The Sheppey Obsession

The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the coast of northern Kent, that used to be a military, economic, and tourism hub, that much like the rest of the UK seaside “resorts”, has somewhat lost its prestige.

In the early 2000s, there was an iconic website called Sheppey Scum, which was the first-ever “spoof” town website. I loved this site, as it was very amusing, but it was so offensive it caused a lot of offense at the time (I now own this domain, but we will get to that later).

As a kid growing up in London, and Kent the Isle of Sheppey was the kind of place you would visit with your family at weekends, or more appropriately bank holidays, as despite being passed its prime by a long shot, still had beaches that were good (by English standards), amusement arcades, and of course Fish and Chips.

I also had my first “lads” holiday in Leysdown in Sheppey as my mate’s grandad owned a caravan there.

For this reason, the place was always slightly special in my heart, and every time I come back to the UK, me, my brother, and whoever else has the time and energy tend to make homage to the place, play on the arcades, and take pictures of how grim things are in the winter. 

train station in the isle of shippey

This year I was able to visit not just twice, but twice in the summer, which will mean no only doing a few street food blogs about the food of Sheppey, but also some fodder for my SheppeyScum.com 5.0. 

I’m aiming for it to be somewhat less offensive than during its original incarnation, but still having some of the charms of the iconic original. 

For now, enjoy the reviews, and watch this space!

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