born in Margate in 1990 , left as a teenager to join the royal marines . my motivation for completing training was the fear of returning back to margate if i had failed . margate was dangerous at night , falling apart , and most high street shops closed down . nothing to do as kid apart from avoiding gangs . also a lot of poverty ... 14 years later im leaving the marines next month , and will be moving abroad to start a new life
Hello from your friends in Naples, Florida. Very interesting, indeed! Too bad to see some of them so run down. Great tour. Thank you for sharing with us, have a great week 👍💯
There is definitely no north south divide when it comes to seaside towns in England. Another great but sad top/bottom five Matt. I do hope that the English seaside town get revitalised, but they are fighting the cheap holidays abroad. With global warming on its way, perhaps the seaside town is the thing of the future. They say things go in circles. Touches wood. Thanks for sharing, Matt.
Dude that was an interesting watch 😂 very unfiltered and different from the usual lists where people show the best 🤣 but even then, those still look not so bad. gave me an idea for my own channel hahaha might steal this concept someday.
Gillingham was a shocker. The rubbish makes any area look neglected and rundown. I found several of the places very depressing and they totally need regeneration and investment. A recent visit to Broadstairs and Whitstable made me appreciate that part of the Kent coast. Thank you for this tour of Kent. Margate was my favourite. A work in progress.
Absolutely, there are some nice places in Kent and Broadstairs and Whitstable are two of them! I do like Canterbury, Deal and Folkestone as well. I think the nicest places in Kent though are the villages in the countryside 😁
Thanks for sharing Matt. It can be sad to see how these have gone downhill over time. We have seaside towns and attractions that got destroyed or abandoned but now there's a lot of revitalization efforts to repair them.
Thanks to you, I got to see various palces! Thank you for sharing your chosen 5 Worst Towns in KENT with an explanation! Hello! Greetings again from 100tour KOREA! Stay in touch, my dear friend! See you! Have a great weekend!
Awesome video and very respectfully done - as a north Kent lad who is thinking of moving due to rising costs it was certainly insightful - keep up the good work
I only knew Gillingham from football, never been anywhere near it. It's super weird when you know these teams for decades, but you don't have an image of what the place looks like. Now I do... A haunting one 😅 Very entertaining video, mate!
Yeah some towns in the UK really do suck, and usually the worst ones have a football team, because football is a working class sport they get a lot of support (and players) from locals. Cheers!
Unfortunately I have to agree with you, especially the top 2! Having once lived in Gillingham, I used to call the Medway towns the compost heap of the Garden of England, alas the Garden is no longer rosy. There isn't enough employment in the area, money is no longer invested in the town and too many people shop on line, Amazon has a lot to answer for, or maybe business rates, rentals of shops are to high. High streets are nearly all the same nowadays, whether your in the North or South, sad but true.
Cheers Ian, sounds like not much has changed since you were last in Medway 😆 high streets are rubbish in most towns now aren't they, not appealing to visit anymore
Hi Matt! We haven't visited any of these towns - now we know why! It was sad to see that parts of Margate were very neglected and run down. I imagine it was quite posh, way back in the day. Eww, the seaweed stench must be very offputting. Gravesend looked like it was living up to its name. The graffiti in the Heritage Centre was cool. I didn't know that Pocahontas ended up at Gravesend. The Sikh temple was impressive. I was surprised that Dover looked so shabby in places. It looked better in summer. Oh dear, the town of Chatham looked rather depressing. Everything was kicking off with all the speeding police cars. Poor old Gillingham didn't have much to recommend it. One thing that all these places had in common was that there was litter everywhere. Such a shame. It was great that you also highlighted some good things about each place, although you struggled with Gillingham. Interesting vlog 👍😊
Just a few things about my hometown, Gravesend. Those are flats being built opposite the statue of the Queen. Every time they start building again, the company goes bust! The building in GTA 5 might get built before these flats do. The ferry is now no longer running, as thurrock and gravesham council did not want to continue to contribute to its service. The problem with shops is the same as everywhere else, the rent prices are ridiculous. Also you never go into town after dark.
Great comments! Somebody else said that about the flats too! Gravesend has so much potential as well! I saw that in the news about the ferry service, it's a shame. On three separate visits to Gravesend I never saw anybody using it.
Great video. I am happy to see that Sheppey wasn't on your list. I was expecting to see it come up. However, I live on Sheppey and by looking at your videos. All the other towns are in a terrible state of neglect, due to lack of support from the local councils. If the people's of the towns ran the councils ALL these towns would turn around within a month!
Hi Debbie, thank you! I'm actually from the island, a born and bred swampie, so couldn't put Sheerness on there for fear of being lynched 😆 besides, I think perhaps with the exception of Margate, the others are genuinely in a worse state.
Quality video, I lived in Gillingham and went to school in Chatham. Probably why I spent the last 12 years travelling. In Mexico Puerto Escondido is worth a look. There’s a cool hostel called Vivo Escondido, owned by an English bloke called Tom. Have a safe journey I see your flying soon. Good luck
You would normally think seaside towns have stunning views and are clean. It's actually quite sad to see conditions people are living still. My question is what is the state doing about these towns. Great share friend, just don't decide to camp there it doesn't look safe. Safe travels always.💖💖 14:23
The Councils should be ashamed of themselves. It doesn’t take much to clean buildings & collect the garbage. I lived in Gillingham between 1961-1972. Attended Byron Road Primary & Upbury Manor high school. Was a member of The Methodist Church, a Brownie & Girl Guide at the same church. My memories of Gillingham are completely different to how it looks now. How depressing for the old Council Rate Payers to be made to live in such a hovel 😢. The high Street was thriving then with a great atmosphere. So so Sad 😭 😢😢🐨🐨🦘
I think you did the right thing by emigrating! I agree the councils should be ashamed, and the residents have to take some accountability as well. They're the ones who have to live there after all!
Fascinating... and a bit depressing. Can't help wondering if this is how the country is now, because my own hometown is just like these places. A great film Matt... but I'm going to take a break by watching your Peak District travels now.
