The UK’s 6 ‘richest seaside villages’ home to beaches and a prison – full list | UK | News
Data has revealed which UK seaside area has the highest gross domestic product (GDP), the value of all goods and services produced, per head.
West Kent, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) says, had an average reading of £42,175 in 2022. This is from the latest set of figures available.
By comparison, the Camden borough and the City of London recorded a huge average of £599,588 per person.
In West Kent are places like Allhallows, Hoo, Isle of Grain, Chattenden and Lower and Upper Upnor, which are located in the tributaries of the River Thames and River Medway as they enter the North Sea.
The conurbation formed of Chatham, Rochester and Gillingham is to the south.
Also in the area is a crucial wildlife habitat – RSPB Cliffe Pools.
Allhallows is home to Slough Fort, which is more than 50 miles from its namesake town in Berkshire.
Constructed in 1867, the function of the D-shaped defensive structure was to guard a vulnerable stretch of the River Thames against possible enemy landings.
This was during a period of tension between Britain and France following the Napoleonic Wars.
After a dogfight between an RAF and German fighter in October 1940, the allied aircraft crashed on the shoreline of the River Medway near Allhallows.
The pilot was rescued by the Royal Navy, but the plane remained a wreck in Allhallows until 1998 when the site was excavated.
This was after Kent and London county councils resolved to transform Allhallows into a major seaside resort following the First World War in the fashion of Herne Bay.
Hoo gets its name from the language of the Saxons, and may mean “spur of land”. It may also refer to the shape of the hills in the area. Its parish church dates from the 13th century.
UK Beach Guide rates Isle of Grain’s beach as three stars. It adds: “Despite being less than 30 miles from the centre of London this area feels as remote as anywhere in southern England.” The site also mentions the Hogarth Inn pub.
Chattenden was home to a military training camp, which opened in 1872.
Between 1876 and 1877, there was also a small convict prison on the site, which had cells for 100 prisoners.
Historic England writes of Upnor’s castle: “Set in tranquil grounds adjoining a riverside village, this rare example of an Elizabethan artillery fort was begun in 1559 and redeveloped in 1599-1601, to protect warships moored at Chatham dockyards.
“Despite a brave attempt, it entirely failed to do so in 1667, when the Dutch sailed past it to burn or capture the English fleet at anchor.”
