Holiday apartment in Medway: history, nature and the River Medway
Accommodation in Medway
In the immediate vicinity of Medway lies Rochester Castle, which is listed as a castle; Rochester Castle is also the tallest keep in England. Historic Rochester hosts the Rochester Sweeps Festival, an international festival of folk music and dance that lasts three days and takes place every year on the first weekend in May.
File:SOS Bus Medway Dennis Dart (S398 HVY) in orange livery on The Brook near multi-story car park, Chatham, Kent, England.jpg
Photo: David Anstiss via Source, CC BY-SA 2.0
Culture
A significant part of Medway’s history is connected with Chatham Dockyard. Rope has been made there for over 400 years, and production still uses traditional methods today. The Ropery is one of the immersive exhibition galleries that convey the history of Chatham Dockyard and its people. The Historic Dockyard Chatham also features three historic ships and interactive museum galleries.
The Medway Aircraft Preservation Society is also dedicated to preserving the historical heritage: it restores and preserves historic aircraft and artefacts for public display. The MAPSL Workshop Visitor Centre and the Gift Shop are open to the public.
History
Eastgate House is a Grade I-listed town house dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. The present building of Rochester Cathedral dates back to the work of Bishop Gundulf in 1083; Christian worship has been celebrated in the cathedral since AD 604.
The collections of the Guildhall Museum tell the story of Medway from its Roman origins to the present day. The Huguenot Museum in Rochester is Britain’s first museum dedicated to the history of the Huguenots. The Royal Engineers Museum is the largest military museum in Kent and houses one of the most significant military history collections in the United Kingdom.
Fort Amherst was built in 1756 to defend the naval dockyard against attacks from the land. Visitors can explore the extensive complex of underground tunnels and chambers on a guided tour. Upnor Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument in Medway. The immediate vicinity of Medway also includes Upnor Castle, Rochester Castle and Cooling Castle, each of which is listed as a castle.
Nature
Northward Hill Nature Reserve offers many miles of trails through marshland, hay meadows and a woodland characterised by bluebells. Nearly 250 pairs of grey herons and little egrets breed in the trees of the nature reserve.
The Medway Estuary in Riverside Country Park is specially protected as part of the Medway Marshes Site of Special Scientific Interest. Riverside Country Park covers 100 hectares along the Medway Estuary. A different landscape characterises Capstone Farm Country Park: it covers 114 hectares of former farmland on the North Downs and features ancient woodland, old orchards, a freshwater lake, meadows and hedgerows.
Activities
Capstone Farm Country Park offers opportunities for walking, running and cycling. The Rochester Trail is a six-mile route marked with green waymarkers. In addition, Medway has more than 70 miles, or 110 kilometres, of cycle paths on and off roads, as well as national and green routes.
The River Medway links Strood, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham and Rainham. As a result, the river, historic places, protected marshland and trails with different characteristics are recurring geographical reference points in the region.
Getting there
Medway has five major railway stations: Strood, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham and Rainham. All offer frequent services to London Victoria and Charing Cross.
Gillingham, Chatham, Strood, Allhallows, Rochester, High Halstow, Chattenden and Isle of Grain.
For the higher-level travel overview: South East England.
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