Walks photographs

Rochester, 18-21 February, led by Richard Bedford.

Challenges in Chatham, Roaming around Rochester and Gallivanting about Gillingham...

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On Tuesday 18th February, Lisa Crozier, Pam Brearley, Sheena O'Connell and I travelled by train to Gillingham in Kent for a 4 night stay at the King Charles Hotel, objective: to explore part of our own country which was new to us. Our hotel was lovely and the staff delightful. We had also arrived in good time to explore Gillingham itself, with its multicultural atmosphere and exotic food shops.

We were joined on Wednesday by my cousin Tracey and her partner Steve, who live in Dorset and by Sheena's friend Anne, who lives in nearby Faversham.

This first full day was spent at Chatham Historic Dockyard, a 20 minute walk away by the River Medway and which proved a revelation. There is simply not enough space in this report to list everything! It's a huge site and we decided to return on the Friday afternoon after tired feet and legs told us we had covered a full day's ramble....and more!

The Ropery, which is a quarter of a mile long and still operational, provided the rigging without which the Royal Navy could not have sailed. We went on board a WW II destroyer, a Victorian steam warship and a nuclear submarine. Shinning up and down ships' ladders and bravely scrambling through the desperately narrow confines and tight hatches of submarine HMS Ocelot was both exciting and a sight to behold.

This is a most worthwhile place to visit with something for everybody.

On Thursday we made our way to nearby historic Rochester and began our tour with its impressive castle, climbing up inside its massive 110ft high keep.

Our steps then took us to the cathedral, with its beautiful interior, where we uncovered many interesting things such as ancient messages and prayers carved into the pillars by visitors and the deeply-worn Pilgrim Steps, used since the 12th C. Helpful guides provided a fascinating insight of life in Rochester through the ages.

The real gem was probably the Charles Dickens connection.

We saw the buildings featured by him in certain novels: the 17th C Restoration House was Miss Havisham's "Satis House" in Great Expectations, whilst Eastgate House was used in Pickwick Papers and the Mystery of Edwin Drood.

The highly informative Guildhall Museum completed our visit with its story of Rochester. In terms of focus of interest, this was a fabulous contrast to our first day.

A big surprise awaited us on Friday. We went to the themed visitor attraction "Dickens World" at Chatham.

Groups are taken on the tour by costumed interpreters, in our case a lively young actress aka "Flo"!

Not knowing what to expect, this in fact provided an amazing experience. It transports the visitor through time via a series of realistically staged situations set in cleverly constructed settings, such as Fagin's Rookery, Pip's graveyard in Great Expectations and Dotheboys Hall from Nicholas Nickleby.

Think Jorvik Centre only much, much better!

To round off our stay we re-visited the Historic Dockyard, continuing from where we left off on Wednesday. Even so, we did not actually see every aspect of this brilliant place.

One little additional human touch - Lisa and I went on a "grafitti hunt" and were intrigued to find messages carved into brickwork by servicemen long ago, dating from the 1700s. it was particularly interesting to find one from 1834, by a man serving in the York and Lancaster regiment!

All in all, the group verdict was that of an oustanding and thoroughly enjoyable visit, with many opportunities to explore part of our country's rich heritage. A big thank you to all for the fun company and making the stay so worthwhile. - Richard Bedford.

Lisa on board HMS Cavalier