Summer Programme 2024
Bombs to Birds
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Mike Hatton led a guided walk exploring the Oare / Uplees explosive factories sites. He explained the history of the site, and showed photographs from when it was in full production during World War I. He also has family connections and told us about the work undertaken there.
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There's still time to go and take photos, for the club night on 20th January, "Show and Tell: Explosive Works", so the details are left here.
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Location: The Watch House at the northern (seaward) end of Church Road, Oare (KWT Nature Reserve), see photo below. What3words: muted.jogging.peroxide
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Parking: There is a Ringo-style carpark (when the signs are not vandalised) and usually plenty of road side parking. Please do not park in front of field gates.
Toilets: There are no toilets. There is a toilet in ‘The Café by the Creek’, The Boatyard, Oare Road at the head of Oare Creek, if you buy a coffee. Why not Grab one on the way home.
OR - Sainsbury’s supermarket, Bysing Wood Road, also has toilets (5 mins drive away).
Brief History of the Sites
The Cotton Powder Company (CPC) commenced operations in 1873. It prospered and expanded, eventually covering over 500 acres, with over 200 buildings and employing over 2,000 workers producing many types of explosives.
Explosives Loading Company (ELC) arrived in 1912. Much smaller than the CPC with only about 30 buildings. Its main activity was compressing explosives into shells, torpedoes, bombs and mines.
The two sites were cleared in the 1920s and returned to grazing marsh.
In 1984 Kent Wildlife Trust acquired part of the marsh to manage as a nature reserve.​