Dartford is a town in Kent surrounded by beautiful countryside while within easy reach of the hustle and bustle of London.
There are brilliant travel links here, making it a great commuter town. Dartford train station connects you directly to London Bridge, Victoria, London Charing Cross, and several other London stations, with journeys that can take as little as 35 minutes and average about 50 minutes. There are excellent bus services in the town, taking residents to Bluewater Shopping Centre and Ebbsfleet International station with its direct access to the Eurostar. For those travelling by car, Dartford is well located as it sits where the A2 connects with the M25.
Dartford is well sought after due to its excellent schools. There are many primary schools to choose from that have good and outstanding Ofsted ratings. The secondary school options are good here too and include grammar schools like Dartford Grammar School, which Mick Jagger attended.
The town centre has a great selection of shops, including high street brands and some independents, such as Dartford Model Shop and The Dress Shop by Ahadi.
Bluewater Shopping Centre is just over 4 miles from Dartford, and it’s renowned for all the shops and leisure facilities it offers. It’s home to all the shopping brands you could ever need, such as River Island, Sweaty Betty, LEGO, John Lewis and Next. There’s also a Showcase Cinema de Lux, Gravity Trampoline park, Pirate Cover Adventure Park and more. All of this shopping and activity is bound to make you hungry, so there’s plenty of well-known food and drink outlets to make the most of, including Krispy Kreme, Café Rouge and Browns.
Dartford has some great independent places to eat, including Bella Venezia, Sedir Restaurant (serving Mediterranean food), and Dartford Dosa House, a Sri Lankan restaurant. It also has many pubs, such as Royal Oak, a traditional pub with some outdoor seating to enjoy in warmer weather. Dartford Jug is a popular local micropub set up by three friends and serves their favourite cask ales and ciders.
Healthcare is readily available in Dartford, with plenty of local GPs and pharmacies, and there’s a hospital just outside of the town centre too.
Dartford is surrounded by beautiful countryside, and there are also some great local green spaces, like Dartford Heath and Dartford Park. Darenth Country Park is just outside of the town centre and has play areas, picnic spots, a lovely orchard, as well as gorgeous views of the surrounding countryside.
The Mick Jagger Centre is a great venue with two stages, a dance studio and a bar. It holds workshops in the summer months and has Dartford Music School based there all year round, offering music lessons to people of all ages. Dartford also has The Orchard Theatre, which hosts excellent theatre productions, comedy sets and music performances from well-known names and new artists and companies.
