Isle of Grain
The Isle of Grain is a peninsula in north Kent, England, lying at the eastern end of the Hoo Peninsula. It is bounded to the south and east by the River Medway, to the north by the River Thames, to the southwest by the Stoke Marshes and to the northwest by the Grain Marshes.Most of the Isle is an important industrial area, home to a large container port and a power station, and was until 1982 home to a major oil refinery. A major airport to serve London is planned to lie just west of the Isle, and has aroused a lot of local opposition.
A considerable part of the peninsula is marshland and so is an important habitat for birdlife. Other attractions on the Isle include Grain Tower, a fort built in 1855 and in use until 1946. It was a centre for the military during World War I, and in 1918 saw Britain's last recorded outbreak of malaria.
Isle of Grain is also an alternative name for the village of Grain, the only one strictly on the peninsula. Wallend is the other settlement, and is almost entirely industrial. The Isle was once home to Port Victoria, built to rival Tilbury on the north bank of the Thames, but it no longer exists, having been cleared to make way for industry.
The Isle of Grain is sometimes confused with the larger Hoo Peninsula, containing villages including Allhallows and Stoke.