With time off for a walk around the town.

The Medway towns of Chatham and Rochester have a long history. Chatham is famous for its historic dockyards, it was once the largest navel base in England (during the time of Charles II) and in 1765 HMS Victory was launched here. Rochester is dominated by its Norman castle and the cathedral – although it has a cathedral Rochester is no longer officially a city due to an administrative oversight in 2002.

Both towns have strong links with Charles Dickens, who lived in Chatham between 1817 and 1821 – his father worked in the Navy Pay Office, and he in 1856 he brought a house close to Rochester which was to be his home for the rest of his life. The towns and area feature in a number of his books.

While wandering around the towns I visited the Castle, Cathedral, Chatham Naval Memorial and Royal Engineers Museum.

The rugby was less successful.