Are you ready for the big blast? At 11am tomorrow one of the country's tallest structures will come crashing down - changing the North Kent skyline for ever.

The 244m (801ft) chimney at Grain power station on the Hoo Peninsula, which is taller than Canary Wharf, will pay the price of progress when the demolition experts Brown and Mason bring down the stack.

EU directives on carbon emissions due to climate change have led to the demise of the oil-fired plant, although energy will still be produced from the site from a new gas-fired station.

The weather forecast for the area is slighly overcast but generally fair so the views should be good. There are a number of good spots across the Medway Towns to watch the demolition.

There are clear views of from the end of Copperhouse Lane and Bloors Wharf Road. You will also be able to see it come down in Sheerness and Queenborough, or further afield, there will be clear views from Southend.

If you fancy a walk, visitors can park at The Strand and walk along the Saxon Shore Way footpath, to Upchurch, where they can see the chimney crumble.
Pop along to Riverside Country Park, Lower Rainham Road, Gillingham, for a closer look.

Some lucky passenger will get a special view from the water on a special Jetstream Tours excursion which departs at 8.45am and is sold out.

The chimney will be the highest concrete structure ever to be demolished in Britain. The 244m (801ft) stack will be detonated by engineers, bringing down 40,000 tonnes of concrete, at 11am.

Vic Booth, from RNLI Sheerness Lifeboat Station, said: “Grain power station is directly across from the lifeboat station so we’ve got a ring side seat for when it comes down.”

He added that the lifeboat crews didn’t use the chimney for navigation as the boats have top spec navigation equipment.

Paul Jarvis, second coxman on the lifeboat, and skipper on the tugboat Intrepid, said: “All of the local mariners use the tower as a landmark because where ever you are in the estuary you can see it.

“You can’t aim directly on the tower but you can use it as an aid.

“It will be missed and people will have to go back to doing it the old fashioned way with charts and sonar.

“But it certainly won’t make the river any more dangerous.”

John Ward, 74, from Gillingham, worked on building the chimney for two years. He said: “I did all the form work - the bit you can see on the outside of the chimney.

“There’s three of four of us who worked on it still around in the Medway Towns so I’d really like to see it. And I wouldn’t mind pushing the button.”

Richard Bain, from Jetstream Tours said: “The chimney has been a landmark for many seafarers, often being a guiding beacon for those entering the Thames estuary.

"When we rounded North Foreland in April on our way home from Jersey, we could see the chimney clearly against the skyline and directed our course for the four hours of trundling along the Kent coast.

“The entrance to the Medway has always been clearly marked with this monument and can be easily seen for more than 20 miles out to sea.

"At night, its distant red lights also provides planes a reference point as they fly towards London and due to its height often pokes through the tops of clouds.

“It will change our skylines forever and will be sorely missed by those who were employed at the facility or involved in its construction.”