Chatham's history is somewhat different to Rochester's - it grew out of the a dockyard operated by the Royal Navy, which was established here under King Henry VIII. Chatham's subsequent growth was heavily linked to the dockyards right until they were shut down in 1984, and they're now open to the public to visit. You might be disappointed to learn I didn't do that, though I did walk past them and saw some remnants of Chatham's past along the way, but I hope the post I've written is interesting enough for you to enjoy nonetheless!
Chatham station
I'm only starting at the station because I want to mention two things I spotted around here. The first was Charles Dickens's old house at 11 Ordnance Terrace, which is a short walk away from the station. Dickens moved here when he was 5 from his birth town of Portsmouth, and lived here for four years from 1817 to 1821. This is also the same house the staff at Eastgate House told me about, you might remember. And yes, it's an ordinary house, people live there, but come on - Dickens once lived here!
The other thing is this statue of Thomas Fletcher Waghorn, who was a naval officer who was born in Chatham. He's credited with the novel idea of a sailing route from the UK to India through Egypt, even before the Suez Canal became a reality. But obviously that's not why I'm mentioning this - when I saw the statue, with two traffic cones on it, I knew I needed to take a photo of it. At the time I feared this might become outdated by the time I wrote the post, but it seems like people put cones on him all the time anyways.
Chatham town centre
Where Rochester's high street is almost photogenic, what with the cobbled streets and abundance of historic buildings, Chatham's is far more practical. Loads more shops and bookmakers, and it was far busier than Rochester as well. Maybe that's because more people live here than in Rochester, or perhaps it's because your Primarks and M&Ss appeal way more to people than local independent shops.
It's unsurprisingly also way more modern as a result - you won't be far from glass structures or dull brutalism here. Again, that might appeal to some more than others. but it also set the tone for the rest of my trip here - newbuilds mixed with river-filled ambiance.
It is worth noting this area is also known as the Chatham Waterfront, and has been the focus of intense regeneration efforts, following the closure of the old dockyards. I suppose I can't complain too much about the town centre considering what it might have looked like fifty years ago, even if it screams "geography case study" to me.
Walking along the Medway
Realistically, I only had a choice of visiting either Fort Amherst - a former military fortress notably used during the Napoleonic Wars - or the Royal Dockyard, and I chose the latter. And sure, I barely saw much of the dockyards, but I did have to walk there in the first place.
Part of the journey is rather pleasant - you have the Medway to your left, in places swarmed with mudflats, and the backside of Medway Council offices to your right. And sure, these offices, named Gun Wharf, look somewhat stylish; they're listed buildings, after all. But if you were to choose between looking at the Medway, glistening in the sunlight, or a bunch of offices, I'm pretty sure I know how you'd choose. In fact, stare along the river for long enough, and you'll spot the spire of Rochester Cathedral in the distance.
I may as well add now that Rochester and Chatham are incredibly close to each other - it's only a twenty minute walk at worst.
Eventually, though, I had to head away from the embankment, and walk along a busy main road. It was far less glamorous, let's leave it at that. But not too far from here, the entrance to the dockyard can be seen - this one, with the British coat of arms, is especially wonderful. Yet I couldn't enter here, a staff member told me so, and so I had to continue walking onwards. It's even worse when you consider this means I couldn't approach a figurehead from HMS Wellesley which stands not far from the entrance - you can faintly see it in my photo below, in the distance.
When I finally got to the dockyard, through the unguarded entrance where you'll find the old Police Section House, it felt like I'd walked into a ferry terminal. What I mean by that is that it felt very empty, what with the row of warehouses not too far away, endless parking spaces, and there were some people, but not a significant amount. Maybe I'd turned up on a particularly quiet day, or maybe everyone else was nearer the dockyard's attractions. But it did feel a bit unsettling at the time.
The Royal Dockyard (well, some of it)
I did manage to see the old Mast Pond - the only one that still exists, the other has long been filled in, and now exists as a car park. This is where they would have stored the masts of ships that were being built and repaired at the dockyard, yet now exists as merely a historical relic. It's probably one that's easy to dismiss on first sight, too, now that it's literally just a pool of water.
A few metres away lies the Bell Mast, which would have been used to summon workers at the dockyard back in the day. This specific one dates back to 1872, where it was initially a foremast to HMS Undaunted, which was the last wooden ship to serve as a flagship on active service. But whilst the ship was decommissioned in 1882, the foremast survived, all 20 tonnes of it.
I could have probably headed down to the rest of the dockyard afterwards, though it does look like the tickets to the Dockyard Museum are quite pricey. So in hindsight, it could have been best for me to head on further north.
St Mary's Island
Near the dockyard lie various shops and restaurants, while the Medway Tunnel runs beneath them, stretching onwards to Strood and other parts of the Medway area. The delightful marina isn't too far, either, and is also the result of redevelopment efforts of the dockyard. Before, this used to be an series of basins that were used by the dockyard.
Those basins are the only thing that keep St Mary's Island separate from the rest of Great Britain, by the way. It feels almost wrong to even call it that, considering it's a short walk across a bridge along the marina to get to the island. But island it is, undoubtedly.
St Mary's Island has mostly been marshland for most of its history. Otherwise, it's existed as a prison, a burial site for prisoners of war, and a nuclear waste disposal site, amongst other past lives. It's only really been since the 1990s that it's been transformed into yet another suburb. with near identical houses and parks and primary schools. The novelty of it being an island probably fades very fast when you start living here.
I spent some time walking around the island, once again able to walk along the Medway. There, I got to see the creatively named Blue Crane, which formerly stood at the dockyard. Otherwise, I spotted Upnor Castle on the opposite bank - this was one of the reasons why I'd wandered so far, in fact.
The castle was built to protect the dockyard, and was constructed in the mid-16th century, during a time of tensions between England and other European nations. You might think this would mean it would be given lots of attention, but you'd be wrong - it was notably hit severely by Dutch forces in 1667 during their Raid on the Medway, one of the worst defeats the Royal Navy ever suffered. Several forts along the Medway were badly damaged in Dutch attacks; in fact Upnor held up well in comparison, and the Dutch were unable to proceed any further beyond capturing two warships. Otherwise, it's likely they'd have attempted to burn down the dockyard, but instead, they were forced to retreat. That was also the only time Upnor Castle was involved in any action, and has lived out the rest of its life as a tourist attraction.
Otherwise, my trip to the island was all done, and I was happy enough to head back to the mainland.
Epilogue
There wasn't even much else to do in Medway, either. I was hoping to head down to Gillingham for a bit, but I didn't have much time left in the day. Instead, I caught a bus back to Rochester, and headed back to London. On the whole, the trip was definitely worth it, especially once I saw my step count.
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