Inside the Abandoned Wells Firework Factory, Dartford

Sometimes, the biggest adventures are right on your doorstep. There is a river that flows near my house and once you exit our estate, you can follow the river along a creek, onto Dartford marshes and right down to the Thames. There on the marshes is the abandoned Wells Fireworks Factory and one day I joined a Derelict London Dartford tour, braved the brambles and briars and took a look inside.

"When I was young, all I wanted was to be free".

The Remote London website gives some information on the famous Wells Firework Factory, which was abandoned in the 1970s:

Wells Fireworks was founded by Joseph Wells in Dartford in 1837, probably expanding onto this low-lying saltmarsh in the early 1950s. The explosive nature of the fireworks business required isolated work units, rather than one big factory, and Dartford Marshes provided the space. If one building went up, the hope was that others would survive.

"No one will ever know I was here".

This was taken inside one of the many buildings, looking out across the land.

"General Rules for Factories Licensed Under the Explosives Act, 1875"

It was a very good job that I wore long sleeves and jeans on the day because my legs and arms would have been shredded otherwise.

One of the things that impressed me was how quiet the site is. It's a frozen snapshot of time and a sign of how much work we do in the modern world to stop the relentless attempts of nature to reclaim human spaces.

Many of the buildings were too far gone to explore.

A rose amongst the ruin.

After 3.5 hours walking and 24,000 steps, my big adventure was over. I've never returned to the Wells Fireworks Factory but run out onto the marshes several times a month.

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A World of Vintage at the Dartford Bus Garage Open Day

2014 is the Year of the Bus and this year Transport for London put on a series of events to enable Londoners to reconnect with the bus network and realise the importance that buses played in the history of the city. Why 2014? This year marks the centenary of the First World War where the London Omnibus Company B-type Battle Buses were specially fitted with protective boarding and khaki paint and used to transport troops to and from the front lines.

As part of the Year of the Bus celebrations, bus garages across the city were opened to the public and the last of these open days took place at the Arriva Bus Garage in Dartford. Being the absolute vintage bus geek that I am, you can imagine that I was very excited about this event!

RF 539 (NLE539) and RT2083 (LYF 21)

The bus in the foreground is the London Transport AEC Regent IV RF539 which went into service in 1953 and behind that is the London Transport AEC Regent III RT2083 which has been running since 1952.

Route 370 to Tilbury Docks

The classic red double-decker Routemaster bus is a symbol of London transport but once you stepped outside the Greater London Council, you encountered the Green Line. That is why many of the buses in Essex, Kent and Surrey were green.

RT2083 (LYF 21)

The route 370 continues to this day and now stops at Lakeside Mall. These days it is part of the Transport for London network and has a red bus.

Daimler DMS1 (EGP 1J)

This is the Daimler DMS1 which ran from 1971. On the outside, it looks like any other double decker red bus but things change once you get inside.

Self-service turnstile on Daimler DMS1 (EGP 1J)

This was one of the first efforts to get rid of conductors on London buses and the bus was designed to be run by only a driver. The idea is that responsible, reasonable Londoners would get on the bus with the exact change and glide through the turnstile in a quick and orderly fashion. It really didn’t work out that way and the turnstiles were later replaced with the system of paying the driver.

RM 2660 (SMK660F) and RT1702 (KYY529)

There was a lot to see that day at the Dartford Bus Garage and loads of enthusiastic volunteers on hand to chat to us bus geeks and fans. It was a well organised, educational event too and there were lots of leaflets and brochures for children (and adults) to take home.

London transport vintage bus tickets

I actually got the idea that the biggest fans there were the volunteers themselves, many of whom worked for Transport for London and had offered their time at the event on their spare weekend. This was confirmed when my friend and I squealed with delight on spotting the vintage bus tickets and paraphernalia and the man behind the stand didn’t even bat an eyelid. Kindred souls.

No standing on upper deck

Mandy and the London General Omnibus Company K424 (XC 8059)

And last but certainly not least... This is a 1921 AEC K-Type London General Omnibus Company bus K424 and it is in superb condition. We were able to go up to the top deck of the bus which I considered to be quite a privilege because they were carefully overseeing access and making sure we didn’t jump or run and that there were no more than two people up there at a time.

Top deck of the London General Omnibus Company K424 (XC8059)

The bus was an open top bus and there would have been covers that clipped over the seats in rainy weather. I couldn’t really get my head around that – it rains all the time in London in summer so those covers would have seen constant action.

