172/174 Chatham – Rochester – Strood – Brompton Farm Road – Salters Cross

The 172, run by Nu-Venture, is one of those proper local routes that stitches Medway together. It starts at Chatham Waterfront Bus Station on Stop A4, right beside the river, and immediately puts you alongside the wide tidal sweep of the Medway as it pulls away past Anchorage House and Hospital Lane.

The opening few minutes are pure Medway townscape. The bus skirts the foot of the chalk ridge towards Rochester, passing Bath Hard Lane and pulling in at Furrell's Road before threading through to the Community Hub and Rochester Railway Station. From the upper deck (or simply a high seat) the view opens onto Rochester's tight knot of historic streets: the keep of the Norman castle rising above the High Street, the great Norman cathedral close behind it, and the brown river running underneath the bridge.

Past the Guildhall Museum the route crosses the Medway and lands in Strood, calling at Canal Road and Commercial Road. This is working Medway: chandlery yards, brick terraces, the sports centre, and the long curve of the High Street. The bus then turns uphill into the Earl Estate, with its quietly named streets, Chapter Road, Lancelot Avenue, Linwood Avenue, all gathered around the Salters Cross stop at the top.

From Salters Cross the 172 carries on into Frindsbury, a string of post-war residential closes spread along the ridge above the river. The stops come thick and fast: Burleigh Close, the fire station, Harlech Close, Farm Hill Avenue, Hyperion Drive, Lynette Avenue, Stonehorse Lane. Between the houses there are sudden long views north across the Hoo Peninsula, with its marshes, pylons and the distant silhouette of the Isle of Grain.

The route then drops down Lower Rochester Road into Wainscott, looping the village through Povey Avenue, Hollywood Lane, Jarrett Avenue, Greenfields Close, Higham Road and Liberty Park before turning back on itself. It's a neat residential circuit that gives Wainscott a proper link back to the riverside towns.

The return run retraces the same ridge in reverse, calling once again at Salters Cross and the Earl Estate stops before rejoining Strood High Street and crossing back over the bridge. Rochester Railway Station, the Guildhall and Furrell's Road slip past on the opposite side this time, and the bus closes the loop at Chatham Waterfront, depositing you back where the riverside walk, the Historic Dockyard buses and the Pentagon Centre are all within easy reach.

The 172 doubles nicely as a low-key day out in Medway, starting from Chatham Waterfront Bus Station on the riverside and ending right back where you began, so you can plan a leisurely loop without worrying about catching the last bus home from somewhere remote.

Begin in Chatham itself with a wander along the riverside walk by the bus station, where the wide Medway opens up towards the Historic Dockyard. The Pentagon Centre is a few minutes' walk away for coffee or breakfast, and there are independent cafes tucked into the side streets off the High Street if you prefer something quieter before boarding.

Hop off at Rochester Railway Station or the Guildhall Museum stop and you land squarely in the most rewarding stretch of the route. Rochester High Street is a near-continuous run of independent bookshops, antiques dealers and tea rooms, with strong Dickens associations along the way. The free Guildhall Museum is well worth half an hour for its prison hulks gallery, and a short walk takes you to Rochester Cathedral and the towering keep of Rochester Castle, with its grass moat and views across the river.

Back on the bus, cross the Medway Bridge into Strood. It is more workaday than Rochester but rewards a short stop: the riverside path at Canal Road gives a fresh angle on Rochester's castle and cathedral from the opposite bank, and Strood High Street has bakeries and chip shops handy for a takeaway lunch by the water.

Stay aboard as the route climbs into the Earl Estate and reaches Salters Cross. This is residential Medway rather than tourist territory, but the ridge gives surprisingly open views and is a good chance to see how the conurbation sits above the river valley. Continuing into Frindsbury and Wainscott, the bus passes close to several green spaces and playing fields if you fancy a stretch of the legs before the return leg.

Heading back, allow time in Rochester for a proper sit-down meal: there are well-regarded pubs and restaurants along the High Street, and the castle gardens make a fine spot to linger before the final hop back across to Chatham Waterfront, where the river and the dockyard horizon round off the day.