Curtis & Harvey's Explosive Factory - Kent - Jan 2012

After an hour of trying to strap the bikes to the back of the car, t2020 Jr, dog and I set of for a drive up the A2.

Finally arrived on site, nerves completely shredded due to being petrified that the bike rack would fall off at every bump or bend. Unloaded and went for a nice 20min cycle through a nature reserve.

This place is in the sticks, actually theres not even a lot of them, plenty of bones though. Probably the most exposed site I have ever explored, but this sets for a very relaxed and tranquil wonder.

You definitely need a map of this site as it is huge, and nothing is accessible in a straight line due to vast amount of ditches and ***** all over the place, hence the bikes.

A bit of history -

Curtis's and Harvey's Explosives Factory has been
identified as important in English Heritage's study on the history of gunpowder
and military explosives manufacturing. Curtis's and Harvey absorbed several
gunpowder manufacturers in the 1890s and then founded a purpose-built
explosives factory on the Cliffe Marshes. The facility is 'nearly one mile (1.6 km)
in length, with two jetties and a loading bay. At present the
remains of the factory survive relatively intact.
http://www.britarch.ac.uk/conserve/airports/CLIFFE%20AIRPORT%20text.pdf

From the air.







Taken from Trikeman at -http://www.kenthistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=971.0

My Pics























































Cheers for looking - t2020

That's a really appealing set of photographs tank. Place is massive, excellent thanks

Nice one, look a weird yet beautiful place, some really interesting structures!

Nice one Tank

Ive wanted to see this place for a while but it looks like its a job for a whole day good idea on taking bikes

Very nice.

Some lovely shots and a few that look like mini Waltham Abbey Powder mill buildings too...top job

What a thoroughly wierd place! The isolation between the sheds isn't half as much as I would have expected given what they were manufacturing though!

yes very nice mate these places usually are quite big area wise due to the distance involved for storage and to prevent a chain reaction should anything go wrong have seen some of these types of construction at Ardeer in the past which where still there but not been in a long while. Well done

What an amazing site,great report and pics.

I guess the thing that t2020 Jr is standing in (pic9) is just a hide incase anything did go bang, I can't see any other purpose for it.