always worthwhile…… Chatham Docks is worth a visit, there’s also a rusting Cold War Russian Submarine (following a failed attempt at a night club or venue) tied up in the Medway…….. plus the unexploded remains of the SS Richard Montgomery - some 440 feet of US Liberty Ship, grounded and sunk during the second small disagreement. It still contains some 1500 tons of exploding murder death kill stuff……. sitting in the Thames Estuary near the mouth of the River Medway. The masts can be seen from as far away as the Pier in Southend on Sea. If it were to detonate, windows and property might be destroyed in London, Canvey Island and the Isles of Sheppey and Grain could be washed away. There may also be negative effects. Do please carry on Jon, you are doing important work 🇬🇧 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

the deadpan sarcastic comedy is what keeps me coming back

That pier is the remains of the old Gravesend pier station. The Thames Way road follows the old track alignment and uses an old railway tunnel. As you pass through you can see the arches within the tunnel for pway workers to shelter in when trains passed. The floor has been dig out to allow better clearance and the arches are half way up the walls

You are correct that people from Gravesend don't want to go to Tilbury, but people from Tilbury want to go to Gravesend, then they have to get back again. When I was a child in the 1960s a family day out would be a visit to Coalhouse Fort followed by a trip on the Tilbury Ferry.

Your enthusiasm for your destinations this week was just oozing out of you John. Be well.

Nells Cafe in Gravesend, came into existence when the A2 was a dirt road 😀

Ahh Dartford. I grew up there, and that's why I drank a lot. I moved away, a long way, and now I am teetotal. It wasn't just the place to blame though, it was the people too.

The love that went into this video 😍

18 weeks of pure joy. Long may this road trip continue. 👏👏👍😀

Spot on comment about Sittingbourne traffic, as the town expanded the local government there (KCC/Swale Borough Council) didn't bother much with infrastructure planning. Best avoided.

Great video as always. I'm a lorry driver, I've heard other drivers complaining about driving over Thelwall on the M6 as it can be a bit hairy in bad weather. Which i don't doubt, but its not as bad as going over Dartford QE2 bridge, which in turn isn't as bad as the Sheppey bridge. Its virtually always windy going to Sheppey, but when its really bad the older bridge is a very thankful site, although I've only had to use the older bridge a couple of times. People pay alot of money at the fairgrounds for thrill seeking rides, I'm not desperate enough to get it for free!!!!

I was born in Dartford but left when I could just about walk so that's why it ran down hill afterwards! My Dad worked on the paper mill mills as well. So thanks for popping in there! 🤣

Should have gone to Queenborough. You might also have mentioned that the new Sheppey Bridge hosted the UK's worst pile-up in 2013 with 130 vehicles, but amazingly no fatalities.

Absolutely wonderful

Thank you for asking. Just had an excellent Sunday lunch.

Really funny mate thanks, Subscribed.

Well I have lived in nine places along that route. When I lived briefly in Gravesend in the late 80s the ferry was in operation. I used it to visit the fort on the north side of the river but did not see much else of note. The Kingsferry bridge was resurfaced at about the same time. They had a slight problem because the bridge would not come down again completely with all the reduced weight after the nights work. Fortunately it was low enough that they could drive loaded trucks onto to provide weight but nobody could drive on or off the island that day. Surprised that there was no mention of the ship off Sheerness left over from the second disagreement.

the date 1080p?! that's a resolution my brother

Love these videos. The combo of info and snark are excellent. Keep up the good work.

Brilliantly produced, written, researched, edited and delivered. What an awesome channel! You should be immensely proud

I'm pleased that you didn't mispronounce Kent Countryside.

The disguise on the watch tower must of worked because we won😊😂 Classic auto John😊

There's one part of that journey you can't make any more - the A226 between Swanscombe and Northfleet collapsed last year at Galley Hill, when the narrow chalk ridge it was built on gave way in a landslip. It has remained closed ever since, while the water company and the council argue about whether the burst water main caused the landslip, or the landslip broke the water main, and who should pay for repairs, which would be a major engineering project.

Just always chuckle at the “small disagreement” Another great video thank you, informative and enjoyable, I love your presentation skills

Beautiful bit about my home town Sittingbourne here and of course the Isle of Sheppey which like you said is a treat!!

Since you are in that park of the UK make a trip to Ramsgate to This Museum is (not) Obsolete, I think you’ll find it is right up your street

Never a dull moment here Jon.

I lived in Sheerness between the ages of 7 and 17, whereupon my parents relocated us to Bristol (from one of John's most favourite places to another!). I'm sure they did this to give us kids (I was the eldest) better job opportunities.

I’m crying 😂😂, being from Kent, this is absolutely spot on and I hope you have a few Kent videos in stock 🤣🤣 love the videos fella

Thanks Jon, safe travels.

Dartford. My birthplace, a long, long time ago. I barely recognise the place now, although I was ridiculously pleased to kind of see (as in, "Ooh, it's about there, somewhere") my childhood home (literally born at home) on the map with the roman villa. But we had a different roman villa discovered 'just up the road' which also was covered back up as it was 'insignificant' and housing built over it. Thank you for a trip down memory lane, and a shout out to my husband's cousin who runs a tea shop in Rochester!

A little known fact about Sheerness. Circa 1950 an industrialist, called Wadia Murad started the Murad Car company. Sadly a number of problems, including Government intervention, apparently they wanted him to move his companies to Wales! Things halted before serious production began. One example still exists.

i like the speed of your delivery and the interesting information you give . i am a fan .

Rochester used to be a city for over 800 years until 1998 and is now part of the borough of Medway.