London General Omnibus Company K424 (XC8059)

How beautiful is this design?

London General Omnibus Company

I took one or two photos of this beautifully preserved bus from every angle imaginable so I feel quite proud for only subjected you to my very favourites! Then again, this is my third vintage bus and car post in a year so perhaps I shouldn’t feel too good. There was Vintage and Retro at the Isle of Wight Bus Museum and Dartford’s Vintage Car and Steam Rally if you’d like to see more vintage and retro goodness.

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I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed sharing it. My favourite posts are always the ones where we visit quirky places or see history come alive.

You may have noticed that my posts have been a little sporadic over the past few weeks and that I haven't been visiting your blogs as often. I do hope that you'll bear with me for just a couple more weeks - I'm about to write my first two exams for my ACCA qualification and let’s just agree that taking two subjects at once might have been a little ambitious. I’m flying off to South Africa in just over two weeks and definitely plan to catch up again then.

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Dartford’s Vintage Car and Steam Rally

1930 Morris Commercial One Ton RF 7818

This weekend we attended the Steam Rally and Dartford Remembered Live weekend in Central Park, Dartford. It was so nice to see so many people turn out on a windy and occasionally rainy day to see such a fine collection of vintage cars, trucks, bike and steam engines. There was simply so much to see that I’m going to break my ten photo rule and share a whopping 26 photos. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Trucks and Commercial Vans

Ford Thames 5 vintage truck WVS285

London Transport Vintage Bus GS15-MXX 315

Richardson & Sons family butcher

What I enjoy so much about events like this is how alive history is in England and especially Kent. In South Africa, if we saw vintage cars or vans, they were very much museum pieces. While this is true of the vintage London transport GS15 bus, businesses such as Richardson & Sons are very much part of our present day heritage in Dartford.

Alas, the story of Richardson & Sons is one that fills many hearts with sadness in Dartford at the moment. It is a well known fact that Bluewater mall and the economy lead to the steep decline of Dartford’s central shopping area but Richardson & Sons carried on trading in Lowfield Road. Now, after 100 years of trading, the butcher was forced to close to make plans for a new Tesco development.

Ford Thames Trader 300E Commercial Van

Harris & Sons Scrap Metal Merchants vintage truck HCO 988

1950s Ford Standard

I think if I could go back to any time in history, it would be when these cars were racing around England as a matter of course, when they looked fashionable not vintage, driven by Londoners with their posh 1950s accents wearing their posh 1950s clothing. Yes, I know, I’ve been watching too much vintage Doctor Who again.

Vintage Miniature Steam Engines

Vintage Miniature Steam Engine - William Foster & Co, Lincoln

Patricia Lyn - William Foster & Co, Lincoln

Dark Star - William Foster & Co, Lincoln

The miniature steam engines were a great hit with the children! They could climb all over them and play train driver for a short while. These are very cute indeed but don’t think you’ll be buying one any time soon – these little gems cost in the region of £50,000 each!

A Vintage Bus

Vintage Open Top Bus D 8650

The weekend festivities continued to Sunday when locals could book a place on a vintage open bus tour of the borough. A wreath was laid at the resting place of Richard Trevithick, a steam pioneer, inventor and engineer who lived in Dartford in his final years and the engines gathered in the centre of town for a road run up East Hill.

Steam Engines

“Eileen The Erring” BL 795 - The Wallace Expansion Engine

Fowler Road Locomotive - The “Nightmare” SV 8988 Steam Engine

Pierce Brothers Haulage “Endeavor” Steam Engine

Devon County Council - The Foden Steam Wagon - T8750

The steam engines were very popular and there were large groups of people examining and discussing the engines. I couldn’t help wondering what this man in the last photo was thinking as he stood gazing at the engine. I imagined that he had first encountered such an engine as a young boy and had probably grown up being intimately familiar with the inner workings of such steam engines.

Vintage and Retro Cars

Bond Bug 3 wheeler one door saloon BXD 75H

Morris Marina Coupe AEL 508K

Morris Minor GBP 358H

1930s Austin Sixteen Light Six PN 2115

1930s Austin Ten BPA 591

I suspect that I might have walked through the classic and vintage car display backwards because I started off by the futuristic, wedge-shaped retro cars and ended up by the gorgeous 1930s Austins. The nice men in the last car waved and smiled so nicely for me!