Hi Matt Well, I am not liberty to say/comment since I have never lived or visited the UK. You have the courage to have your own opinion and express it regarding topics. I would think you had pondered and might have the second thoughts about your judgement before you published it. There are many towns on the planet like on your list. The ignominy of being listed? Thank you for being an advocate and bringing the awareness of the city's issues, I may say. Hopefully your film made an auspicious beginning. Well done...I guess this vid is you mentioned before..
Well constructed, Matt. The Sussex video and this Kent one show some southern towns are just as grim as those in the north and west, covered by the likes of Wandering Turnip and Wendall. It's depressing to think the UK is unlikely to ever have the funds to regenerate these towns. If I were you, I'd move to Málaga. 😁
Thanks Roberto! Yeah, there's a lot of these 'worst town' type videos around at the moment, and with good reason! Málaga and Europe is almost off the cards now thanks to Brexit
Spot on, as ever. Although there is some strong competition in North Kent. Just a suggestion - how about a Kent top five (towns, views, walks, pubs, whatever ?)
Geat video Matt, i think your apreciation about cities is rigth but maybe some people is not agree at all. With some views i was thinking in Berlin East on 80s years or soviet union and Cuba😂😂😂 but don't be so hard i have seen some nice things too. Greetings from Argentina 😀🙋🏽♂️
the margate smell: don't sit outside to eat at the turner gallery if the wind's in the wrong direction - it ronks sooo bad it can properly put you off your overpriced snack
Note to self: NEVER visit Gillingham!! Jeez-o Matt, I thought some of Scotland's towns were bad ...but Gillingham 😲Happy to see Margate has improved since my last visit. Sadly the litter, dog shit, dilapidated buildings and under-investment in your five towns are a national problem which shows no sign of improving as Britain's decline continues 😒 You'll be glad to get away in March and I wouldn't blame you for staying abroad if you find your Shangri-La. All the best mate, Ian and Meg 🙋♂🐶
Cheers Ian, we'll see what happens! Indeed, I think one could do a 'top five worst towns' in most counties and it would look similar! I think where you're situated in Western Scotland looks pretty Shangri-La-esque mate!
born in chatham in the 50s, was never this bad, high street used to be buzzing with big department stores, graffitti is my biggest hate it looks bad everywhere...try sheerness its even worse
I'm from Sheppey so I know Sheerness only too well. Chatham used to be a good day out for us in the 90s, bit of shopping and food, nowadays would rather avoid altogether
A bit ironic how bleak these towns look, when Kent is known for being the "Garden of England" - the number of closed shops are striking, things seem to be getting worse. On the note of attractions in Chatham, there used to be Charles Dickens museum which I visited on a primary school trip, suffice to say I'm not surprised it's not open anymore. The Pocahontas statue has really thrown me - absolutely had no idea she even visited Kent, let alone being buried there! Gillingham really could do with a bit of a makeover...
Seaside towns have become run down because they were cheap off season and people with no jobs drifted there to live on the dole. Kent and Essex are close enough to London to catch this.
Were going to Margate this Easter for a long weekend for a Jolly boys outing going to all the only fools and horses locations but we are staying in Ramsgate 😀
Yeah Margate has a good amount of decent street art. Seaweed stinks everywhere, unpleasant stuff! You are definitely catching it at the right time of day to make it look deserted! 👍 Soviet Council Building in Gravesend! Again really decent street artists down there. They love there multi storey car parks down there don’t they? Is there much call for them? I wouldn’t have thought so. At least the kids know how to have fun! Lovely looking temple and clock tower. After seeing Dover you would just head home, what a shocking intro to the UK. Dovers town centre is really depressing. Crazy how long shops have stood empty in Chatham. Love how the bushes are decorated with empty cans, is that art nouveau? Great police footage! Ah poor Gillingham, did you know going in the order or did you decide after visiting them all? You’ve convinced me, it’s more grim down South! A cracking instalment. 👍
Yeah it does definitely look busier in summer of course, I would've rather done this video then but unfortunately not an option now 🤣 I can't understand why they're building so many multi storeys while simultaneously driving business away from the high street but there you go. Art Nouveau indeed, putting the art into Stella 'Art'ois (damn I should've said that in the video 🤣) I didn't know the order, I was thinking it'd be Gravesend, Chatham or Gillingham but Gillingham really was the pits and I had nothing positive I could say about it unfortunately!
Chatham in the early 00’s was great, the high street has become a bit of a dump in the last decade or two but there is a lot of building going on and I think it could be good again in a few years.
I grew up in north London in the 70s and 80s and a lot of the areas were really dirty and run down but from the 90s onwards they have been completely transformed as the poor moved out and the wealthy moved in. Those suburbs are very attractive areas to live now. I always wondered were all the low income people went and I guess it was to these hideous satellite towns dotted around outside of London. Out of sight, out of mind.
I think you've hit the nail on the head there. Gentrify London, move the poorest people out to the home counties. As 'Greater' London expands they'll probably start moving people out to sparsely populated Norfolk, Lincolnshire etc
Agreed, It makes me laugh when people say London is bad now. It's far better now than the dump it was in the 70's & 80's. As you pointed out most of the residents moved out to the suburbs which have equally turned on their heads and have almost become the inner London of the 70"s & ,80"s
You’re correct. Most of London has been “socially cleansed”. I don’t use that word lightly, as it’s a deliberate, strategic act on behalf of the authorities. The only place still affordable in south London is Croydon, and a three bedroom house starts around £550,000 (if you’re lucky). A lot of the other boroughs moved their social housing residents to Croydon, as there’s a lot of private rentals and HMO’s. I suspect they’ll eventually “cleanse” Croydon at some stage. In some ways it’s a good idea, as I don’t want to see houses that aren’t maintained, weeds and overgrown hedges and refuse that isn’t sorted into bins correctly etc. These are the things that make residential areas look shabby and dirty. The legislative changes to private renting could make it less lucrative for private landlords. Hopefully they’ll sell the houses they hoard, prices will drop, and normal working people may be able to afford their own home. I say this as an owner occupier whose house will fall in price if this happens, but housing is a basic human need.
In fairness a very good honest assessment of these towns. All this nonsense about how depressing and run down the North of England is etc, but these towns, and similar over the water in Essex are worse really.
