LONDON’S biggest port is a confusing place.
First of all, it’s in Essex not London, and it’s bizarrely a regular filming destination for Hollywood directors – doubling up for everything from Venice to Gotham City.
From Batman to Indiana Jones and even Paddington Bear, the port town of Tilbury in Essex is a big star of the screen.
When Christian Bale was Batman, he spent time filming at the docks while it doubled up as Gotham City, as well as the nearby Coalhouse Fort on the edge of the River Thames.
The Coalhouse Fort was built in the 1860s to protect the Thames – and in the movie was made to look like a prison.
Christian Bale isn’t the only mega star to have spent time in Tilbury, Harrison Ford, Sean Connery and director Steven Spielberg visited the docks to film the third Indiana Jones movie; Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
They even used the docks as the background for a boat chase, which they pretended was Venice.
And perhaps the most famous star of them all – Paddington Bear.
Tilbury featured in the first Paddington Bear film, at the beginning of the movie when the bear migrates from Peru and ends up heading into London.
Tilbury Dock is located in Tilbury Town, which features a star-shaped, 16th century fort on the waterfront that was built to defend the river against enemy ships.
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It was in nearby West Tilbury that Elizabeth I rallied her army, awaiting the Armada in 1588.
You can now visit Tilbury Fort, as it’s managed by English Heritage, tickets for adults cost £8.60 and tickets for children are £5.
Meanwhile, the train station in Tilbury Town has been shortlisted as one of the most life-changing stations in the country.
It’s part of the World Cup of Stations Competition where a group of shortlisted stations in Britain battle it out head-to-head in a public vote.
People have shared their own stories about the train stations to celebrate 200 years of British railway.
Tilbury Town has been hailed as a “key point of arrival for people journeying to Britain.
“From emigrants and returning servicemen to post-war migrants seeking fresh opportunities, Tilbury became a symbol of hope and renewal.
“One of its finest moments came in June 1948, when the Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury, bringing hundreds of passengers from the Caribbean.”
For more on trains , these two UK towns are getting new stations for the first time in over 60 years for £45million.
Plus, one of the UK’s most popular seaside towns to get new train station revamp in huge ‘spruce up’.
Here’s the shortlist of Britain’s most life-changing train stations…
The World Cup of Stations Competition has shortlisted Britain’s most life-changing stations…
- Abergynolwyn
- Ashington
- Bristol Temple Meads
- Cambridge
- Chesterfield
- Exeter St David’s
- Liverpool Lime Street
- London Marylebone
- London Paddington
- London Waterloo
- Merthyr Tydfil
- Preston
- Ramsgate
- Ribblehead
- Shirley
- Skegness
- Swanage
- Tilbury Town
- Vauxhall
- York