Charles Dickens and Great Expectations - 1 day

Charles Dickens and Great Expectations –Tuesday 21st August and Wednesday 29th August

Depart London and head to Kent, rightly known as the Garden of England and the home of Charles Dickens. Here amongst the orchards and hop fields in the shadow of the Weald, Dickens sought inspiration for many of his works, including the Pickwick Papers, the Mystery of Edwin Drood and most famous of all, Great Expectations.
 

We begin by travelling to Rochester where Dickens spent most of his life. Crossing the River Medway we can almost see the ghosts of the prison ships that held Magwitch and the sandbanks along the Thames estuary where Pip would first encounter him. We continue to Dickens' beloved town of Rochester. It was here, amongst the gardens of the impressive 11th century castle, that he wished to be buried, but Westminster Abbey claimed him instead. We will stroll along the main street, part of the 2,000 year old Roman road, Watling Street and see Restoration House (Satis House from Great Expectations), Eastgate House (from Edwin Drood), now home to the Dickens Museum, then to the Six Poor Traveller's House (featured in the short story, Seven Poor Travellers). Of course, no visit to Rochester would be complete without a look in at Gads Hill, Dickens' former home where he wrote amongst others, Our Mutual Friend and a Tale of Two Cities and where he died in June 1870.
 

Time for lunch (food not included) in one of Rochester's fine coaching inns and taverns (perhaps at the Bull from the Pickwick Papers) before we drive to nearby Chatham to Fort Pitt Hill (from the duel between Winkle and Slammer in the Pickwick Papers). We see Dickens home at Ordnance Terrace and the famous dockyards where John Dickens worked.

We then follow the coast to elegant Broadstairs where Dickens would spend time at rest. The seaside town still retains much of the atmosphere and enchantment that Dickens would have loved with narrow side streets and delightful Victorian buildings providing a backdrop to the little sandy bay. It is here that we end the day at the Dickens House and Museum, at a home once lived in by Mary Pearson Strong, the inspiration for Betsey Trottwood in David Copperfield.

Price includes:

• Travel by executive Coach
• Full day services of a professional guide

Tour departs London at 08:30am, returning to London by 19:00