When I first came to the UK, I arrived in Dover, by ferry, many years ago! Back then , Dover was nice! Also disappointing to see how derelict Margate has become! I had no idea!
Dover away from the town centre, on the cliffs and the castle, is quite nice, maybe those are the areas you saw? 😂 Margate is sad but believe it or not it's better than it was around 15-20 years ago!
I left Gillingham in 1988. I visited a few times in the 1990s but haven’t been back in 25 years. It’s astounding how much worse it looks now. I guess things started getting worse after the dockyard was closed down. How many thousands put out of work in an instant! It was actually a good place to grow up as a child in the seventies but no way am I ever moving back there.
Hi. The reason you will see lots of police cars around Medway is that is where Swale and Medway's police resources are based like custody so there will be lots there then be sent out to other places.
You missed Strood! I lived in Chatham and Gillingham. 40 years ago they were ok functioning towns and apart from areas where large Pakistani influx, it was a safe and entertaining place to live. In Gillingham, in 1980s, it was the fact houses were cheap and London only 50 minutes by train. So for a young person getting London wages but able to easily get a mortgage for first home.It was a place of hope then. Im sad to see it now. The buildings along the way to the Dockyard, boarded up, were Army Garrison buildings. Beautiful inside. Awful that they are left boarded up and their architecture hidden. I suspect that the Government, Army, Admiralty etc own all those buildings and others beyond that you didn’t show. They won’t sell them on and when dont need, they just board up. Its very sad to see the heritage dismissed in such a way.
I did consider Strood but wanted to do bigger towns so there was more to talk about. I hope Medway gets sorted soon because there is tons of potential, the infrastructure is already there, Rochester is lovely and there's tons of nice nature all around. I didn't know that about the buildings being owned by government/military etc what a waste!
The graffiti really was pretty decent in Gravesend. Wait a minute- Pocahontas is seriously buried in England? I had no idea. I actually had to rewind that part three times to make sure I heard you correctly. We have a Chatham about an hour away from me. It’s actually a nice place. My aunt from England lived there for many years. I guess these top worst videos are doing pretty well. It’s nice to see that the US isn’t alone with its towns and cities going downhill. 👍
Thanks Craig! Yeah Pocahontas married an Englishman, came to England, even met royalty before she caught a disease and died before returning to America. The statue in the video is a replica of one in Jamestown. Yeah, people like to see degradation and deprivation. I won't be making any more videos like this - didn't particularly enjoy doing it - but I will be making videos of some sketchy areas in the States (Tenderloin (San Francisco), Hollywood etc)
Thought England was a country with greenery everywhere. Not a tree in sight in Margate centre and beachfront. A rundown, neglected dump from what I can see. Seems most British towns are a carbon copy of this ugly place. Glad to be shown this, wouldn't waste my vank savings to buy a ticket to visit England. Thanks for showing the real UK.
England has a lot of greenery and beautiful places. If you go anywhere on a bleak winter's day and take photos of the worst parts in succession it's going to give a certain impression. These towns probably don't look great in the best of times, but certainly not indicative of the U.K as a whole.
There are some very nice places around Gillingham. The problem with Gillingham is the lack of investment. Now Rochester which is part of Medway is obviously the tourist attraction with castle and cathedral. Chatham as mentioned has Fort Amherst and the historic Dockyard, but Gillingham has nothing compared to those two. luckily I live between Gillingham and Rainham in a estate called Twydall, most of it is tree lined roads and grass verges. Ok it does have a problem around the shopping area. But I wouldn't live anywhere else.
Yep I hadn't been to Gillingham town centre for a while (straight to Priestfield and back for me) and was sad to make it number 1 worst town but I didn't have much choice. Most people in Medway would say that Sheerness is worse, however being a swampie myself, I couldn't put it in the list for fear of being lynched 😆
I lived in Strood for a year and apart from Rochester all the Medway towns are grim and depressing. When did the English lose any civic pride they had?
I was brought up in Medway and I`ve always had the debate of which is the worst town - Chatham or Gillingham? I`m glad you said Gillingham 😂 To be fair though. I`ve drank around the pubs there for years and even if they are a lil rough around the edges, I`ve always found the people friendly enough. I`ve made some good friends from round that way
Absolutely mate, Medway is rough but the people are the salt of the earth! Hopefully the millions that are supposedly being ploughed into Chatham revitalise it a bit because there's massive potential there!
I actually find decaying towns by the sea pretty fascinating...especially in cold and rainy countries...do seaweeds there smell bad? I pick seaweeds here and eat them...maybe the Mediterranean ones smell different😊
I can confirm that the sirens are a regular occurrence in Chatham. Whenever I work there, that’s all you hear all day. In my opinion, it is the worst town in Kent, but Gillingham is a very close 2nd in my opinion.
Somebody in the comments said it's because the response centre is based there, so whenever someone calls 999 in the local area they come from Chatham, which makes sense
Don't think i will be hurrying down to Kent to visit these town...Everyone thinks the south east as being posh....every town up north seems to be doing so much better
The centre of town is pretty terrible but go to residential areas mile out of the centre and it’s a different story. I guess they’re all driving to the big shopping centres.
I live near Maidstone (close to Chatham) I would advise giving these places a hard pass. They're even more dismal in real life than this video shows. If you must try Kent then try Faversham.
As a general rule, anything along the north and east coasts of Kent from the Thames around to Folkestone is not great or awful, and anything further inland really is the nice posh 'Garden of England'. If it seems a bit like parts of the North suffering from post-industrial decline... that's because it is. Kent's coastal towns, especially along the north Kent coast, were very industrial; lots of heavy industry like steelworks and brickworks, shipbuilding, coal mining, paper making and so on. Most of that is gone, other than the DS Smith paper mill at Kemsley.
Yikes. Each place was strangely unique. I would be a bit disturbed by the speeding police cars everywhere. The grafitti in that first place was oddly picturesque at times. Such a shame to see these places in such states. 😢 Hopefully they can be revitalized.
The thing is, though, the town centres and residential streets close by are in a poor state. But I went to Gillingham by car last week, bypassing the centre by arriving from the M2, and residential streets a mile out from the town centre were clean and well kept. I think people there are shopping at the huge Tesco by the end of the motorway link road.