Out of all of these cars, I would most covet the Morris Marina although the retro car I would most like to own would be a second generation Ford Escort MKII. I just have this silly thing about cars getting me from A to B which is what precludes me from buying one.

A Vintage Fire Engine

Leyland Fire Engine GKO 224

I love everything about fire engines and firemen. I would have loved to have seen one of these in action although I’d have also liked to have seen a horse drawn one like in Gangs of New York.

Collectable Motor Bikes

Classic Indian Motorcycle

Classic Motorcycle Helmet

Hanging out at Dartford Remembers

Classic Police Bike

Classic Motorcycle

I know very little about bikes and unfortunately, the bikes were parked very close together which made it difficult to photograph them and learn about them. I definitely think they need more pride of place in next year’s festival!

We had such a great day out and I’m really glad that I marked it in my diary months ahead of time. I spend so much time in London that I often miss out on events in Dartford and this one was definitely worth staying in town for!

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Exploring Kent: A Walk Along the Cray Riverway

Earlier today, I posted some photos of the beautiful Kent countryside only for Stephen to protest rather loudly that I was deceiving my audience. As I looked at him in shock, he exclaimed that he happens to know the area in question because he walks home that way when he drops his car off for its service. “What have you done to all the rubbish?”, he asked.

Well, I’d love to tell you that the Cray Riverway has been magically cleaned up recently and that I didn’t see any plastic bags, beer bottles or underwear lying along the path but that would be deceptive.It’s just that I chose not to photograph it.

I will tell you what I saw though. Yesterday I had a couple of things to do in Dartford and Crayford but rather than struggle with parking, I decided to walk from Dartford to Crayford and then back home again along the Cray Riverway. As I entered the path by Cray Gardens, I immediately began to question the soundness of my decision. There before me stood a well-dressed, middle-aged man drinking a Carling lager who was clearly not having a good day. He had the deepest bags under his eyes and he looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks.

I quickened my pace and walked past him, relieved that he chose to return the favour and leave me alone. I soon emerged onto a path that lead me around the backs of the houses lining Crayford Way. Two girls approached me and I quickly shoved my phone into my pocket. As I walked past them, one was clearly agitated, shouting into her phone while her friend nodded in agreement that she was going to throw some unnamed nemesis under a train. Yes, really.

I emerged onto Barnes Cray Road and then quickly entered the path again on Maiden Lane. This part of the walk really was quite idyllic. As I walked along, there was a couple who walked by me, holding hands. The river is really quite full in this area and I could see that it was still stretching up into the gardens of the riverside properties. They must have been flooded during the January floods.

It was this photo that made it all worth it. I’m determined to explore the Kentish countryside around my house. England is a strange country and no matter where you live, you are always a stone’s throw from areas that are a little rough, from neighbourhoods where residents litter and where teenagers are a little scary. But for every person that is having a bad day, there are many more people working to clean up this area of Kent such as my friend Richey who runs Dartford Litterpickers.

What I choose to photograph and choose to remember is that you don't have to wait long for a perfect day when you live in Kent, the Garden of England.

Now back to reality. This is the Jolly Farmers pub which sits on the most eastern boundary of London between Crayford (in Greater London) and Dartford (in Kent). It is known as the worst pub in London although I've not been brave enough to test that reputation. It is notorious for a shooting in 2005 which is kind of scary given that I live within walking distance of it!

I soon emerged onto Thames Road and followed it around into the very north western tip of Dartford. There are a lot of rolling fields along the road but from what I can see, they are private property.

There are a lot of horses in this area. Some of them appear to be wild but this one was bridled. He seemed very interested in me as I took photos of him and even strutted to the left and right for me. He was very friendly and knowing absolutely nothing about horses, I wondered if he was lonely. Stephen is terrified of the horses across the road on the Crayford marshes. He says that they are travellers’ horses and that they have been bred to be aggressive. I think that is absolute rubbish but I think a fear of horses is like a fear of any animals, you will never get over it until you grow to know them.

All to soon I was home again and felt great after a 3 mile walk. It can be quite gritty and urban near where I live and it certainly isn’t as picturesque as some areas of Kent but I was pleased for the adventure and the chance to be outdoors on such a beautiful day.

What is your neighbourhood like? Do you have access to the countryside and if so, how well kept is it?

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