Grays Tourist Information

Grays, situated on the North bank of the Thames, 4 miles East of the M25 and Dartford, is only about 25 miles from London. The 2,872 metre QEII Bridge, also some 4 miles away, is the longest cable stayed bridge in Europe.

Grays has an expanding and multi-cultural community and the area attracts many visitors - primarily shoppers attracted by the nearby Lakeside shopping centre. Lakeside is one of Europe's largest shopping centres with an adjacent warehouse based retail park. Lakeside offers bars, eateries and restaurants, two cinemas and a Scuba Diving school as well as the obvious shopping facilities.

Grays lies between Purfleet (made famous in Bram Stokers's Dracula novel) and Tilbury on the river, both of which are still active commercial ports. At Tilbury you can still visit the site of Queen Elizabeth I's historic address to the English forces as the Spanish Armada threatened the English Channel in 1588:

"I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman: but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and a king of England too."

Grays has its own theatre (Thameside Theatre), a library, an attractively landscaped beach and waterfront walkway area and a long history. The town centre is vibrant and offers both a Saturday and various mid-week Markets, a nightclub and an eclectic mix of restaurants from traditional chippies and Pie and Mash, through French, Italian, West Indian, Turkish, Chinese, Thai and Indian.

Description by Robin Brown