Yeah a lot of town centres are getting more and more neglected for that very reason - people are buying all their stuff off Amazon, shopping in out of town supermarkets, and have no need to go into town anymore!
Very interesting. As someone who grew up in Gravesend nearly 50 years ago and returned their frequently to see family I know what you mean. My only caveat would be you focussed on the town. Move a mile outside the town and you are going into more affluent areas. These people probably never go into the town. They go to Bluewater and similar places for leisure. Haves and haves not.
omg margate looks so depressing :/ sad to see the towns decline like that. Never been to Gravesend but god! Britain can do depressing towns so well i think lol So grey and bleak in winter especially, not been to Dover either i dont think. The cliffs are the best bit lol the graffiti in chatam with the guy and the cone lol definitely unique with the open air barber. Not heard of Gillingham but loving the series, its crazy to see so many towns like this, wish this country would stop building new flats people cant afford and fix the places we already have
Even the worst towns have clocktowers. Sad we don't have too many of these stateside. As bleak as this was, I like your narration. It's more comedic, if anything.
Sheerness in kent would be the worst. Even canterbury would be low down on your list also. Im from kent originally but moved up north and wouldn't go back down to live.
A super look at the good, the bad the plain ugly on 5 towns in Kent. Those sea fronts have seen better days but I guess most people go abroad these days and the old entertainment is literally left to crumble. Some of the town centres look quite good but Gillingham doesn't look the best. Then again that goes for most towns in England these days, sadly. Even a lot of the graffiti is bad mixed in with some good stuff. I've actually never been to any of these towns and you're not really making me want to visit. Then again I'm not a city and town person 🙂
Ah, flats is a slight improvement, I guess! I agree, it's not somewhere that makes you want to spend any longer there than you have to, and since I recorded this video they've stopped the Tilbury Ferry, meaning one less form of escape too
I still have family who live the near the stadium, and they're the only reason I still go back there. Big demographic changes happening in Chatham and Gillingham, thus contributing further to the decline.
Hi guys, hope you enjoy the video, do you agree with my rankings of the worst towns in Kent?
You are doing a fantastic job with this video series about coastal towns...I find these videos very interesting
No, Sheerness should be on there. It’s not technically Kent. It’s on an island, where we used to send the lepers. Time we dismantled that bridge.
@@user-sy3rs6ki1q the lepers went to Dead Man's Island 😂
@@no_soy_rubio 😁
really expected Gravesend to be further up the ranks.
born in Margate in 1990 , left as a teenager to join the royal marines . my motivation for completing training was the fear of returning back to margate if i had failed . margate was dangerous at night , falling apart , and most high street shops closed down . nothing to do as kid apart from avoiding gangs . also a lot of poverty ... 14 years later im leaving the marines next month , and will be moving abroad to start a new life
Great stuff mate! Well done for making something of your life in difficult circumstances and all the best for the future 👏
Not much has changed today.
Hello from your friends in Naples, Florida. Very interesting, indeed! Too bad to see some of them so run down. Great tour. Thank you for sharing with us, have a great week 👍💯
There is definitely no north south divide when it comes to seaside towns in England. Another great but sad top/bottom five Matt. I do hope that the English seaside town get revitalised, but they are fighting the cheap holidays abroad. With global warming on its way, perhaps the seaside town is the thing of the future. They say things go in circles. Touches wood. Thanks for sharing, Matt.
Absolutely Chris, that's if global warming doesn't mean the ice caps melt and the seaside towns are all underwater 😅
Dude that was an interesting watch 😂 very unfiltered and different from the usual lists where people show the best 🤣 but even then, those still look not so bad. gave me an idea for my own channel hahaha might steal this concept someday.
Haha go for it dude, photos of neglected areas seem to do very well
Gillingham was a shocker. The rubbish makes any area look neglected and rundown. I found several of the places very depressing and they totally need regeneration and investment.
A recent visit to Broadstairs and Whitstable made me appreciate that part of the Kent coast.
Thank you for this tour of Kent. Margate was my favourite. A work in progress.
Absolutely, there are some nice places in Kent and Broadstairs and Whitstable are two of them! I do like Canterbury, Deal and Folkestone as well. I think the nicest places in Kent though are the villages in the countryside 😁
Thanks for sharing Matt. It can be sad to see how these have gone downhill over time. We have seaside towns and attractions that got destroyed or abandoned but now there's a lot of revitalization efforts to repair them.
Thanks Louis! I heard some things about Coney Island and that area!
@@no_soy_rubio Coney Island in New York was very popular back in the day, but there's been several efforts to restore and attract people again.
Another great vid. Appreciate all the effort. Well done.
Thank you 😁
The town of Margate looks deserted. So quiet.
Spot on from my experience there a few years back now. Your commentary was quite entertaining. Nice one.
Cheers! 😁
Thanks to you, I got to see various palces! Thank you for sharing your chosen 5 Worst Towns in KENT with an explanation!
Hello! Greetings again from 100tour KOREA! Stay in touch, my dear friend! See you! Have a great weekend!
Awesome video and very respectfully done - as a north Kent lad who is thinking of moving due to rising costs it was certainly insightful - keep up the good work
Thank you! Kent's getting more expensive all the time as London grows, I don't envy you!
I would go on vacation there 😅🤪 cool video buddy 👌❤🎥 congrats on the subscriber explosion 💥
Thanks dude, hope you're good 😎
@@no_soy_rubio Everything ok 👌 a bit sick, have today off and trying to make a new video. If only my boss knew 👋😅🙋♂
@@dronimahoney being able to make videos is very different to being able to work 😎😆
liberate tutemet!
I only knew Gillingham from football, never been anywhere near it. It's super weird when you know these teams for decades, but you don't have an image of what the place looks like. Now I do... A haunting one 😅 Very entertaining video, mate!
Yeah some towns in the UK really do suck, and usually the worst ones have a football team, because football is a working class sport they get a lot of support (and players) from locals. Cheers!
I like the underlying sarcasam in your descpriptions, but no exaggeration on your part! Great video! - Thank you!
