Our rest day at the North Downs Barn B&B started with a delicious breakfast at a well-stocked breakfast bar.
After breakfast we toured the B&B’s property and lovely gardens.
Always ready for a little adventure, we called a taxi and headed to Rochester, just 4 miles away. The very visible Rochester Castle, with its commanding position on the River Medway, immediately caught our attention.
The castle was built in 1080 and its Norman Tower was completed in about 1127 by the Archbishop of Canterbury and endured three sieges in the 1200’s. The castle fell into ruin in the 17th-century and is now the tallest medieval structure of its type to survive in all of Europe. Visitors today can climb the castle stairs while exploring this fortress.
Rochester Cathedral is the second oldest cathedral in England, having originally been constructed in 604AD and rebuilt in 1080.
Leaving the castle and cathedral, we walked over to historic High Street. Charles Dickens’ home, Gad’s Hill Place, is located near Rochester and Dickens often drew on the town’s landmarks to use in his novels. Immediately as we approached High Street we noticed Chertsey’s Gatehouse which became Jasper’s Gatehouse in Dicken’s unfinished The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
Eastgate House was erected in 1590 and is just a short distance from Chertsey’s Gatehouse. Dickens renamed Eastgate to Westgate in his Pickwick Papers and to the Nun’s House in The Mystery of Edwin Drood. The building
Behind Eastgate House is the miniature Swiss Chalet that an actor friend gave to Dickens in 1864. This Chalet was originally assembled in the gardens of Dickens home, Gad’s Hill Place, but across a road. To ease access to the chalet and avoid this busy and muddy street, a tunnel was built connecting the two buildings. This became a great resource during the summer months and the author wrote many of his classic tales there. In 1960, the Chalet was moved near Eastgate House’s Dickens Museum as a tribute to the author.
After a late lunch of tea and cakes, we picked up dinner to take back to the B&B, where we spent a relaxing afternoon.
One thought