Isle of Sheppey – anyone familiar with it?

Mrs BD has a job interview on the Isle of Sheppey next week. If she gets offered the job, it could mean a big relocation to an area we know nothing about. I’m guessing it’s not going to be a cycling mecca, but I’m interested to hear general thoughts on the area, if anybody out there knows it.

grim. there are some lovely areas in Kent. sheppy isn’t one of them.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/9010154/Jeremy-Clarkson-Isle-of-Sheppey-is-a-caravan-site-populated-by-illegal-immigrants.html

wife is from kent and bil is police man in dartford, both refer to sheppy as possibly the worst place in kent

I probably haven’t been there in 25yrs but my abiding memory is bleak.

Old family friend became a nun down there, went to visit a couple of time – grim, grim place.

Personally I wouldn’t want to live there.

Never been there, but in the distant past I remember a website existed called sheppyscum – it was less than complementary.

I once rode my unicycle from South London to Sheerness on Sea, on the Isle of Sheppey. I’ve never been anywhere so bleak. I think it’s the only seaside resort I’ve been to where I actually chose not to go swimming, and I’ve swum at an awful lot of dubious places, that is how bad it is.

The plus side is that because it’s so run down, they haven’t changed the arcade games for years, so you can re-live your 80s youth for about 20p a game while you’re waiting for the train to get out of there.

I’m from Maidstone, Kent. I’m 30 years out of date but Sheppey was grim at the time. One access road, poor roads to the rest of Kent from there. Some jobs(steel plant, docks, prison)but higher unemployment than the rest of Kent.

Having said that, some of (mainland) North Kent is very nice and probably commutable. Go have a look.

Cycling wise, the North Downs are very close if you like flint and chalk!

We were camping in Whitstable the other week, for the oyster festival, and the sunsets across to Sheppey were wonderful, so on the way back we popped over.

Whitstable was lovely. Sheppey wasn’t.

There’s a really big impressive bridge so you can escape more easily now. Kent has some lovely parts but Sheppey isn’t one. Roads are pretty quick round there but I’m not sure about commuting hour traffic, when it was part of my sales territory I usually arrived or left outside those times.

Oh dear, not very encouraging! I have family in Kent, but a good 45 minutes from Sheppey. Seems nice enough where the family are, but sounds like Sheppey is a different story!

We don’t live in the UK at the minute and are desperate to get back to the south or east (Norfolk, Suffolk or Kent, due to family ties), but it’s totally dependant on Mrs BD getting a job somewhere, which is easier said than done. Not sure whether we’re desperate enough for Sheppey, after the picture that’s been painted, in this thread!

Sheppey is a shit hole. It has a prison and a bridge. It is best to use the bridge TBH.

The beach on the north side is great for windsurfing off, if you are learning, as it stays shallow for ages. The fact that there is a sunk ship 4 miles up the coast , full of ammunition, waiting to expolde at any time, adds to the fun.

Rochester is sort of OK. Gillingham and Chatham are cheap for the SE of England.

You don’t have to live there to work there – there is a road bridge, and plenty of other nice parts of Kent. Whitstable is nice, and Margate is very up and coming. Deal is being touted at the new “Brighton” (ask the Sunday Times, I have no idea what this means). And there may even be hope for Folkstone. Not, however, for Dover 🙂

What is the job interview for?

DO NOT MOVE TO SHEPPEY. Don’t even consider it.

I live just outside Whitstable and my job takes me to the island regularly. It is without doubt the worst place in Kent, perhaps in the south east. Massive unemployment, huge social problems and absolutely nothing whatsoever going for it in any way at all. If you move there you will regret it, that i promise.

There are plenty of nice places with a 45 minute drive of the place and I’d recommend Canterbury, Whitstable, Faversham, Lenham and Harrietsham as a starting point.

DO NOT MOVE TO SHEPPEY.

I grew up in Herne Bay, family is still there. I wouldn’t describe Margate as up and coming! There was a news piece recently about how it’s become a social dumping ground and I think it was probably quite kind in it’s descriptions 🙂

Sheppey is a hole. If you have 6 toes on each foot and are married to your mother you should fit right in, otherwise avoid. No infrastructure, not much to do, it’s in terminal decline IMO.

As above there are a lot of nice places that she could commute from and with the new road bridge that should be a bit more bearable. What kind of job is she going for? There’s not much on the island so I’d guess either social services of some kind, prison officer, or steel worker!

I guess we haven’t really sold Sheppey- I think the tourist board need to do some work …..

some recent sheppey news

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/times_guardian/news/jewish-attack-3853/

http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/Update-Sheppey-murder-victim-named-suspect/story-19640044-detail/story.html#axzz2bwJhEfOT

Don’t go![/url]

I think the tourist board need to do some work

The easiest solution would probably be to throw some rocks at Monty and start again 🙂

She’s a vet, so not social services, prison worker or steel worker (although, ironically, I work in the steel trade!)! 😀

So, maybe work there if we have to, but do not live there under any circumstances, seems to be the message I’m getting here!

So, maybe work there if we have to, but do not live there under any circumstances, seems to be the message I’m getting here!

LOUD and CLEAR

Lived in Maidstone for twelve years, and only moved due to work.