Thank you, appreciate it 🙏
Unfortunately I have to agree with you, especially the top 2! Having once lived in Gillingham, I used to call the Medway towns the compost heap of the Garden of England, alas the Garden is no longer rosy. There isn't enough employment in the area, money is no longer invested in the town and too many people shop on line, Amazon has a lot to answer for, or maybe business rates, rentals of shops are to high. High streets are nearly all the same nowadays, whether your in the North or South, sad but true.
Cheers Ian, sounds like not much has changed since you were last in Medway 😆 high streets are rubbish in most towns now aren't they, not appealing to visit anymore
Hi Matt! We haven't visited any of these towns - now we know why! It was sad to see that parts of Margate were very neglected and run down. I imagine it was quite posh, way back in the day. Eww, the seaweed stench must be very offputting. Gravesend looked like it was living up to its name. The graffiti in the Heritage Centre was cool. I didn't know that Pocahontas ended up at Gravesend. The Sikh temple was impressive. I was surprised that Dover looked so shabby in places. It looked better in summer. Oh dear, the town of Chatham looked rather depressing. Everything was kicking off with all the speeding police cars. Poor old Gillingham didn't have much to recommend it. One thing that all these places had in common was that there was litter everywhere. Such a shame. It was great that you also highlighted some good things about each place, although you struggled with Gillingham. Interesting vlog 👍😊
Thank you! I'll be visiting some of the more edgy places in California too, will be interesting to see how they compare!
Just a few things about my hometown, Gravesend. Those are flats being built opposite the statue of the Queen. Every time they start building again, the company goes bust! The building in GTA 5 might get built before these flats do. The ferry is now no longer running, as thurrock and gravesham council did not want to continue to contribute to its service. The problem with shops is the same as everywhere else, the rent prices are ridiculous. Also you never go into town after dark.
Great comments! Somebody else said that about the flats too! Gravesend has so much potential as well! I saw that in the news about the ferry service, it's a shame. On three separate visits to Gravesend I never saw anybody using it.
Great video. I am happy to see that Sheppey wasn't on your list. I was expecting to see it come up.
However, I live on Sheppey and by looking at your videos. All the other towns are in a terrible state of neglect, due to lack of support from the local councils.
If the people's of the towns ran the councils ALL these towns would turn around within a month!
Hi Debbie, thank you! I'm actually from the island, a born and bred swampie, so couldn't put Sheerness on there for fear of being lynched 😆 besides, I think perhaps with the exception of Margate, the others are genuinely in a worse state.
Sheppy is a dumped it would be no1 on my list. You got 3 prisons and 1 high street on your whole isle
@macweed3358 there's technically four high streets on the island
Thanks for touring us around this town. Well done video.
Quality video, I lived in Gillingham and went to school in Chatham. Probably why I spent the last 12 years travelling. In Mexico Puerto Escondido is worth a look. There’s a cool hostel called Vivo Escondido, owned by an English bloke called Tom. Have a safe journey I see your flying soon. Good luck
Nice! I was thinking of heading to Puerto Escondido so I'll look that hostel up!
Think the ruin is war damaged St James Church
I enjoyed watching video reviews of various towns🤗☺
You would normally think seaside towns have stunning views and are clean. It's actually quite sad to see conditions people are living still. My question is what is the state doing about these towns.
Great share friend, just don't decide to camp there it doesn't look safe. Safe travels always.💖💖 14:23
The Councils should be ashamed of themselves. It doesn’t take much to clean buildings & collect the garbage. I lived in Gillingham between 1961-1972. Attended Byron Road Primary & Upbury Manor high school. Was a member of The Methodist Church, a Brownie & Girl Guide at the same church. My memories of Gillingham are completely different to how it looks now. How depressing for the old Council Rate Payers to be made to live in such a hovel 😢. The high Street was thriving then with a great atmosphere. So so Sad 😭 😢😢🐨🐨🦘
I think you did the right thing by emigrating! I agree the councils should be ashamed, and the residents have to take some accountability as well. They're the ones who have to live there after all!
Fascinating... and a bit depressing. Can't help wondering if this is how the country is now, because my own hometown is just like these places. A great film Matt... but I'm going to take a break by watching your Peak District travels now.
Good idea, they're certainly a bit more uplifting 😆
Hi Matt
Well, I am not liberty to say/comment since I have never lived or visited the UK.
You have the courage to have your own opinion and express it regarding topics.
I would think you had pondered and might have the second thoughts about your judgement before you published it.
There are many towns on the planet like on your list. The ignominy of being listed?
Thank you for being an advocate and bringing the awareness of the city's issues, I may say.
Hopefully your film made an auspicious beginning. Well done...I guess this vid is you mentioned before..
14:26 used to get £2 chicken and chips (with a drink) down that road, shops gone now 😢
Well constructed, Matt. The Sussex video and this Kent one show some southern towns are just as grim as those in the north and west, covered by the likes of Wandering Turnip and Wendall. It's depressing to think the UK is unlikely to ever have the funds to regenerate these towns. If I were you, I'd move to Málaga. 😁
Thanks Roberto! Yeah, there's a lot of these 'worst town' type videos around at the moment, and with good reason! Málaga and Europe is almost off the cards now thanks to Brexit
Thanks for sharing dear friend,
Keep up the good work,
Stay blessed and connected 🌺🌺
Spot on, as ever. Although there is some strong competition in North Kent. Just a suggestion - how about a Kent top five (towns, views, walks, pubs, whatever ?)
I'm thinking of doing a video just like that, either my five favourite places, five places I miss the most or five best places to visit - great idea!
Geat video Matt, i think your apreciation about cities is rigth but maybe some people is not agree at all. With some views i was thinking in Berlin East on 80s years or soviet union and Cuba😂😂😂 but don't be so hard i have seen some nice things too. Greetings from Argentina 😀🙋🏽♂️
Cheers Sergio 🚲🥳
Wow, this beautiful my friend! Video super) ✌😁🥰
Somehow I didn’t expect to see Tunbridge Wells, Tenterden & New Romney in the list!
