Railway Street Gas Station - Gillingham

For many years as a kid, I used to walk past this place on my way to and from school, always wondering what it was. When it first became abandoned, I wasn't into urban exploration until late 2013, when I started my exploring journey. One day, while walking to town, I thought I would finally check it out, as it had previously been used for pop-up car washes. The exploration turned out to be really simple, and I won't lie—it was much bigger inside than I expected! From the outside, it looked so small. This was my first time exploring a place like this, and I had a lot of fun. Plus, the fuel prices were incredibly low! My biggest worry was getting caught since it was right on a main road, but fortunately, I never did. I assume it was also an MOT centre back in the day, but I have no idea for sure. Another challenge with this location is that its history is hard to come by; not many people know the background of the place, although many have memories of filling up their cars there in the '90s.

 

Air raid bunker / Storage place - Chatham

I met up with another local explorer, who I believe was the one who told me about this place. We headed into the play park and jumped the fence to begin the steep climb down to the air-raid/storage bunker located next to the train tracks. Once we reached the bottom, we went inside the bunker, which is built into the wall of the cliff. Inside the bunker, there was also a smaller storage area. To be honest, I have no idea what this place actually is.

Some people say it was used during the war for train workers to take shelter, while others believe it was just an old train storage shed. It’s one of those local sites that people know about, but no one really has a clear idea of what it was used for since little historical information is available.

Coure Port ( aka cats eyes ) - Brompton Kent

Right next to the abandoned reservoir, there was this tunnel area. At first, I didn't know what it was, but after talking to a few people, I found out it is called Coure Port, also known as Cat's Eyes. I have no idea how it got the name "Cat's Eyes." Anyway, exploring this area was really easy; you could simply walk right in. Looking around with a poor light made it a bit spookier than it needed to be. There are only a few rooms, and they are empty, but the concrete block in the middle reminds me of something from Temple Run, though I have no idea why it's there. Apparently, there is a tunnel beneath it, but no one knows for sure. This exploration was quick, but one part did freak me out when I shone my light and saw two eyes looking back at me. It turned out to be just road reflectors on the floor. Regarding the history of this place, no one seems to know why it exists or what it was used for. Some people say it is an abandoned part of Fort Amherst, while others suggest that the ramp in the middle was a tank stopper from World War I. In any case, no one really seems to know the history of this place, even though it is well-known in the local area.