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Advice Please: Kent, Cars, Pre-war stuff


vulgalour

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South of Maidstone most of the roads seem to run North/South because of the river so going East/West  can be slow going but nice country lanes with blind corners.

If you settle on the eastern side of the Medway you will become a Man of Kent but if you end up west of the Medway you will become a Kentish Man.

The garage at Five Oak Green does all our MOTs and are very fair. They don't understand why I like driving shite though but suffer in silence.

The Hop Farm at Paddock Wood does some classic car stuff.

Having your cars locally can only improve the tone of the neighbourhood. We rent space in a local farmer's barn for two of our cars.

Local dialect is Estuarine English.

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Potholes are a bit of a worry with the Princess, I have to admit, but the roads I've driven in the Rover haven't given me cause for concern except for a few bits of the M20 and M25 where they seem to be changing into farm tracks at HGV scale.

 

Just checking my map (because I don't know the area and have to keep checking) and we're looking no further north than Bearsted, no further south than Tenterden, no further west than Marden and no further east than Bethersden.  Oh, and I pronounce all of these places wrong, apparently.  Ashford is one of those places where we might be right on the fringe.  Sutton Valence would be the ideal but... £££££.  If I feel homesick for the north I can always go to Leeds and pretend I'm at Greggs.

 

I'm near Charing at the moment.  A bit further West than you want (about 15 minutes from Sutton Valence) and it's absolutely lovely.  Half an hour to the coast (Sandgate/Folkestone - which is where I work).  We rent (surprisingly cheaply) but if you're buying it is big money.  The area you're describing is full of absolutely beautiful villages and small towns.  I've driven through it all quite a lot to get to relatives in Battle.  There are some great stops on the way too. 

 

There's a fantastic cafe in Hawkhurst that does great breakfasts and the like, right on the crossroads if you're in need of a break from the house hunting!

 

Looking at your map, Harrietsham has a whole load of new builds going up.  Lenham's nice and there used to be some reasonably cheap stuff in Staplehurst but my information there is out-of-date so I don't know any more.

 

EDIT:  Added in a disclaimer about prices in Staplehurst.  They may well have gone up since I last knew...

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Being based in Milton Keynes, and still learning where the heck everywhere is around this end of the country (from Aberdeenshire until 4 years ago), I'm afraid I can't offer any location advice.

 

I wish you more luck with the move than we had... especially having paid the best part of a grand for a survey, in which they missed things such as the hole in the utility room ceiling from the leaking bath, rotten facia panels, and...oh, the main structural beam in the conservatory too. Total waste of money it turned out.

 

As for pre war cars... honestly don't know! I've a huge soft spot for the Model-T after having a shot of one a few years ago.

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I'd include Charing ..as its a great big hill and you can really get a tramp on coming down it !  Also great if you have a flat battery,  for bump starting . 

 

It's a bloody fun hill.  I'm up and down that hill a number of times a week...

 

We are just out of your square.  Sadly we're renting, otherwise I'd recommend our place in an absolute heartbeat.  Chod-friendly landlord, too.

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I'm near Charing at the moment.  A bit further West than you want (about 15 minutes from Sutton Valence) and it's absolutely lovely.  Half an hour to the coast (Sandgate/Folkestone - which is where I work).  We rent (surprisingly cheaply) but if you're buying it is big money.  The area you're describing is full of absolutely beautiful villages and small towns.  I've driven through it all quite a lot to get to relatives in Battle.  There are some great stops on the way too. 

 

There's a fantastic cafe in Hawkhurst that does great breakfasts and the like, right on the crossroads if you're in need of a break from the house hunting!

 

Looking at your map, Harrietsham has a whole load of new builds going up.  Lenham's nice and there's some reasonably cheap stuff in Staplehurst if you look...

Cheap old school scrap yard in Hawkhurst too :-D    and more modern ones in Paddock Wood   :-(

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It's amazing how many people get the Kentish Man and Man of Kent identifiers completely wrong, even Kent natives, which is a major bugbear of mine.

 

For example, a lot of businesses in east Kent advertise the fact that they make or sell Kentish products, when they actually don't.

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You'll soon get used to the local pronunciations in Kent. Wrotham is 'rootam', Meopham is 'Meppum', Trottiscliff is 'Trozly', Challock is 'Chollock', and Tovil is 'Tovvill'. Leftovers from the ancient Kentish dialect I believe. Weirdest one in Broad Ditch, near Southfleet - pronounced locally as 'Braddish'.

 

You've picked a lovely area of the county to settle down in, right in the heart of the weald around some very pretty little villages.

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It's amazing how many people get the Kentish Man and Man of Kent identifiers completely wrong, even Kent natives, which is a major bugbear of mine.

 

For example, a lot of businesses in east Kent advertise the fact that they make or sell Kentish products, when they actually don't.

 

Yep. Annoys me too. Female equivalent are Kentishmaids and Maids of Kent.

