Chalkwell Coaches is a bus and coach tour operator in

Sittingbourne Sittingbourne is an industrial town in Kent, south-east England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient British trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons and next to the Swale, a strip of sea sepa ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it fac ...

History

Chalkwell Coaches was founded in 1931 by Harry Eglington as Island Luxury Coaches. In April 1931 a short lived

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. The ...

service began. During World War II all seven coaches were requisitioned. In 1969, the business was taken over by Eglington's son Clyde."Fleet in Focus: Chalkwell Garage & Coach Hire" ''

Buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for ...

'' issue 710 May 2014 page 81 In 1987, Chalkwell commenced its first local bus service from Doddington to

Faversham Faversham is a market town in Kent, England, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2, which follows an ancient British ...

. In 1990, it commenced operating services under contract to

Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs most of the county of Kent in England. It is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council ...

. In 1992, Chalkwell commenced operating Maidstone & District Motor Services day tour program. In 1993, Downsway Coaches of

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of the ...

was acquired. In July 1993, it commenced operating commuter services from

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteri ...

. On 12 July 2021, Chalkwell took over the operations of routes 360, 361 and 367 in

as a result of

Arriva Southern Counties Arriva Southern CountiesCompanies House extract company no 20314 ...

closing their depot in the town and handing the routes back to

. On 12 February 2023, most of the company's rural services in

, as well as the Sunday services in Sheerness were withdrawn as a result of funding for the routes being withdrawn by Kent County Council.

Services

As of February 2023, Chalkwell operate seven local bus services in the Swale area, centred around the towns of

and

. The company also operates a number of school services in both areas. Chalkwell currently operate the following services (excluding school services): Chalkwell Coaches operated commuter coach routes 780, 781, 782 and 784 from

Bearsted Bearsted ( , ) is a village and civil parish with railway station in mid- Kent, England, two miles (3.2 km) east of Maidstone town centre. Geography The village was historically concentrated around Church Lane and The Green which includ ...

and Kings Hill to the

Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

until May 2017 when the routes were withdrawn.Chalkwell exits the Kent-London commuter market
''Route One'' 4 May 2017

Fleet

As at May 2014, the fleet comprised 76 vehicles.

References

External links

*
Company website
{{Bus companies in South East England, state=collapsed Transport companies established in 1931 Transport in Kent 1931 establishments in England