South Darenth boasts a supermarket, a cafe, a newsagent, a hairdresser and a post office/pharmacy, as well as two public houses: the Jolly Miller on East Hill and The Queen on New Road.

The village hosts a small brewery on St Margaret's Farm, called Millis, which supplies some of the pubs in the surrounding area.

The village history is relatively recent as it was developed around the Horton Kirby mill, originally built in 1820 by Henry Hall.

Some years later the site was expanded and converted into a paper mill which took up a much larger area, and included a small tunnel through which the River Darent was diverted.

In 1918 an extra 70 ft of circular stock was added to the chimney made of mostly red brick to ensure that emissions escaped from the valley.

After a few years a small fire station was built in the centre of the village which served local communities with a horse and cart.

The fire crew had a wide presence in the community, visiting schools and local youth groups as well as attending village fetes.

The A225 road between Dartford and Sevenoaks passes to the west of South Darenth, on the opposite side of the River Darent.

The closest National Rail station to South Darenth is Farningham Road on the Chatham Main Line, located approximately 0.6 miles away.

[1] The village is served by the Arriva Kent Thameside route 414 which provides hourly connections to Horton Kirby, Sutton-at-Hone, Hawley and Dartford.