Advice Please: Kent, Cars, Pre-war stuff

[egg]

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).

That's it in a nutshell.

[Christine]

Visit Lower Gillingham 

[Angrydicky]

My favourite part of Kent is the rural area to the West of Tonbridge. Penshurst, Leigh (pronounced Lie, confusingly) Edenbridge, Crowhurst. It really is stunning around there, and incredibly quiet.

[DSdriver]

Chatham Historic Dockyard, a jewel in a cesspit

 

Classic line up by Jean-Pierre Declemy, on Flickr

[PiperCub]

Cheap old school scrap yard in Hawkhurst too     and more modern ones in Paddock Wood  

 

Can't recall the name of the one at PW but the one in Hawkhurst - isn't that mainly VW stuff? Or am I thinking of a different place (at the top of the hill)?

 

Couple more odd pronounciations - Malling is Maul-ing (never Mall as in The Mall in London), Teston is Tee-son, Eynsford is Anes-ford, Ightham is Eye-t-ham. Aylesford is Ales-ford.

 

Oh and 'The Pilot' at Dungerness sells lovely fish and chips. Take my folks there when I'm visiting them (they are up the coast in Hythe). 

[jonny69]

^ I always pronounced Eynsford 'Ainsford'

[Christine]

JR car spares : Old Hay ,Paddock Wood   good yard

 

 Hawkhurst car salvage     Heartenoak Road      .  mainly older cars  80s   90s   good yard too ,if a little muddy !

 

No it's  not the VW one...

[inconsistant]

I don't live in Kent but I visit it quite a lot as it's only about 3 miles away. Grew up  in SE and NW Kent. Like it lots.

The south coast is my favourite, Hythe, Folkstone, Dungeness, and all the way along to Rye and beyond is lovely.

 

We've had a couple of Kent(ish) Autoshite gatherings... you'll be very welcome down here Vulgalour.

 

 

ps: Lympne = Lim

[dozeydustman]

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.

 

 

FTFY

 

(Just joshing). Kent's roads are better than West Sussex without a shadow. They fill potholes with Isopon and old fag packets round here

[Christine]

Lucky ! We only get bogies and banana skins for pothole  repairs  in East Sussex

[PiperCub]

Potholes in Kent is not a new thing by any means, back in the late 70's as a nipper I recall all the potholed roads as we tore about on our bikes. 

 

There was a common sticker/banner in the backs of many peoples cars that showed a picture of a car up to it's window line in a hole and a slogan that read

 

"I'm a Maidstone pothole dodger"

 

Nice to know some things don't change...............

[DSdriver]

I was up Preston way a few weeks ago and I would recommend it as a training ground for Vulgalour to practice dodging potholes before moving down to Kent.

[vulgalour]

I will certainly miss the North East's generally very good roads and placenames that are pronounced the way they're spelled.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

I will certainly miss the North East's generally very good roads and placenames that are pronounced the way they're spelled.

 

I was up around Alnwick last year on holiday.  Stunning place but I couldn't pronounce anything worth shit!

[Christine]

https://www.kentlive.news/whats-on/whats-on-news/44-kents-most-rude-weird-591544

[timolloyd]

My favourite part of Kent is the rural area to the West of Tonbridge. Penshurst, Leigh (pronounced Lie, confusingly) Edenbridge, Crowhurst. It really is stunning around there, and incredibly quiet.

This is my stomping ground. Often overlooked I feel, because it's not quite Kent, Surrey or Sussex, but lovely all the same.

[robinmasters]

https://www.kentlive.news/whats-on/whats-on-news/44-kents-most-rude-weird-591544

They missed the fact that there's a whole village caked Lyminge! (pronounced Li-minge)

[Vantman]

They missed the fact that there's a whole village caked Lyminge! (pronounced Li-minge)

 

Sorry but it is pronounced Lim-inge

[vulgalour]

.... aaaand I'm reminded of the American friend of a friend who was horrified when visiting Sheffield by the bus with PENISTON writ large across the destination board.

[59Impala]

Wel I used to live in Kent (Margate then Welling/Bexleyheath) and all these nice pieces of advice are nearly making me homesick . We raced bangers near Bethersden back in the mid-70s, I have friends all over Kent and have been to some excellent car shows there. I'm sure that you'll like it down there. As for me I now live in a village in South Lincs and love it, have made friends, found an excellent mobile mechanic who takes my Primera for its MoT, been to good shows etc etc. No doubt you will do the same when you move.

[Joey spud]

Turns out am in the dodgy N.W corner of Kent and i never knew..

[egg]

Turns out am in the dodgy N.W corner of Kent and i never knew..

 

I like the Darenth Valley

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Turns out am in the dodgy N.W corner of Kent and i never knew..

 

I escaped but it took me 28 years to do so!

[egg]

Don't worry I've got hundreds of local ancestors from either side of the estuary from Gillingham, Teynham, Conyer, Orsett, One Tree Island, Southend, Rochford, Ockenden, Foulness - not to mention a lot from Romney Marsh and Dickensian Bethnal Green, so I certainly don't come from 'the good bits' lol.

 

I think the only exception is one from Smarden, which proves the rule...

[PiperCub]

.... aaaand I'm reminded of the American friend of a friend who was horrified when visiting Sheffield by the bus with PENISTON writ large across the destination board.

 

Oh that could have been an amusing start to a conversation then!

 

"Say buddy, you know the way to Penis-Town?"

 

Answers on a postcard.............

[lisbon_road]

I have a spare hammer you can have. Perhaps a house warming present?

[Joey spud]

I grew up in a small village called Cliffe that backs onto the Thames Estuary and one of its main claims to fame is it was the first bit of British mainland to be attacked fom the air by the Germans in the First World War.

I mentioned this to friend once and he said ''isn't about time they cleared up the mess''.

Medway is a bit grim. It's tired,dirty and over crowded,much like the counties road net work.
We had a UKIP MP for a while that says it all really.

Oh and that twat Boris wanted to build his new airport in my back yard,we fought that off and now have the joy of 10,000+new homes being queezed in instead.

Personally i would steer well clear of the Kent full stop sorry.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

At least you've got the bird reserve in Cliffe.  That's a nice spot.

[inconsistant]

Don't tell anyone but I secretly like the Isle of Sheppey. An interesting mix of industrial and nature reserves. They also invented flying pigs you know.

[egg]

My brother has lived on the Island for 5-6 years, and bloody loves it.