Magnificence in Medway: celebrating royally

Magnificence in Medway

The region and its famous river will join the nation for a right royal celebration

The region takes its name from the mighty River Medway that, for thousands of years, has linked the historic towns of Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham, Rainham and Strood. And it’s on the river that one of the Bank Holiday weekend’s biggest on-the-water events will take place when historic, commercial and recreational vessels come together for the Platinum Jubilee Medway River Pageant on Saturday, June 4.

The collection of craft will assemble at Queenborough Harbour on the Isle of Sheppey on Friday evening before parading up the river to Sun Pier at Chatham the following day. The pageant will reach its climax at 3.30pm with ‘The Great Cacophony’ – a synchronised spectacle of sights and sounds from ship to shore generated by the ships, viewing public and shoreside attractions and churches, further amplified by the whistles of steam locomotives at The Historic Dockyard Chatham and a gun salute at Fort Amherst.

Entertainment will focus on Sun Pier and along Chatham Waterfront, where there will be food stalls, live music, craft stalls and more from 12pm onwards. Following the pageant, crews will go ashore to continue their celebrations on dry land.

Elsewhere along the River Medway, from Thursday June 2 to Sunday June 5 there’ll be

opportunities to watch all the events taking place in the capital from within the grounds of Rochester’s castle, where you’ll find the finest and tallest Norman castle keep in the country.

And along Rochester High Street and within the castle grounds on June 4-5 there’ll also be an invitation to step back in time and honour both the Sovereign and arguably Britain’s greatest author at a weekend of Dickensian discovery with a Jubilee twist.

The annual Dickens Festival (inset, above) invites participants to immerse themselves in a cultural celebration of literature and entertainment and take in character parades from bygone years, eclectic live music performances, prose and poetry readings and comedy skits. •www.visitmedway.org