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Good luck with your fresh start, Vulg.  Lots of people willing to help and advise here!

 

I live in Tenterden and most of the surrounding areas here are a world away form the busy, built-up locations of Maidstone and Medway.  All depends on what you want really.  Certainly, car ownership is essential in my village; there's only a couple of buses a day and one of those goes to the local supermarket, Jempsons! (only a quid return fare though!)

The roads are indeed very pot-holed at present and seem to be worse in town locations.  They seem to be fixing them relatively quickly however.  If you move to this area, I can recommend a very old-car friendly MoT place.  Also, the summer months see hundreds of classic cars in use so our stuff fits in quite well.  Everyone around here seems to have something interesting tucked away for the summer months and are always happy to talk about.  That's probably why there's so many car shows during the summer months..

 

Tea/ tools/ jump pack/ another pair of hands etc always available here if you (or any other 'shiter) needs help :)

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And  Item  is   Ightham..    Loos  is Loose ,  Tonbridge   is   Tunbridge  ,not to be confused with Royal Tunbridge Wells .  Rusthall is Rustall...  Yalding is Yauldin , Hadlow is Adlow

You forgot Shibbum (Shipbourne) and Plaxtol which is er... Plaxtol.

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Potholes are a bit of a worry with the Princess, I have to admit, but the roads I've driven in the Rover haven't given me cause for concern except for a few bits of the M20 and M25 where they seem to be changing into farm tracks at HGV scale.

 

Just checking my map (because I don't know the area and have to keep checking) and we're looking no further north than Bearsted, no further south than Tenterden, no further west than Marden and no further east than Bethersden. Oh, and I pronounce all of these places wrong, apparently. Ashford is one of those places where we might be right on the fringe. Sutton Valence would be the ideal but... £££££. If I feel homesick for the north I can always go to Leeds and pretend I'm at Greggs.

Not sure if it's the right area but it's near tenterden -I go through Hawkhurst reasonably regularly, I really like the Main Street with the veranda'd row of shops, looks relatively busy of a Friday night too.

I agree about the Lincolnshire feel of the rural parts of the county.

Hastings appears to be a bit down on it's luck, Rye is reasonable, the coast from Rye through Camber to Lydd and New Romney is nice though a little odd but out of season it would be an ideal setting for a very British horror film.

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It takes weeks to get to Lydd ,Rye,  Camber , :-(   bloody road goes on and on and on . And when you eventually get to Camber Sands , you find you left your metal detector at home anyway . :-(

'mental detector' for some of the visitors

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I never realised there were so many local shiters! I can’t really add all that much to what has already been said apart from the fact that I was born in Maidstone and lived all my life in Kent and East Sussex. Currently living in Hastings and working in Stonegate near the Kent/Sussex border.

 

As far as moving here goes: Transport links are very good (potholes notwithstanding) and there are many nice towns and villages to consider/visit. The outskirts of Maidstone are lovely as is the corridor either side of the A21, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells etc. Tenterden is a lovely area too, I lived in Rye for seven years and spent a lot of time in Tenterdens excellent drinking establishments!

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I live in Loose in Maidstone and work in Cranbrook, just south of Staplehurst and in the general area you're searching in. Bearsted is bloody expensive as it's a bit poncy and has a direct train to London. Further south and out in the sticks, Biddenden, Sissinghurst, Bethersden, Cranbrook area is lovely, especially in the summer. As mentioned, Darling Buds show is an excellent one, with a real eclectic mix of stuff including quite a bit of pre-war which is nice. There's a good show at Bodium Castle too, which is a bit Midsummer Murders, but full of pre-war again and is always packed out and attended by a bloke with a Princess. It's on the Steam railway line from Tenterden too, another place well worth a visit.

 

I've a shitty handheld Hydro pump, which is obviously available if you're in need.

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Do you know, this has been useful in a way I hadn't expected.  I had hoped to find out what old car resources there were - and I have, thank you very much! - and I've learned it really does sound like the sort of area I'll be quite happy and settled.  Certainly allays some of my fears of how far away from things I thought I'd be.  Turns out a lot of people I know on here will be pretty much on my doorstep.  After years of being used to travelling at least 2 hours to see folks I want to spend time with, it's going to be something of a revelation to be in a situation where I might bump into folks I know and actually want to be around when just out on errands or whatever.

 

What a relief!

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God no, not Chatham....... it was bad when I lived in Kent and apparantly it's way worse now! If ever there's an area that desperately needs revitalising then that's the place, many of the Medway towns aren't far behind unless things have improved recently.

The whole of Medway is to be avoided. I've lived here for many years and can confirm it's an absolute shithole. In fact the whole of North Kent west of Faversham is best avoided. Over-populated, manic traffic, no obvious shite/classic interest (or indeed anything else much to recommend it). Stay south of Maidstone and you should be ok(ish).

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