Dartford Area Guide

Our area guide for Dartford offers a brief overview of the town and its attraction, properties, schools, history, council tax and public transport

Dartford Overview

Dartford is the principal town in the Kent Borough of Dartford. The town is a bustling residential area popular with commuters into London. Dartford’s surrounding neighbourhoods – Wilmington, Joydens Wood, Hawley, Sutton at Hone, South Darenth, Greenhithe and Horton Kirby – are all looked after by the Robinson Jackson Dartford office and these areas have village-like atmospheres, offering more semi rural living.

Dartford Shopping

Dartford itself has a number of shopping areas within the town centre, including the main high street, The Priory indoor shopping centre and Prospect Place retail park. All the big high-street names can be found in Dartford, including WH Smith, Sainsbury’s, Next, Asda Living, Costa Coffee, Matalan, M&S Food, Waitrose and TK Maxx. There’s also a small market, a B&Q Warehouse and plans for a new Tesco Hypermarket. Just a short drive away from Dartford is Bluewater – one of the biggest shopping centres in Europe.

Dartford Attractions

Dartford is best known for the fully professional Orchard Theatre, which is located next to Waitrose in the town centre. Its varied programme of events spans live music, dance and theatre. The Mick Jagger Centre in Dartford is also home to theatrical and musical events, and bears the name of Dartford’s most famous past resident. Dartford also has a Victorian Park with the River Darenth running through it. Within the park is a running track, a play park and splash zone, and a band stand. The annual Dartford Festival is one of the town’s highlights. Dartford Heath offers open grass land popular with dog walkers and families; it is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Dartford is home to Dartford Football Club, who play home matches at Princes Park Stadium and compete in the Blue Square Bet South league. Fairfield Pool & Leisure Centre is the place to keep fit and it also boasts a children’s soft play centre too.

Dartford Food and drink

Dartford has something for everyone, from the family friendly The Rising Sun Harvester to the Air & Breathe Nightclub. Take your pick from international cuisine, fast food and traditional pub grub, with many of the best places to eat and drink situated in the town centre.

Dartford History

The name Dartford stems from the River Darenth that runs through the town - Darent and ford. It is believed the first people appeared in the Dartford area around 250,000years ago and the town later became an important stop for pilgrims on the road to Canterbury.

Dartford Property market

Dartford has a wide range of property styles, from studio apartments through to beautiful five-bedroom detached houses. The town has benefited in recent years from many new developments including the award-winning Ingress Park (parts of it overlook the River Thames), Waterstone Park (close to Greenhithe train station), Braeburn Park in neighbouring Crayford and an exciting new development in Stone Lodge, which will provide accommodation in a listed building. The east side of Dartford contains three and four-bedroom Victorian houses, and popular three-bedroom semi-detached homes. The west side of the town is noted for three-bed semi-detached houses and detached properties, and also benefits from some smaller two and three- bedroom homes.

Dartford Council tax

Dartford is in Dartford Borough and these are the council tax valuation details for the Kent Borough of Dartford for the year 2011/2012

Range of Values (as at 1st April 1991)Band
Up to £40,000 A
Over £40,000 and up to £52,000 B
Over £52,000 and up to £68,000 C
Over £68,000 and up to £88,000 D
Over £88,000 and up to £120,000 E
Over £120,000 and up to £160,000 F
Over £160,000 and up to £320,000 G
Over £320,000 H
AreaA (£)B (£)C (£)D (£)E (£)F (£)G (£)H (£)
Bean 959.98 1119.97 1279.97 1439.97 1759.97 2079.96 2399.95 2879.94
Darenth 967.89 1129.21 1290.52 1451.84 1774.47 2097.11 2419.73 2903.68
Longfield and New Barn 961.42 1121.65 1281.89 1442.13 1762.61 2083.08 2403.55 2884.26
Southfleet Parish 954.86 1114.01 1273.15 1432.30 1750.59 2068.88 2387.16 2864.60
Stone Parish 983.50 1147.42 1311.34 1475.26 1803.10 2130.94 2458.76 2950.52
Sutton-at-Hone and Hawley 972.09 1134.11 1296.12 1458.14 1782.17 2106.21 2430.23 2916.28
Swanscombe and Greenhithe 1001.12 1167.97 1334.83 1501.68 1835.39 2169.10 2502.80 3003.36
Wilmington Parish 961.78 1122.07 1282.37 1442.67 1763.27 2083.86 2404.45 2885.34

Dartford Education

Dartford is known for many good schools, including renowned grammar schools Dartford Grammar and Wilmington Grammar. Some of the schools in Dartford and its neighbouring villages include:

Dartford Hospitals

Dartford is home to Darenth Valley Hospital and there is a walk-in medical centre in Crayford.

Dartford Transport Links

Dartford’s mainline station is located in the town centre and offers regular rail services into London Bridge, Waterloo East, Charing Cross, Cannon Street and Victoria, taking around 35 minutes to reach central London. Farningham and Crayford each have their own train stations. Dartford is a main arterial road link, where the A2 meets the M25 at junction 2. This stretch of the motorway is marked by the QEII Dartford Bridge and Tunnel – both toll facilities that link Kent with Essex (for Lakeside Shopping Centre). A number of bus routes travel through Dartford, linking the town to Bluewater, Greenhithe and beyond, and also to North Kent and South East London.