321. Allhallows to Gillingham

I had booked myself into the Royal Victoria and Bull hotel in the centre of Rochester. I don’t think the place had seen much renovation or decoration since Dicken’s first visited the town in the mid-19th century! Dickens actually did use the Bull (referred to as the Boar) in the Pickwick Papers. In fact there is a lot of Dickens literary connections with Rochester and the surrounding area. As well as living in Chatham for a number of years he died in nearby Higham at Gadshill.

Today was going to be quite easy travel wise. I had left my car parked at the hotel and decided to catch a bus back out to Allhallows. I caught the 07:43 #191 bus from close to my hotel. The bus was almost full, mainly with schoolchildren. Unfortunately, I sat a few seats away from one particularly obnoxious little brat. He spent the entire journey, swearing, cursing and I don’t’ mean the occasional expletive. I don’t know if this is how he talked or behaved at home, who knows, but I was reluctant to intervene, as an adult I feared being accused of almost anything. I kept my mouth shut, waiting for the little sh*t to get off the bus and feeling sorry for the teachers having to deal with this behaviour.

I got off the bus in Allhallows, the journey time had been just over an hour and the cloudless sunny sky had me believing it was going to be warm. Instead I set off walking into a strong headwind, which was very cold. I had decided to avoid the south-east part of the Hoo Peninsula, as it contained just industrial areas container ports, oil storage depots and power stations. Also most the roads did not have footpaths or even verges to walk on, plus I would have to contend with lots of heavy goods traffic. I therefore plotted a route using public footpaths across fields and minor lanes. It was hard work walking into the headwind, as I made my way to Upper Stoke and then across more fields towards the Kingsnorth Power station. There is a single track railway out to the Isle of Grain, where all the industry is located and just before the power station I had to cross the railway line. As I closed the crossing gate behind me a goods train suddenly appeared, the driver sounded his horn (or rather whistle which is what they must do). Fortunately, I had seen the train and just waved to the driver. That’s the first time I have ever been delayed by a passing train on one of these crossings. Close by to the power station was another huge Amazon distribution centre.

I walked past Kingsnorth Power Station and headed for the Medway estuary joining the sea bank and shortly afterwards by the Saxon Shore Way. The grass sea bank soon disappeared and I had to make my way along a narrow pathway hemmed in by industry and boatyards. The footpath had excellent signage and I was able to pass through without any problems. Soon after the boatyards I had to walk along the stony beach, which would have been impossible at high tide. I soon came across a set of walls and brickwork that at first looked like a limekiln. In fact these were the ruins of Cockham Wood Fort, built in 1669 to guard the approach to Rochester, it was abandoned back in 1818. I eventually emerged with very muddy feet at the village of Lower Upnor. As I climbed the steep steps to get around the Ordnance Yard, the days walking had begun to fatigue me somewhat. It may have been the headwind. After passing through the charming village of Upper Upnor I arrived at a major roundabout which directed traffic towards the Medway Tunnel. I passed through Strood along the recently built Riverside Way. I could now see the Rochester Bridge over the River Medway. I could now see an old submarine moored out in the river. This was an ex-Soviet submarine named Foxtrot B39 built in 1967 and now in private hands awaiting restoration.

I crossed over the Rochester Bridge, which itself was under a re-build and popped into the hotel I was staying at. Here I dropped off my bag and replenished my water supply. I paid a flying visit to Rochester Castle and Cathedral, continuing along the quaint High street. Rochester is certainly a place I would like to return to and explore at greater length. I headed into Chatham, walking along the Dock Road and past the historic Naval Dockyards. I walked through the grounds of the Medway University and onto the Asda store there where I bought some food. My next destination was to walk to Gillingham railway station, where I would join up again with the Saxon Shore Way and end today’s walk by getting a train back to Rochester.

Not a particularly satisfying walk, but progress is always welcomed.

Distance today = 16 miles
Total distance = 5,876 miles