Day 33 Cobham to Rochester: Gads Hill and Rochester Cathedral

It would be a Dickens day...

For an OS map of today's walk click here.

The first couple of miles of our path to Gads Hill this morning was partly cleared for us, because a school in Cobham was doing a charity walk along the path and volunteers were clipping nettles and other growth away from its edge. The volunteers told us that about 1200 boys would be following about ten minutes behind us. It was wonderful to have things cleared for us. It was also fun chatting with various volunteers at checkpoints as we preceded the walkers. Today was quite humid, and as we walked across a golf course, one of three men teeing up said it was a bit sticky and we'd be welcome to water from a nearby drinking fountain. That was kind, though we were carrying water with us already.

Gadshill Place – Once Dickens's Home, Now a School

We briefly discussed two possible routes: one directly to Gads Hill, the other to a village called Shorne which was supposed to be pretty and had a Saxon church. We chose Shorne. The village was indeed very pretty but the church was locked, which was quite disappointing. We continued on to Gads Hill, which was the home of Charles Dickens in his later life, but is now a school. I had no idea if I could get in or not, so I left Ken with our heavy packs at the Falstaff Inn across the street, while I went to the school to see if I could take photos of the outside of the house. A friendly postman at the Falstaff gave Ken some good tips about how to get to Rochester quickly and safely.

The security at the school was tight. I had to walk all the way around the new building to get to reception, and then reception called to see if someone could take me round, then two people met and greeted me, one of whom would show me round. Christie was her name, and she was marvelous. Not only did I see the outside of the house, but also the inside. I wasn't expecting it to be a museum, and it wasn't—it was clearly a school. But the "bones " of the rooms were still there, with the Dickensian study still resembling what it was when he was there. She even showed me a Victorian toilet and noted that not everyone got a backstage tour of Dickens's loo! After about a half-hour tour, I hastened back to Ken at the Falstaff and we had lunch together.

Rochester Castle from Medway Bridge

We had a hot and sticky walk into Rochester. It's always a shock coming into the city after having been in the country—noisy, busy, hotter because of the pavement. We found some rest in Rochester Cathedral, which was cooler and more peaceful. We liked it, and thought the cathedral could have done more to feature some of its interesting and beautiful elements. After we finished our cathedral visit, we thought we would go to our B & B to see if we could drop off our packs before the Evensong service at 5:30 p.m. We arrived and found a note from the host that she was nearby and we could ring her (we had arrived early and hadn't expected her to be in). Since we didn't have a phone, we thought we'd walk back to the cathedral and wait for Evensong there. As we began walking down the street, we passed a car coming towards us slowly. Ken gave the driver a big smile, and she stopped a little further on and asked if we were the walkers. We were, and so we walked back accompanied by her cute little dog named Heston, while she parked the car. She settled us in our room with the most delicious cold elderflower cordial, which was extremely refreshing on a humid day. We rested awhile, then headed back to the cathedral for Evensong.

Rochester Cathedral Quire

Usually the Evensong service at Rochester Cathedral on Wednesday is said, not sung. There was a special service tonight, however: two choirs, one from King's School, Rochester and the other from New Beacon School, Sevenoaks, with some parents as part of the choir and playing instruments. There were three different students playing the organ, as well as some trumpeters.

Ascending the Pilgrim Steps

It was a joyous place to be, filled with the students' parents and other attendees at the service. The congregation was invited to sing as well on some of the hymns, so the volume was amazing. One of the hymns mentioned us singing praise in the evening while those in the west were beginning their day with praise in the morning, and that choked both of us up a bit. After the service, Ken turned to me and said, "Well, that was fairly sublime." It was indeed sublime, beautiful singing and joyous trumpet and organ. We didn't want to leave afterwards, so we sat outside the cathedral for awhile watching people exit. We then wandered down the high street, and chose to have dinner at Thai Four Two, which turned out to be a good choice with lovely warm curries and delicious noodles. A satisfying day.

26,017 steps, 19.512 km, 818.5 cal
OS getamap measured distance: 7.81 mi (12.57 km)