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Unfortunately I didn't enjoy the festival like I used to. It has really exploded in popularity since I've last been and it was SO busy. Far too crowded for such a small town with a single high street. Sadly we couldn't see any of the stalls of the Christmas market – and we really tried. We even had to queue for about ten minutes to get a festive hot drink at a high street chain and when checking out the local shops several had a one-in one-out policy for crowd control.
That isn't to say that the entire trip was a fail, but it was definitely disappointing as it didn't live up to memories (and I've been raving about it so much that I convinced Laura to come along with me this time around 😱). Rochester itself was still a cute town to explore (we did a 45-minute walking tour from the visitor's office which was very informative about its history, the cathedral, castle and the Dickens connections) and I loved seeing the many people dressed up in Victorian clothes wandering the streets (not to mention there were actual reindeer!).
But I would recommend to visit Rochester outside of this one weekend a year when the town plays host to the Dickens Festival, so you can make the most of a visit without having to wade through the crowds. There are some delightful independent shops on the high street filled with cute home ware, stationery and gifts, and a trip down to the harbour is worth it as well (especially at sunset as my pictures below show). It's just a 45-minute train journey from Victoria Station so would make for a great day trip when you want to swap the city for a picturesque small town outing.
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🎵 Listening to: Josh Groban – Happy Xmas (War is Over)
🔹 Mood: Cold
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