🤣🤣🤣
the margate smell: don't sit outside to eat at the turner gallery if the wind's in the wrong direction - it ronks sooo bad it can properly put you off your overpriced snack
Unless it's an egg and cress sandwich, you won't notice the difference 😅
Note to self: NEVER visit Gillingham!! Jeez-o Matt, I thought some of Scotland's towns were bad ...but Gillingham 😲Happy to see Margate has improved since my last visit. Sadly the litter, dog shit, dilapidated buildings and under-investment in your five towns are a national problem which shows no sign of improving as Britain's decline continues 😒 You'll be glad to get away in March and I wouldn't blame you for staying abroad if you find your Shangri-La. All the best mate, Ian and Meg 🙋♂🐶
Cheers Ian, we'll see what happens! Indeed, I think one could do a 'top five worst towns' in most counties and it would look similar! I think where you're situated in Western Scotland looks pretty Shangri-La-esque mate!
OMG! Thank you for sharing, my friend.🥷🇯🇵
My video tribute to the re-opened Dreamland: ruclips.net/video/oPZHQDSdYzQ/видео.html
born in chatham in the 50s, was never this bad, high street used to be buzzing with big department stores, graffitti is my biggest hate it looks bad everywhere...try sheerness its even worse
I'm from Sheppey so I know Sheerness only too well. Chatham used to be a good day out for us in the 90s, bit of shopping and food, nowadays would rather avoid altogether
Gracias por compartir lo que dejas aqui haces una bonita aventura
Very nice video, really like it my friend, thanks a lot and take care.😊😊😊🙋♂️👍🏼
Happy weekend my friend ❤
Great sharing
Nice video friend beautiful atmosphere
A bit ironic how bleak these towns look, when Kent is known for being the "Garden of England" - the number of closed shops are striking, things seem to be getting worse. On the note of attractions in Chatham, there used to be Charles Dickens museum which I visited on a primary school trip, suffice to say I'm not surprised it's not open anymore. The Pocahontas statue has really thrown me - absolutely had no idea she even visited Kent, let alone being buried there! Gillingham really could do with a bit of a makeover...
Yeah the Charles Dickens Museum closed a while back 😆 Pochaontas is a bit of a weird one! And Gillingham really is a s-hole
ขอบคุณสำหรับข้อมูล Thanks for sharing 👍
Seaside towns have become run down because they were cheap off season and people with no jobs drifted there to live on the dole. Kent and Essex are close enough to London to catch this.
Were going to Margate this Easter for a long weekend for a Jolly boys outing going to all the only fools and horses locations but we are staying in Ramsgate 😀
Nice mate it'll be a good craic at that time, hope you get gkkd weather for it (and the seaweed isn't ponging 🤣)
Thanks I'm not sure I want to go now lol 🤣🤣🤣
@@Pratman you'll love it mate just make sure if you take a bus you don't blow it up 🤣
I'll try not to lol 🤣🤣🤣
Another good information. Anyway seawage looks terrible. Thanks for sharing❤
Yeah Margate has a good amount of decent street art. Seaweed stinks everywhere, unpleasant stuff! You are definitely catching it at the right time of day to make it look deserted! 👍 Soviet Council Building in Gravesend! Again really decent street artists down there. They love there multi storey car parks down there don’t they? Is there much call for them? I wouldn’t have thought so. At least the kids know how to have fun! Lovely looking temple and clock tower. After seeing Dover you would just head home, what a shocking intro to the UK. Dovers town centre is really depressing. Crazy how long shops have stood empty in Chatham. Love how the bushes are decorated with empty cans, is that art nouveau? Great police footage! Ah poor Gillingham, did you know going in the order or did you decide after visiting them all? You’ve convinced me, it’s more grim down South! A cracking instalment. 👍
Yeah it does definitely look busier in summer of course, I would've rather done this video then but unfortunately not an option now 🤣 I can't understand why they're building so many multi storeys while simultaneously driving business away from the high street but there you go. Art Nouveau indeed, putting the art into Stella 'Art'ois (damn I should've said that in the video 🤣) I didn't know the order, I was thinking it'd be Gravesend, Chatham or Gillingham but Gillingham really was the pits and I had nothing positive I could say about it unfortunately!
Ciao amico vedo che sei sempre in giro per il mondo 😂 bravo continua così documenta e condividi ,ciao a alla prossima
I thought Margate would look a lot better than that considering the Turner Gallery and the new Dreamland theme park. Good video. ❤
Cheers! It does look better in summer (unless it's raining)
At Gravesend, the ferry across to Tilbury has now been discontinued.
Might have to bump it up to third place now
Chatham in the early 00’s was great, the high street has become a bit of a dump in the last decade or two but there is a lot of building going on and I think it could be good again in a few years.
Let's hope so!
I grew up in north London in the 70s and 80s and a lot of the areas were really dirty and run down but from the 90s onwards they have been completely transformed as the poor moved out and the wealthy moved in. Those suburbs are very attractive areas to live now. I always wondered were all the low income people went and I guess it was to these hideous satellite towns dotted around outside of London. Out of sight, out of mind.
I think you've hit the nail on the head there. Gentrify London, move the poorest people out to the home counties. As 'Greater' London expands they'll probably start moving people out to sparsely populated Norfolk, Lincolnshire etc
Agreed, It makes me laugh when people say London is bad now. It's far better now than the dump it was in the 70's & 80's. As you pointed out most of the residents moved out to the suburbs which have equally turned on their heads and have almost become the inner London of the 70"s & ,80"s
You’re correct. Most of London has been “socially cleansed”. I don’t use that word lightly, as it’s a deliberate, strategic act on behalf of the authorities.
The only place still affordable in south London is Croydon, and a three bedroom house starts around £550,000 (if you’re lucky). A lot of the other boroughs moved their social housing residents to Croydon, as there’s a lot of private rentals and HMO’s.
I suspect they’ll eventually “cleanse” Croydon at some stage. In some ways it’s a good idea, as I don’t want to see houses that aren’t maintained, weeds and overgrown hedges and refuse that isn’t sorted into bins correctly etc. These are the things that make residential areas look shabby and dirty.
The legislative changes to private renting could make it less lucrative for private landlords. Hopefully they’ll sell the houses they hoard, prices will drop, and normal working people may be able to afford their own home. I say this as an owner occupier whose house will fall in price if this happens, but housing is a basic human need.
