Prinsendam July 23 2010

What does Tilbury have to offer?

The downside of the move is that Greenwich is a more interesting place than Tilbury. What Tilbury has to offer is better berthing (get on and off the boat easily when you like), the ship being able to fill up with fresh drinking water, but sightseeing is not really what it is known for. It is basically a container port, with a revival in some cruising. You can however still do London excursions and HAL offer some.

You could still visit Greenwhich by crossing to Gravesend and catching the train. The Tilbury Gravesend Ferry is perhaps the most interesting thing to make use of in Tilbury as Gravesend has better shops and is prettier than Tilbury. The church St George's (I think it is at the top of the hill) has the grave (site unknown) of Pochohontas and the famous statue in her honour.

Staying on the Tilbury side there is Tilbury Fort in reasonable walking distance, see sat image. On the way to the fort, or possibly on the way back, you could stop off at the World's End Pub. I have never been in it myself, but the linked reviews might help to assess it. Perhaps a better recommendation is that of the Prinsendam's Hotel Manager as reported in Captain Albert's blog "he was really pleased with his lunch. This coming from a French connoisseur and hotel professional is praise indeed." .

Further downstream is Coalhouse Battery at East Tilbury. This is on the site of a Napoleonic fort for defense of the Thames and was once open to the public. Nowadays you can walk round the grounds and look at it from the outside, so it is not worth a visit really, as we shall sail past it on our way out from Tilbury. It also takes some getting to, down a maze of country lanes. I don't think you can get to it along the sea wall as Tilbury Power station is in the way.

The London Cruise Terminal, for all the hype on their web site, is a sorry affair.

"The London Cruise Terminal at Tilbury is London's only deep water purpose-built cruise facility, situated at the gateway to London, just 22 nautical miles down river from Tower Bridge."

"perfectly placed for transit calls to visit England 's capital city, Kent and the south east"

"Please note there are no facilities for visitors to wait in the Cruise Terminal but there is a viewing area from the Tilbury/Gravesend Ferry boarding area of the landing stage further downstream, should you wish to watch the cruise vessel depart. (This viewing area is closed on Sundays)"

"The refreshment kiosk in the lounge sells hot and cold drinks and snacks."

It was purpose built, but that was in 1930. Since then they have ripped out the railway which used to run right into the terminal, and British Railway stations of any size always had a restaurant in those days. So no restaurant or viewing gallery. They talk of a "viewing area" but this is just that you can stand on the ferry landing stage and look through the secuity fence to see the ship towering above you. Where my picture was taken. The terminal is adequate for departure, but not for farewells. If anyone is waving off on a Sunday (we depart Saturday, so the ferry is still running), you can still do so from the top of the ramp that leads to the ferry landing stage. It is further away, but higher, so you will actually get a better view of the ship departing.

There is a summary of useful information on Tilbury for cruisers at the Cruise Critic forum HAL European Sampler Roll Call. To access Roll Call pages you have to register, but this is worth while as there is a lot of useful information there on cruises by all the major cruise lines.

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