Reflections On Rochester
Rochester and the walk I took, shows a bit of a patchy nature. The eastern end is a bit scruffy and it looked like it wasn’t my sort of High Street. But get past the excellent Visitor Centre and towards the free-to-enter cathedral and it all improves. And then across the bridge in Strood, it all gets scruffy again.
The big change to the area will come when the new station at Rochester opens in 2015 and refurbishment work at Strood station finishes. Judging by the early stage of the building at Rochester station, I do wonder if they’ll meet their target. I do wonder though, if this will make any difference to those in the area, who voted for Ukip in the recent by-election, as I suspect the average Ukip voter probably doesn’t put trains at the top of their priorities!
Rochester together with Chatham is also an easy day out from London, especially if you use the High Speed service. I do wonder if visitor numbers would be improved if Off Peak tickets from London on the High Speed service were more affordable. (At present an Off Peak Return on High Speed is £20.80 and by normal trains it’s £12.65!) My train out was virtually empty, so reducing fares for non-existent passengers wouldn’t cost much!
So Rochester has probably got a lot of things going for it, but whether the negative connotations of the kippers will put off visitors, can only be judged in a few years time.
A Station With A New Bridge, But No Facilities
At the present time, Strood station is being improved but it does strike me that the planning of this project, is not up to the usual standard.
I didn’t take a picture of the problem, but this busy station may have a bridge, that gives good access for all, but on the day I used the station, the ticket office was closed and the single ticket machine couldn’t cope and a long queue had developed. One harassed member of staff was trying to deal with the problem of those unfamiliar with the machine.
I arrived with plenty of time to catch the 12:35 back to London, but by the time I got my ticket, the train was pulling out of the station. So I had to wait thirty minutes on the rather cold platforms.
Surely South Eastern could have rustled up an extra member of staff with a hand machine, to help passengers get on the trains.
A few signs and a clean up of the tunnel would have helped too!
Is this the way that companies treat everybody in Rochester and Strood?
If it is, it’s no wonder that they voted for the kippers!
An Impressive Set Of Bridges
Rochester Bridge is a set of four bridges that carries the A2 road, the railway and various services over the River Medway.
I liked it a lot. But where was the information by the bridge, describing it for those that walked past?
A Solution To The Tea Bag Problem
In Rochester High Street, I had a very nice cup of tea in a cafe called Dot Cafe. What a good name for a cafe with good internet and wi-fi.
As you can see milk was served alongside in a small wider jug, which was an ideal place to put the teabag. The lady in charge said that was what you did!
A simple idea that solves a messy problem! Perhaps you could put some words on the jug like “Milk – After The Teabag”
Nigel Was Here!
I took this photo outside a pub on Rochester High Street!
Nigel Was Here!
Yuck!
Although the High Street was generally tidy, there were places with a bit of an air of being run-down.
In some ways you can understand, why they voted for the kippers.
Walking Between Rochester And Strood Stations
I took the South Eastern Class 395 and explored Rochester.
I walked along the High Street, visited the cathedral, castle and the museum before crossing the Rochester Bridge to get the train home from Strood.
The Anonymous Widower 