Good list, although Ashford town centre’s a glaring omission- it’s switched it out with Margate
I agree Ashford probably should've been in there
In fairness a very good honest assessment of these towns. All this nonsense about how depressing and run down the North of England is etc, but these towns, and similar over the water in Essex are worse really.
Totally agree, I've lived in Lancashire and Yorkshire and honestly find Kent rougher
When I first came to the UK, I arrived in Dover, by ferry, many years ago! Back then , Dover was nice!
Also disappointing to see how derelict Margate has become! I had no idea!
Dover away from the town centre, on the cliffs and the castle, is quite nice, maybe those are the areas you saw? 😂 Margate is sad but believe it or not it's better than it was around 15-20 years ago!
Excelente video amigo, mi like 👍👍
I left Gillingham in 1988. I visited a few times in the 1990s but haven’t been back in 25 years. It’s astounding how much worse it looks now. I guess things started getting worse after the dockyard was closed down. How many thousands put out of work in an instant! It was actually a good place to grow up as a child in the seventies but no way am I ever moving back there.
I've been a lot, being a fan of Gillingham FC. Never venture into town though. After making this video I see why
Hi. The reason you will see lots of police cars around Medway is that is where Swale and Medway's police resources are based like custody so there will be lots there then be sent out to other places.
Ah that makes sense. I did find it strange. So if a crime happens in Leysdown it could take ages for police to get there
@@no_soy_rubio The big Medway police station is also a couple of minutes' drive away from where you were filming them going past
Great episode Matt (loved the England flag in Gillingham) said it all not just for these crap 💩towns but the country too 😢
ATB Simon 🤠
Cheers Simon it definitely was a good metaphor 🤣
You missed Strood! I lived in Chatham and Gillingham. 40 years ago they were ok functioning towns and apart from areas where large Pakistani influx, it was a safe and entertaining place to live. In Gillingham, in 1980s, it was the fact houses were cheap and London only 50 minutes by train. So for a young person getting London wages but able to easily get a mortgage for first home.It was a place of hope then. Im sad to see it now. The buildings along the way to the Dockyard, boarded up, were Army Garrison buildings. Beautiful inside. Awful that they are left boarded up and their architecture hidden. I suspect that the Government, Army, Admiralty etc own all those buildings and others beyond that you didn’t show. They won’t sell them on and when dont need, they just board up. Its very sad to see the heritage dismissed in such a way.
I did consider Strood but wanted to do bigger towns so there was more to talk about. I hope Medway gets sorted soon because there is tons of potential, the infrastructure is already there, Rochester is lovely and there's tons of nice nature all around. I didn't know that about the buildings being owned by government/military etc what a waste!
what is the music used/
Various songs from Epidemic Sound
The graffiti really was pretty decent in Gravesend. Wait a minute- Pocahontas is seriously buried in England? I had no idea. I actually had to rewind that part three times to make sure I heard you correctly.
We have a Chatham about an hour away from me. It’s actually a nice place. My aunt from England lived there for many years.
I guess these top worst videos are doing pretty well. It’s nice to see that the US isn’t alone with its towns and cities going downhill. 👍
Thanks Craig! Yeah Pocahontas married an Englishman, came to England, even met royalty before she caught a disease and died before returning to America. The statue in the video is a replica of one in Jamestown.
Yeah, people like to see degradation and deprivation. I won't be making any more videos like this - didn't particularly enjoy doing it - but I will be making videos of some sketchy areas in the States (Tenderloin (San Francisco), Hollywood etc)
Thought England was a country with greenery everywhere. Not a tree in sight in Margate centre and beachfront. A rundown, neglected dump from what I can see. Seems most British towns are a carbon copy of this ugly place. Glad to be shown this, wouldn't waste my vank savings to buy a ticket to visit England. Thanks for showing the real UK.
Well these are the worst towns in that particular county, but there are some miserable town centres I have to admit
England has a lot of greenery and beautiful places. If you go anywhere on a bleak winter's day and take photos of the worst parts in succession it's going to give a certain impression. These towns probably don't look great in the best of times, but certainly not indicative of the U.K as a whole.
@mattcrispin6737 this guy's a troll from the US, probably salty because I criticised Skid Row etc when I travelled there
It's a trap l for the poor souls that live there.
There are some very nice places around Gillingham. The problem with Gillingham is the lack of investment. Now Rochester which is part of Medway is obviously the tourist attraction with castle and cathedral. Chatham as mentioned has Fort Amherst and the historic Dockyard, but Gillingham has nothing compared to those two. luckily I live between Gillingham and Rainham in a estate called Twydall, most of it is tree lined roads and grass verges. Ok it does have a problem around the shopping area. But I wouldn't live anywhere else.
Yep I hadn't been to Gillingham town centre for a while (straight to Priestfield and back for me) and was sad to make it number 1 worst town but I didn't have much choice. Most people in Medway would say that Sheerness is worse, however being a swampie myself, I couldn't put it in the list for fear of being lynched 😆
I lived in Strood for a year and apart from Rochester all the Medway towns are grim and depressing. When did the English lose any civic pride they had?
Thanks for sharing this 🙏
I was brought up in Medway and I`ve always had the debate of which is the worst town - Chatham or Gillingham? I`m glad you said Gillingham 😂 To be fair though. I`ve drank around the pubs there for years and even if they are a lil rough around the edges, I`ve always found the people friendly enough. I`ve made some good friends from round that way
Absolutely mate, Medway is rough but the people are the salt of the earth! Hopefully the millions that are supposedly being ploughed into Chatham revitalise it a bit because there's massive potential there!
Medway is just one big 💩hole
I've visited several towns in Kent now and have been really quite underwhelmed by what I've seen. Even Sevenoaks is a bit rough.
I've never been to Sevenoaks but that's supposedly posh!
without Knole and Sevenoaks School, I think it's reputation would be slightly different haha
Faversham or Tenterden are about the only decent little towns we have in Kent. I should know! I live in this dingy and dismal hole.
