Journey From Gravesend To Tilbury

A Memory of Gravesend.

I can also remember the old ferries that sailed between Gravesend and Tilbury Docks. My mothers parents lived in Grays and my father also worked there, and so the ferry trip from Gravesend over the Thames was one taken very often. There were 2 ferries, the car ferry (this is now where the remaining passenger ferry sails from) and the passenger one going from the Town Pier. This was an impressive building (ar least me as a small child). There was a large waiting area, a ticket office and a man who would stand and check you had a ticket before letting you down the ramp to await the ferry. I hated walking down as you could see the swirling sea beneath the slats. There were wooden steps to climb into the ferry in those days, and it took a while to get across.
I can remember the slatted seats we sat on on deck, and they had strong rope and bouys attached ready for them to be used as life rafts if necessary.
There were seats downstairs, but it was a noisy and rather dingy space. It had gas or oil lamps to light it, and I recall them swinging with the motion. We only went down there if the weather was bad, and my poor mother who hated the water anyway, would cling to her seat absolutely terrified.
Once at Tilbury we would head for the trains. The terminus there was a massive building with a large central clock. There was also a restaurant, a Smiths paper and book stand and of course the gates to the platforms for the trains. At Christmas time there would be an enormous tree in the central area, covered with coloured boxes. I aways wondered what was in them, and who they were for.
Outside of the building you could get taxis or even buses.