London - There is no avoiding Charles Dickens in Rochester - he is everywhere. And who can blame this Medway town for cashing in on its most famous resident? Dickens lived for many years at Gad's Hill Place in nearby Higham and used many of Rochester's buildings as locations for scenes in his novels.
The town becomes Cloisterham in The Mystery of Edwin Drood; Topes restaurant in the high street is the home of Mr Tope, the verger, in the same novel; Restoration House (Satis House in Great Expectations) in Crow Lane is where Miss Havisham leads her life of regret; and out in the marshes at Cooling, the graveyard of St James's Church was the inspiration for the place where Pip has his terrifying encounter with Magwitch in one of Dickens's most chilling scenes.
Stepping back in time
Rochester's history stretches back centuries before Dickens. Its skyline is dominated by its great Norman cathedral and the extensive ruins of its castle. King's School, founded in the seventh century, claims to be the second-oldest school in the world (after The King's School, down the road in Canterbury) and the town was home to two martyrs: John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, who was executed by Henry VIII for opposing his divorce from Catherine of Aragon, and Nicholas Ridley, who was executed by the Catholic Queen Mary.Rochester is one of the four Medway towns - the others being Chatham, Gillingham and Strood. It sits close to the mouth of the River Medway in Kent, some 30 miles south-east of London on the M2 motorway.
What is there to buy?
Rochester has a lovely cathedral quarter dominated by King's School and cathedral offices. Elsewhere, there is a mix of Georgian and Victorian houses and cottages, and in recent years modern flats have been built along the river. The most popular nearby villages are Cobham to the west and Aylesford to the south.
Rochester has a strong local market, with people trading up and down, but there is also demand from London buyers, especially from the south-east of the city. Estate agent Mark Lockwood, of Robinson Michael & Jackson, says people are attracted by the town's history. “Once people buy into the town, they tend to stay,” he says.
St Margaret's Street sits on a bluff overlooking the Medway with many houses constructed to take advantage of the view. Estate agent Machin Lane is selling a five-bedroom Georgian house in the street for £750 000 (see homesandproperty.co.uk/margarets). In the same street is a two-bedroom flat in Fort Clarence - converted from a former defensive fort - which Mann Countrywide is selling for £390 000 (homesandproperty.co.uk/fortclarence).
Rochester has many two-bedroom Victorian terrace cottages that sell for around £125 000 and are popular with first-time buyers.
Shops and restaurants
Rochester has a charming high street full of independent cafés, restaurants, boutiques, a butcher and a deli. Worth seeking out are: Thoroughly Wood, for hand-made kitchens; the Deaf Cat café; Hometown, which is plugging into the fashion for sewing and patchwork; and the Francis Iles gallery for exhibitions and art materials.
Topes and Oliver's, also in the high street, are popular restaurants; locals also make for Hengist in Aylesford. For popular shopping chains, there is the Pentagon centre in Chatham and Bluewater is only 12 miles up the A2.
Open space
There are parks at the castle and along the Esplanade. Shorne Woods Country Park, in Gravesend, has acres of woodland, a visitors' centre and café; Riverside Country Park, Gillingham, on the Medway estuary, has an eerie beauty.
Leisure and arts
There are three major festivals when the streets are packed with people in Victorian frock coats and crinolines. The Dickens Festival starts today and runs until Sunday 2 June, while the Dickensian Christmas festival begins in the first week of December.
Travel
A new £26m station is planned by Network Rail. High-speed trains to London St Pancras take about 34 minutes; there are also trains to Victoria (between 45 and 60 mins); Cannon Street (about 46 mins) and Charing Cross (about 75 mins). The cost of an annual season ticket is £3 672 (£4,596 on the high-speed line). - The Independent