Dude. The lady in the sweet shop in the Gravesend chapter at 6 minutes is my daughters mum lol well funny
Haha let her know 12000+ have seen her on this video now 🤣
Sheerness is the worst place I ever lived. Chatham is pretty lame but I've never lived there
Nice one mate
Cheers mate, never making one of these videos again it took me ages 🤣
I actually find decaying towns by the sea pretty fascinating...especially in cold and rainy countries...do seaweeds there smell bad? I pick seaweeds here and eat them...maybe the Mediterranean ones smell different😊
The seaweed in that particular area smells horrible like it was decaying and dying, like a rotten corpse 😆 but generally they don't smell that bad
obviously that was the problem...seaweeds actually taste pretty good 💪💪
@@escursionisuburbane6107 I'm not sure about the texture but I'd try it!
@@no_soy_rubio go for it!...with beer
I can confirm that the sirens are a regular occurrence in Chatham. Whenever I work there, that’s all you hear all day. In my opinion, it is the worst town in Kent, but Gillingham is a very close 2nd in my opinion.
Somebody in the comments said it's because the response centre is based there, so whenever someone calls 999 in the local area they come from Chatham, which makes sense
Don't think i will be hurrying down to Kent to visit these town...Everyone thinks the south east as being posh....every town up north seems to be doing so much better
The centre of town is pretty terrible but go to residential areas mile out of the centre and it’s a different story. I guess they’re all driving to the big shopping centres.
I live near Maidstone (close to Chatham) I would advise giving these places a hard pass. They're even more dismal in real life than this video shows. If you must try Kent then try Faversham.
@@fboylan16 Chatham maybe, wouldn't say that about Maidstone though!
@@fboylan16😅
As a general rule, anything along the north and east coasts of Kent from the Thames around to Folkestone is not great or awful, and anything further inland really is the nice posh 'Garden of England'.
If it seems a bit like parts of the North suffering from post-industrial decline... that's because it is. Kent's coastal towns, especially along the north Kent coast, were very industrial; lots of heavy industry like steelworks and brickworks, shipbuilding, coal mining, paper making and so on. Most of that is gone, other than the DS Smith paper mill at Kemsley.
Yikes. Each place was strangely unique. I would be a bit disturbed by the speeding police cars everywhere. The grafitti in that first place was oddly picturesque at times. Such a shame to see these places in such states. 😢 Hopefully they can be revitalized.
Let's hope so Donna!
The thing is, though, the town centres and residential streets close by are in a poor state. But I went to Gillingham by car last week, bypassing the centre by arriving from the M2, and residential streets a mile out from the town centre were clean and well kept. I think people there are shopping at the huge Tesco by the end of the motorway link road.
Yeah a lot of town centres are getting more and more neglected for that very reason - people are buying all their stuff off Amazon, shopping in out of town supermarkets, and have no need to go into town anymore!
Very interesting. As someone who grew up in Gravesend nearly 50 years ago and returned their frequently to see family I know what you mean. My only caveat would be you focussed on the town. Move a mile outside the town and you are going into more affluent areas. These people probably never go into the town. They go to Bluewater and similar places for leisure. Haves and haves not.
Cheers! When I walked the Kent Coast last year I did see some nice areas amongst all the heavy industry. Greenhithe seemed especially nice.
omg margate looks so depressing :/ sad to see the towns decline like that. Never been to Gravesend but god! Britain can do depressing towns so well i think lol So grey and bleak in winter especially, not been to Dover either i dont think. The cliffs are the best bit lol the graffiti in chatam with the guy and the cone lol definitely unique with the open air barber. Not heard of Gillingham but loving the series, its crazy to see so many towns like this, wish this country would stop building new flats people cant afford and fix the places we already have
indeed, these places do not make you dream... 😱😱
Alcratz prison has better amenities than Margate has.
Gravesend or Chatham I wouldn't board my dog in them.
Why are properties so expensive then
Because people are daft enough to pay
Omg. Reminds me of that song "this town, reminds me of a ghost town". 😅
I literally put that song on my Instagram when I posted this video 🤣
Omg I'll have to follow you on ig.
Gr8 minds...huh?
my favourite band the Specials and esp Ghost Town . born and bred in Gillingham , was better in the 80s before Thatcher closed the dockyard down
The town centre apart from the old town that is, is sh##. A post war urban car crash of a place.
Ban
Margate.
Even the worst towns have clocktowers. Sad we don't have too many of these stateside.
As bleak as this was, I like your narration. It's more comedic, if anything.
Thanks, in the UK we call it gallows humour 😆
hermoso el recorrido que dejas aqui
saludos amigo
mi klije from this channel too dear friend, have a great weekend
how can you say gravesend sounds ominous without explaining the origin of the name ?? plum
Can still sound ominous regardless of the origin of the name 😅
very nice one like for this soo nice
oh wow and where did the sea go? unfortunately there are many cities across Europe where decadence is taking over 😔
Sheerness in kent would be the worst. Even canterbury would be low down on your list also.
Im from kent originally but moved up north and wouldn't go back down to live.
I'm from Sheerness so it was exempt on my list 😆 Canterbury has its flaws but still has a lot more going for it than anything on this list
A super look at the good, the bad the plain ugly on 5 towns in Kent. Those sea fronts have seen better days but I guess most people go abroad these days and the old entertainment is literally left to crumble. Some of the town centres look quite good but Gillingham doesn't look the best. Then again that goes for most towns in England these days, sadly. Even a lot of the graffiti is bad mixed in with some good stuff. I've actually never been to any of these towns and you're not really making me want to visit. Then again I'm not a city and town person 🙂
Wow, if thats fifth worst. What on earth are the rest like ?
They get worse 😆
I was born in Gillingham, Left in 2015 now live in Thailand and yes what a dump Gillingham is!
Well done on getting out mate!
gran lugar amigo
de lo que tu compartes
Gravesend - those will be flats, not a car park (so I have been told). I grew up there in the 80/90's - not a very pleasant town, glad I left!
Ah, flats is a slight improvement, I guess! I agree, it's not somewhere that makes you want to spend any longer there than you have to, and since I recorded this video they've stopped the Tilbury Ferry, meaning one less form of escape too
Kent really needed that Paramount/Disney Studio Themepark, would have changed the whole of Medway .
For sure! So much potential there
I still have family who live the near the stadium, and they're the only reason I still go back there. Big demographic changes happening in Chatham and Gillingham, thus contributing further to the decline.