Gravesend used to have an airport to the east of the town. Opening on 1932 it was a fighter base in the Second Small Disagreement. It closed in 1956 and a council estate was built on the site.

Always love the latest Auto Shenanigans video, I look forward to it and the history info and humor

You crack me up. Your sarcasm alone makes for great content. You could be describing a half sucked polo mint and I would be enthralled with your verbosity. Take that as the highest of praise from a Glaswegian (we are slightly sarcastic here)

Hello Jon How the devil are you have you had a good week and also I liked the video and used the button specifically for that

Love watching these videos. Keep it up mate.

Loved it, John! Kent is a county of contrasts, there’s juxtapositions of nice towns and countryside next to utter dumps!

I love Rochester.

Brilliant Jon thank you

Excellent - I think an updated guide book would only have one page - it would say AVOID. North Kent was never going to be beautiful (excepting little bits of Rochester) Even Dickens set some of his grimmest stories here! (love the Saab - class!)

Coincidently I flew the length of Kent yesterday to Manston and was struck by the amount of commercial and industrial sites around the area to the south of the estuary. I guess it's better than thousands of acres of dull housing as it contributes to what's left of the country's wealth.

Great ep Jon, thanks

Sheerness is, shall we say, a shadow of its former glory! I used to have to visit the docks regularly for work. I can say that there are some Georgian architectural gems on the dock site but behind security. There was a wonderful food trailer just over the bridge onto the island. Awesome bacon and egg in a salt and pepper tiger baguette! Just what you need having suffered the Dartford crossing.

More quality content - thanks for visiting these places so I don't have to 🙂 Keep up the great work Jon!

My childhood stamping grounds, lived on an estate built on the old RAF Gravesham with the old airport turned into Thong Lane sports centre now called Cascades, wasn't the worst place to grow up if one had a trusty Raleigh Chopper and enjoyable activities like winding up the Cobham hermit to learn brand new swear words. My late father in the 70's worked every signalbox in the area, he was quite well known in railway circles as a bit of a signally god just a shame in home circles he was a proper tit to brother and I. Still, it never got old when calling out to the girls to admire ones purple chopper :P

Back in the early 90's Sheerness was where I took the ferry to Vlissingen in the Netherlands (the Brits called it Flushing as they couldnt get their head around fliss-ing-ge). I had a GF in Sutton and working in Hamburg so it was a handy overnight crossing (only a 4 hour drive on the other side). I guess the railway may have handled any foot passengers. Sadly, no longer a ferry port. The new bridge may have just been in time to see the ferry stop.

Really enjoyed this episode.....hope you continue

Always love your enthusiasm Jon 😂

I've moved a few thousand cars into and out of Sheerness over the years. It's expanded a bit after the railhead was closed which is a bit odd given one train has the capacity of 25 trucks. Go back 20-25 years and pretty much all the kit that arrived in Gefco in Corby had come through Sheerness with the exception of the Pug 206 which were built in Coventry.

lol at " the year 1080p" you'll find it was actually 1080i

Great video John, straight to the point at the beginning 🤣,love it👍👌

The reason the guide book mentions visiting St George’s church in Gravesend, is because that is where Pocahontas is buried Jon.

I used to know Sheppey well, as had friends at Warden Point. Minster was quite interesting and Leysdown on Sea was a classic piece of crappy British seaside.

That time of the week again 🎉

"Like a block of hideous flats." Love it... 😎

You missed one the most significant sights of Sheerness, the wreck of the US Liberty Ship Richard Montgomery, still holding 1400 tonnes of bombs and the masts of which are visible from the beach. The jury is out about how safe it is and what might be done about it but one thing is agreed - if/when it goes up it will be a VERY big bang! A waterspout 3km high and 15m high tidal wave. Someone calculated it could flatten Sheerness, doing as much as £150 worth of damage, so it's not all bad.

What an Intriguing hatted man, inspirational channel Jon🫡

Another awesome video John 👍⚓️🧲

awesome video, love all the fun facts and jokes in thes videos

You made one good decision in this video, and one very bad one. Leaving Dartford is a good idea, but going to Sheerness is terrible idea.

Hi Jon, great video you turning dull places in to interesting places, have a good week

You paint a fine picture of this county. Cheers

First recorded instance of someone visiting Gravesend and not mentioning Pocahontas, incredible scenes. And it wasn’t raining, you got lucky here 😂

Worth a coffee!

Thanks Jon. You can’t polish a turd!

Absolutely pmsl . Can't wait for a video in sunderland and surrounding area.

Happy now got my fix of Auto Shenanigans. Love your videos.

The unsung hero of the two little disagreements, a weird looking house structure on the Isle of Sheppy.

Thanks

Another video treat thanks

Hey let me show you how Glorious DOVER is. Like Jerusalem !! Seven hills and seven Vallie's. It has a crap town centre and Council. But the scenery is dramatic and beautiful. I am a proud Man of Kent :o) And DOVER XXX

Loving the sarcasm involving around the island of sheppey

The Roman villa is in Eynsford. It’s worth a visit if in the area. Interesting remains

My Grandparents lived in three different houses around Gravesend's Windmill Hill. They used to rent the oddest garage I'd seen. Somewhere near the river was an indoor car park, but each parking space was like a lock up cage. Not seen anything like it since.

Regarding the Tilbury -> Gravesend ferry, that closed in March 2024 due to the owners not being able to find funding for it, to maintain service.

Very Enjoyable John

Should have said we could visit the City of Rochester but that doesn't exist anymore - lost city status in 1998 with local government reorganisation & them not bothering to appoint city trustees

I love your videos buddy. Your humour is fantastic. I live very close to Rochester so it was nice to hear your opinion on my local area. Spot on too... 🤣