SITU offers corporate accommodation in Rochester and most other UK cities and towns, as well as an extensive range of apartments in London.
Lying on the River Medway in Kent, Rochester is a medium-sized town with a big history and, along with its neighbours Chatham, Gillingham and Strood, forms an urban area known as the Medway towns. It lies 28 miles roughly east of Central London and is well connected, firstly by train with Strood and Rochester train stations being less than 900 metres apart and, between them, offering services to London Victoria, Margate, London St Pancras, Charing Cross and Canterbury. The town also lies on the A2 before it joins the M2 about two and a half miles away just to the west of Strood, close to the Rochester & Cobham Park Golf Club. The M25 and M20 also run close by.
Rochester has both a stunning cathedral and a well-preserved Norman Castle, both of which loom impressively against the skyline when viewed from across the Medway. The area has a long and distinguished naval history, too, its strategic importance close to the Thames having played a large part in that. The area is defended by two lines of fortress, the first built in the Napoleonic era and the latter, outer line known as the Palmerston Forts were built in the 1860s. Many of these historical landmarks can be visited on a short stay in Rochester.
The other point of most historical note for those staying in Rochester serviced apartments is the ever-present ghost of the late, great Charles Dickens, who is intrinsic to the Medway Towns area. Along with William Shakespeare, it can be of little doubt that the prolific Victorian author is still the most famous English writer almost 150 years after his death. Dickens grew up in Chatham and spent his latter years in Gad’s Hill Place just past Strood. Satis House, the ruined mansion of wedding dress-wearing spinster Miss Havisham from Dicken’s novel Great Expectations can be found in Rochester, too, although it is thought that he also used aspects of Restoration House in the town for inspiration as well.
So, if you’re staying in our Rochester business accommodation and looking for something to do, the town and surrounding area has plenty of history-related attractions for you to try. The Guildhall Museum is a good place to start and includes the Dickens Discovery Rooms, while the late Tudor Eastgate House was another Dickens location. Huguenot Museum charts the history and art of the reformation protestants and there are is also The Historic Dockyard Chatham, charting naval history from Tudor times to the 20th century. Add in The Old Brook Pumping Station, the 6th century Kings School, which is the second-oldest continuously running school in the world, Dicken’s World, the cathedral with its 12th century legal encyclopaedia, the Textus Roffensis, and the English Heritage-run Rochester Castle and… well, in this area, you could go on and on.
But if history isn’t your thing – and it isn’t everybody’s – then other attractions and things to do in the area include Escape Plan LIVE, an escape room experience with a variety of games – yes, including a Dickens-themed one – and Chatham has an Odeon Cinema. For shopping while on a self-catering stay in Rochester, there is the Pentagon Shopping Centre in Chatham and Strood Retail Park, where there is also a Morrisons Supermarket. Rochester itself is very much about the High Street and Eastgate stretch, which has a number of boutique-style shops, galleries and antiques dealers.
For eating along that stretch there is the Don Vincenzo Italian restaurant, Elizabeth’s for French cuisine in a beautiful Tudor building, Topes for a typically British menu, as well as Thai and Indian options, among others. The Eagle Tavern is an old-style pub that holds live music events and there is also a range of excellent cafes.
Situ offers corporate accommodation in Rochester and most other UK cities and towns, as well as an extensive range of apartments in London.
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