Tilgra one

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 75.00% of reviewers

Sadly the Tilbury - Gravesend ferry has stopped running, and it is no longer possible to do this route.

Walked Gravesend to Tilbury.

This Slow Way delivers a brilliant connection between Kent and Essex across the river Thames on the Tilbury Ferry. The ferry provides the lowest crossing point on the Thames, for pedestrians and cyclists. Next one is miles upstream at Woolwich.

At this point the river is wide with huge skies. The contrast between Gravesend (traffic free town centre, independent shops, dedicated and well-signed ferry pontoon) and Tilbury (docks, cruise terminal, ‘A’ roads, ferry access a squeeze through a car park, signage fallen down) is extreme.

3 stars seems a bit harsh, but after the brilliant ferry the section on the A1089 approaching Tilbury Town station was pretty awful - a lot of large articulated port traffic, combined with a ‘park on the pavement’ attitude which forced me out into the road.

I did test out the previous reviewer’s suggestion of an alternative route along Dock Road, and this is definitely an improvement.
With that amendment this would be a 4 star route.

Route is well drawn, good refreshments at Gravesend. Tilbury station has a lift to cross the tracks, but it was out of order, which is another reason to prefer the Dock Road alternative. There are local shops at Tilbury station.

First half - 5 stars: Gravesend High Street is rather pretty, holds onto the time when this was a thriving holiday destination. Maybe it could have used pedestrianised Windmill Street instead of utilitarian Stone Street, although avoiding shopping crowds could be an upside to Stone St. Ferry trip on the Jacob Marley was fantastic - 6 out of 5!

Second half - 2 stars: Leaving the ferry it's impossible to avoid walking along the A1089 which had a steady stream of HGV traffic. But about halfway to Tilbury Town is a footbridge which you could take over to Dock Rd, a quieter residential road that's also a straight line to the station and would add barely any distance. If you stay on this route from here to the station it is functional, although I wish I'd ignored the route's suggestion to stay on the eastern side. I was up against a concrete wall which made the HGVs feel even more thunderous, and there's no crossing to use at Tilbury Town station. The west side is, at least, beside by a reedy ditch and train lines beyond. The lifts were out at the station, and signs directed you back to that footbridge which is a mile round trip!

Ferry only takes card, no cash. Times and weather closures: https://www.jetstreamtours.com/the-tours/ferry. Also check the service is still going as funding from Thurrock Council has recently stopped, Kent is considering it's options.

CHECK THE FERRY TIMES BEFORE YOU GO!
This route relies on the ferry crossing. At the time if writing it is fairly frequent but does not run on Sunday!.

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