Think you’ve got the picture on Sheppey from above. Maidstone would not be an unreasonable place to commute to Sheppey from, we lived in Allington (M20 J5 end) which was very nice, but Penendon Heath (M20 J7 end) is also good, Larkfield OK. Avoid Parkwood!!

This link may be useful for gauging areas if you have postcode:
http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadHome.do?a=7&i=1001&m=0&s=1328521625182&enc=1&extendedList=true&nav=A

Enter the intended postcode in the green section and you’ll get an various info – it’s not perfect, but will enable you to get a feel for the area you’re looking at.

This will help finding postcodes:
http://www.mypostcodefinder.co.uk/

You’d never guess I’d spent the last year looking for somewhere to live in a new area!

There’s a big steel stockholder based around that way if I remember rightly, maybe Canterbury. Old client of mine.

You thinking about Parker Steel Chief? They used to be on the Sturry Road industrial estate, no idea if they still are though as it’s probably 25 years since I was in there. How time flies….

Parker Steel in Canterbury, although I think they have suffered a bit in recent times and are not as big as they used to be.

Echo what all have said some lovely places to live but Sheppey isn’t one of them! Canterbury is a lovely place, lots going on, pubs, food, student population and some nice riding around too. Deal is nice but a bit remote, Maidstone ok, but prefer the surronding villages particularly on the Weald side but getting a bit far to commute. Would look around Canterbury area, maybe Whitstable / Herne area too.

Encourage your wife to go for Suffolk or Norfolk instead, BD. All the prejudices that are peddled about East Anglia are far more true for Sheppey. Much inbreeding and clannish behaviour. And unfriendliness. Don’t cross a Sheppey man (or woman). And whoops! I just have by writing this……..I will seek police protection.

Don’t cross a Sheppey man (or woman).

Sounds like they’ve already been crossed with something… 😉

we lived in Allington

Me too, easy access to some alright riding, close to the incinerator not far from Chris Gammon beds everything you need. There’s a Waitrose too.

I wouldn’t describe Margate as up and coming!

+1

I was offered a job at the steel works (which I thought had since closed down?) but visiting for the interview told me all I needed to know. I grew up further down the road towards Tonbridge. Mrmoofo’s comment above was brilliant:

“Sheppey is a shit hole. It has a prison and a bridge. It is best to use the bridge TBH.”

Not sure about being the worst place in Kent….how it beats Gravesend is beyond me!

In answer to your question, avoid like the plague.

PS – Is this the first STW thread to achieve perfect unity?!!

The fact that everyone agrees just rams home how awful the place must be! We’re back in the UK and in Kent this coming weekend, so we’ll be taking a look around. Thanks to everyone for their comments. It wasn’t necessarily what we were hoping to hear, but better to hear it now than to end up moving there and then finding out what a shit hole it is!

I can’t add anything that hasn’t already been said about the place.

Kent, as a whole, does seem to be spawning Vet Surgeries all over the place so she may be able to find something elsewhere.

Don’t even consider moving to Sheppy – without doubt the worst place in Kent.

A very depressing place – most of the locals are heroin addicted mutants have more tattoos than teeth, and only put their fags down to whack their kids.

Canterbury and surrounding villages are pretty nice – and well worth the commute, just to avoid living on Sheppy.

man of Kent or Kentish man how do you decide?

I really like Deal, cant see it being the new Brighton though.

On the island? They’ll be Kentish Men of course.

In a previous job we had two ‘techies’ that commuted in from the island. We called them “the turtles”. Bless them, they really weren’t the most engaging of individuals. In fact, they liked nothing more than chips and pron.

The place really is a sh1t hole.

So I can’t interest any of you good people in buying my house off me then?

Sheppey is a shit hole. It has a prison and a bridge. It is best to use the bridge TBH.

The beach on the north side is great for windsurfing off, if you are learning, as it stays shallow for ages. The fact that there is a sunk ship 4 miles up the coast , full of ammunition, waiting to expolde at any time, adds to the fun.

Rochester is sort of OK. Gillingham and Chatham are cheap for the SE of England.

You don’t have to live there to work there – there is a road bridge, and plenty of other nice parts of Kent. Whitstable is nice, and Margate is very up and coming. Deal is being touted at the new “Brighton” (ask the Sunday Times, I have no idea what this means). And there may even be hope for Folkstone. Not, however, for Dover

I live in Dover! The town’s horrible, a hive of scum and villainy;
that being said, the surrounding area is beautiful, loads of singletrack, bridleways and history.
I’ve only been to Sheppey a few times for work. The Steel works shut about a year ago, there was a pharmaceutical place and a concrete ornaments factory. That’s it. Horrible, bleak, windswept place. All the crap that comes out of the Thames ends up washing around it too….
Margate is supposed to be on the up, but I’m afraid an art gallery and some “vintage” shit-shack boutiques aren’t going to solve the problems there.
If you can afford the north west side of Kent, you won’t regret that.
Bit of a loooong post, so apologies for that!

I live in Faversham and would recommend it if you want to be far enough away from the Isle of Sheppey, but can still commute there. It is a nice town, not quite as trendy as Whitstable and not quite as expensive as Canterbury..

It’s also close to a few good riding spots..