145/146 Chatham – Rochester – Warren Wood

The 145 is one of those proper local routes that quietly stitches together two very different sides of Medway: the riverside bustle of Chatham, the cathedral city of Rochester, and the hilltop housing of Warren Wood. It begins and ends at Chatham Waterfront Bus Station, Stop C15, in the shadow of the Pentagon centre and within sight of the masts of the historic dockyard across the river.

Pulling away from the Waterfront, the bus slips past Anchorage House and skirts Hospital Lane before crossing the invisible boundary into Rochester. The view opens out almost at once: the long wall of red-brick warehouses on Bath Hard Lane gives way to Furrell's Road, where the Norman keep of Rochester Castle starts to dominate the skyline, with the cathedral's squat tower a little further back. This is one of the most history-soaked corners of Kent, and even a passing glance from the window takes in stonework Dickens would have known.

From Furrell's Road the route climbs steadily up into Troy Town, a tight grid of Victorian terraces where the bus threads past Fort Street, Rochester Health Centre and Onslow Road. The pavements here are busy with independent shops and corner cafes, and the houses step up the hillside in neat rows of yellow stock brick. As the road rises further into the Delce, the character softens to interwar semis and the long, leafy avenues that lead towards the schools: Delce Academy, then the Thomas Aveling School at the top of the climb.

By the time the bus reaches Warren Wood, you are noticeably higher than the river. Around Arethusa Road, Warren Wood Road and Orion Road the estate sits on the ridge above the Medway, and between the houses there are sudden, surprising views down towards the marshes and the distant Isle of Grain. The bus loops patiently through the closes here, calling at the Primary Academy and the parade of Orion Road Shops before turning back down via The Tideway and The Fairway.

The return leg retraces the climb in reverse, dropping back through the Delce, past Havisham Close (the Dickens references are never far away in this town) and down Catherine Street into Troy Town again. From Delce Road the bus rejoins Furrell's Road, with the castle and cathedral now framed ahead as you descend back towards the river. A final run past Bath Hard Lane and Hospital Lane delivers you back to Chatham Waterfront, having traced a tidy circuit of riverside, medieval city and hilltop suburb in well under an hour.

The 145 may be a local circular, but it stitches together enough Medway history and riverside character to fill a very satisfying half day out. Start at Chatham Waterfront Bus Station, where the Pentagon shopping centre is handy for a coffee and a quick browse before you board.

Before catching the bus, it is well worth wandering down to the riverside itself. From the Waterfront you can look across the Medway to the masts and cranes of The Historic Dockyard Chatham, one of the most complete Georgian and early Victorian dockyards in the world, with HMS Cavalier, HMS Gannet and the submarine Ocelot among its star exhibits.

Hop on the 145 and ride up through Rochester. Step off near Furrell's Road or Bath Hard Lane and you are only a short walk from Rochester Castle, whose great Norman keep is one of the tallest in England and gives sweeping views over the river. Next door, Rochester Cathedral, founded in 604 AD, is England's second oldest cathedral and rewards a quiet half hour inside studying its Romanesque nave and medieval wall paintings.

From the cathedral, stroll along Rochester High Street, a near-continuous parade of timber-framed and Georgian frontages. Look out for Eastgate House and the Swiss chalet in its garden, where Dickens wrote, and stop for lunch at one of the independent cafes or traditional pubs the High Street is known for.

Re-board the bus and let it carry you up through Troy Town and the Delce to Warren Wood. The estate itself sits high on the ridge, and a short walk from Orion Road towards the open ground on the edge of the estate gives you a fine vantage over the Medway valley, the marshes and across to the Hoo Peninsula on a clear day.

Returning on the 145, drop off again in Rochester for an afternoon in the Guildhall Museum on the High Street, where free displays cover the city's prison hulks, civic history and Dickens connections. From there it is a gentle downhill walk, or a final hop on the bus, back to Chatham Waterfront, rounding off a day that has taken in castle, cathedral, dockyard views and the quieter hilltop corners of Medway.