Off-Beat Day Trip from London: Chatham, Isle of Sheppey, Rochester...
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Off-Beat Day Trip from London: Chatham, Isle of Sheppey, Rochester...
If you've done all the usual day trips from London and looking for some places that see relatively few foreign tourists head east of London to Kent and the historic twin towns of Chatham and Rochester and dip down to the Isle of Sheppey to Sheerness.
I did this all by train - first to Chatham - a nice but not spectacular town - my main aim was to visit the historic Royal Navy Dockyard.(http://www.thedockyard.co.uk/) to marvel at the once awesome and still formidable British naval history in its museums and artifacts and old ship repair/construction buildings.
As it turned out they were staging one of those ubiquitous WW2 re-enactments there so seeing the Nazi Swatiska on uniforms at first unnerved me.
Next it was hoofing it back to Chatham to catch a train to Sittingbourne where a shuttle train took me from that station across a bridge to the Isle of Sheppey and the fading (terribly!) seaside resort town of Sheerness. I walked thru the nice enough High Street with its weathered old buildings - took a look at the largely deserted beach (twas August!) had a can of strong cider on the beach and headed back to the train station.
Next stop: Rochester and Rochester Cathedral - Rochester was a thriving regional town (so was Chatham but I liked Rochester a tad more. I walked the few miles from Chatham to Rochester.
Well it weren't the most awesome day trip I've ever took from London but it was one of the most fun - just did not know what to expect.
Anyone have comments to make on their visits to those three places?
http://www.sheppeywebsite.co.uk/
I did this all by train - first to Chatham - a nice but not spectacular town - my main aim was to visit the historic Royal Navy Dockyard.(http://www.thedockyard.co.uk/) to marvel at the once awesome and still formidable British naval history in its museums and artifacts and old ship repair/construction buildings.
As it turned out they were staging one of those ubiquitous WW2 re-enactments there so seeing the Nazi Swatiska on uniforms at first unnerved me.
Next it was hoofing it back to Chatham to catch a train to Sittingbourne where a shuttle train took me from that station across a bridge to the Isle of Sheppey and the fading (terribly!) seaside resort town of Sheerness. I walked thru the nice enough High Street with its weathered old buildings - took a look at the largely deserted beach (twas August!) had a can of strong cider on the beach and headed back to the train station.
Next stop: Rochester and Rochester Cathedral - Rochester was a thriving regional town (so was Chatham but I liked Rochester a tad more. I walked the few miles from Chatham to Rochester.
Well it weren't the most awesome day trip I've ever took from London but it was one of the most fun - just did not know what to expect.
Anyone have comments to make on their visits to those three places?
http://www.sheppeywebsite.co.uk/
#2
hi Pal,
I used to go to all those places when I plied my trade in the south-east. Worst of all was the trip to the Isle of Sheppey - the court at Sheerness was in a nissan hut. The court in Chatham however had a great view out over the river - one of the best views in town, and afterwards I would treat myself to a stroll around Rochester. As well as the cathedral there were some lovely shops including a china outlet store where I would spend my fee on things for the house - that was before kids of course.
The Dock yard is good - I remember the rope walk best.
Definitely worth a day out, though I'm not sure that I'd walk from Chatham to Rochester - I'm pretty sure that there is a bus or train.
I used to go to all those places when I plied my trade in the south-east. Worst of all was the trip to the Isle of Sheppey - the court at Sheerness was in a nissan hut. The court in Chatham however had a great view out over the river - one of the best views in town, and afterwards I would treat myself to a stroll around Rochester. As well as the cathedral there were some lovely shops including a china outlet store where I would spend my fee on things for the house - that was before kids of course.
The Dock yard is good - I remember the rope walk best.
Definitely worth a day out, though I'm not sure that I'd walk from Chatham to Rochester - I'm pretty sure that there is a bus or train.
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I spent about an hour there as on that day due to the reenactments much of it was closed to the public. Besides that I just wanted to see the place and did not have much interest in the nitty-gritty - perhaps if I were a Brit that understandably would have been different.
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Definitely worth a day out, though I'm not sure that I'd walk from Chatham to Rochester - I'm pretty sure that there is a bus or train.>
Oh yeh short straight shot by train - but I enjoyed the walk thru Rochesgter and over a long bridge into Chatham - don't recall it being very far.
Oh yeh short straight shot by train - but I enjoyed the walk thru Rochesgter and over a long bridge into Chatham - don't recall it being very far.
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