Welling is the next stop west on the Bexleyheath Line and the next stretch of the old Watling Street, which runs through it as Welling High Street. The 89 and the 96 both link the two towns, and our van makes the same short trip often.
Two kinds of house
North of the railway, the council built over 400 houses after the First World War. South of it, Welling filled up with 1930s semis once the Danson estate was sold for building, and the roads between the High Street and Danson Park are lined with them: a bay at the front, the hall and stairs straight ahead, and in many a lounge knocked through to the back. Both kinds generally sit on suspended timber floors, and boards or parquet often turn up under the carpet.
Parking round Welling
Two zones matter. Roads near Welling station are restricted from 1pm to 3pm on weekdays, the opposite of Bexleyheath’s morning zone, so a morning booking there is easy and an afternoon one needs a drive. The town centre zone around the High Street runs Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5.30pm. Away from both, most semis have a drive, and the hoses run from the van straight through the front door.
Busy halls near the High Street
Houses near Welling Corner, where the old Russian cannon stands, and along the main road pick up more grit and road film, and the hall and the bottom few treads show it first. Dogs walked in Danson Park bring half of it home on a wet afternoon, and the trail usually runs from the back door to the sofa.
Our Welling run takes in East Wickham, up Upper Wickham Lane, and the streets out towards Falconwood as well. School-run traffic on the High Street crawls at around half past three, so we try not to be loading the van then.
Welling pays what Bexleyheath pays. Bedrooms are £36 each and living rooms £43; the stairs are £41 a flight, and a landing adds £9.
| Job | Price |
|---|---|
| Carpet, one bedroom | £36 |
| Living room | £43 |
| Through-lounge | £61 |
| Stairs, per flight | £41 |
| Rug, under 3m² | £35 |
| Rug over 3m² | £51 |
| Bedroom carpet, booked with a tenancy clean | £29 |
| Living room carpet, alongside an end of tenancy | £36 |
| Stairs, with a move-out clean | £35 |
For the detail of how a room is done, see our carpet cleaning page. Blackfen, just south, is written up on its own page, and every other place we cover is on the areas page.