173 Chatham – Rochester – Strood – Frindsbury – Wainscott – Lodge Hill

The 173 is a useful, characterful Nu-Venture loop that links the Medway towns with the quieter villages on the far side of the river. It begins at Chatham Waterfront Bus Station (Stop A4), with the masts and warehouses of the historic dockyard just along the riverbank and the broad sweep of the Medway opening out beyond the bus stands.

Pulling away past Anchorage House and Hospital Lane, the bus heads quickly into Rochester. The window fills with the town's distinctive jumble of red brick, Kentish ragstone and weatherboard. Stops at Furrell's Road, the Community Hub and Rochester Railway Station drop you within a short walk of the Norman keep of Rochester Castle and the long medieval nave of Rochester Cathedral. By the Guildhall Museum stop, the High Street's Dickensian shopfronts and tea rooms are right outside the window.

From here the route swings down to the river and crosses to Strood, where the canal basin and the old wharves are a reminder that this was once a working inland port. Calling at Strood Canal Road and the Post Office, the bus then climbs gently away from the water, past St Mary's Road and on to Frindsbury Extra, where English Martyrs Church marks the start of a more village-like stretch.

Frindsbury and Wainscott follow in quick succession. The bus eases through residential closes and along Hollywood Lane, with glimpses of open fields and the chalky North Kent ridge between the houses. Stops at Povey Avenue, Jarrett Avenue, Greenfields Close and Liberty Park give a sense of the neighbourhood rhythm: school runs, corner shops, dog walkers heading out towards the Hoo Peninsula.

Beyond Wainscott the landscape opens up. The bus reaches Chattenden, passing the primary school, then climbs to Lodge Hill, the former Royal School of Military Engineering training area. Hedgerows, scrub and woodland line the road, and on a clear day there are wide views back over the Medway estuary. A short spur drops down to Lower Upnor and Upnor Pier, with its yacht moorings, sailing club pontoons and the squat outline of Upnor Castle just along the shore.

The return leg retraces the villages, then loops back through Rochester via Star Hill and Jacksons Fields, calling at St Bartholomew's Hospital and Chatham Railway Station before easing back along the waterfront past the Dockyard Main Gate, Chatham Maritime and the modern quaysides at St Mary's Island. It is a short ride that packs in cathedral, castle, river, village and estuary in a single circuit.

The 173 makes a rewarding day out for anyone who fancies pairing the Medway's big-hitter heritage sites with the quieter waterside corner around Upnor. Starting at Chatham Waterfront Bus Station, you can begin with a coffee on the quay before the bus heads off through Rochester and out across the river.

Hop off in Rochester at the Guildhall Museum or Railway Station stop and you are within a few minutes' walk of Rochester Castle, whose great Norman keep is one of the tallest in England, and Rochester Cathedral next door, founded in 604 AD. The High Street between them is lined with independent bookshops, tea rooms and the Dickens-associated buildings of Eastgate House and the Six Poor Travellers House.

Back on the bus, cross the Medway to Strood and stay on as the route winds through Frindsbury and Wainscott. If you fancy a walk, the lanes around Frindsbury lead up to All Saints' Church on its ridge, with sweeping views over the river towards Rochester Castle and the cathedral tower.

The real off-the-beaten-track stop is Lower Upnor. Get off at Upnor Pier, Brissenden Close, and stroll along the shore to Upnor Castle, the small Elizabethan artillery fort that famously failed to stop the Dutch in 1667. The riverside path is lined with sailing clubs and pubs, and the Tudor Rose and the Ship Inn at Upnor are both well placed for a lunch overlooking the moorings.

Rejoining the 173, the return loop carries you back through the villages and into Chatham via the Dockyard Main Gate. Allow time here for the Historic Dockyard itself, with its covered slipways, HMS Gannet, HMS Cavalier and the Ropery. The bus continues out along the Chatham Maritime waterfront to St Mary's Island, where modern quays, cafés and a footpath around the marina make a pleasant final wander before heading back to the Waterfront Bus Station. With cathedral, castle, river fort and dockyard all stitched together by one short route, it is a genuinely full day for the price of a bus fare.