Great expectations

There's plenty to look forward to in and around Medway, in Kent. The conquering Normans soon got busy building awesome Rochester Castle to defend the Medway Estuary, before setting to work on the cathedral next door, soon to become a place of pilgrimage thanks to the miracles of Wiliam of Perth, a humble butcher who was murdered nearby. Chatham came to fame as the Tudors' premier naval base and Elizabeth I added interest in the form of Upnor Castle, built to protect the dockyard and the fleet which anchored here. The 80-acre Historic Naval Dockyard Chatham is now Europe's most important maritime heritage location, encompassing all things naval from powerful fighting ships to The Ropery, still turning out ships' rigging from a workshops ¼ of a mile long. Its landward guardian, Fort Amherst, is Britain's most complete and exciting Napoleonic fort. Charles Dickens was a familiar figure in these Medway towns, for he lived as a child at Chatham and died at Gad's Hill Place, near Rochester - much featured in his novels. Rochester's historic centre, which retains a Dickensian air, hosts a Dickens Festival in June and a permanent Dickens display at the Guildhall Museum on Rochester's Historic High Street.

Your country escape

Leads onto the Hoo Peninsula just north of Rochester and straight into the pages of Great Expectations. The woods and marshes around the village of Cooling, where Pip had his first, terrifying encounter with the convict Magwitch, are now noted for spectacular birdwatching at RSPB reserves at Northward Hill and Cliffe Pools. The UK's largest colony of grey herons lives here at RSPB's Northward Hill, at High Halstow, where the car park marks the start of the Heron Walking Trail. Follow the trail as it plunges into bluebell woodlands noted for their turtle doves and nightingales, then walk on to where it joins a section of the Saxon Shore Way which marks the coastline as it was in Roman times. The trail strikes out on its own again to pass through woods and fields, and over two stiles, to the Heron Viewpoint. This is a sight to remember: from late February to September, 150 pairs of grey herons can be seen nesting in the treetops and 50 pairs of little egrets now also colonise the woods. From here, retrace your steps or walk on to Decoy Hill Road where you leave the RSPB Reserve and turn right onto public footpaths to Forge Common, with its views of across the Estuary marshes, a breeding ground for lapwings and redshanks and home to winter waders and wildfowl and birds of prey. Cut across the common and turn right onto Northwood Avenue to regain the car park at High Halstow.

Fact file

Distances 3 miles, or 4 miles via Forge Common; time 1 hour or 1 ½ hours; waymarked with Heron logo. NB: dogs are not permitted in the Heronry. Map ref: OS Landranger 178. Free leaflet with details of this and other Heron Trails from Medway Visitor Information Centre.
Website: www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/n/northwardhill/index.asp

To complete your break you might also visit:
Upnor Castle;
Rochester Castle,
Rochester Cathedral;
Historic Dockyard Chatham;
Gads Hill Place;
Royal Engineers Museum;
Fort Amherst.

Tourist Information Centre
Rochester:
Medway Visitor Centre,
95 High Street,
Rochester
ME1 1LX
Tel: 01634 843666
Email: visit.centre@medway.gov.uk
Website: www.medway.gov.uk/tourism

Travel by train to: Rochester