KENT, SURREY & SUSSEX - England 2012 and the Best of Wales - page 247

rooms themed on world cities, from the flamboyantly medieval Canterbury to the
pale New England feel of the Boston. The Stables Rooms, opened in late 2010, are
an additional eight rooms opening onto their own terrace. Some can be linked for
families, one has a spa bath and shower, and the others have smart shower cubicles.
And then there's the walled garden: huge, with a centuries-old ash, and yews that
date back to the spot's time as a Roman cemetery.
71 St. Dunstans St., Canterbury, Kent CT2 8BN. www.houseofagnes.co.uk. & 01227/472185. Fax
01227/470478. 16 units. £75-£130 double. Rates include English breakfast. AE, MC, V. Free parking.
Amenities: Lounge. In room: TV/DVD, MP3 docking station, hair dryer, Wi-Fi (free).
INEXPENSIVE
Cathedral Gate Hotel The name says it all: This is right next to the Christchurch
Gate and overlooks the Buttermarket. Built in 1438, it's packed with original details,
such as twisting corridors, and beams in the odd-shaped rooms in the roof. It's impos-
sible to give some of them en suite facilities, so the hotel remains a good-value option
at the city's heart. The restaurant offers cheap tourist fare (fish and chips, chili,
lasagna). There's also a small reception bar, and you can take your drink to the lounge
with its cathedral view, or to the roof terrace.
36 Burgate, Canterbury, Kent CT1 2HA. www.cathgate.co.uk. & 01227/464381. Fax [phone]
units, 12 with bathroom (shower only). £62-£75 double without bathroom, £105 with bathroom. Rates
include continental breakfast; English breakfast for £7.50. AE, DC, MC, V. Parking nearby £5. Amenities:
Restaurant; bar; room service. In room: TV, hair dryer.
Thanington Hotel This small, luxury, family-run hotel in a late 18th-
century building is a stone's throw from the cathedral. It may have only 15 rooms, but
it has a decent pool in an outbuilding with glass doors opening onto the pretty garden
with a fish pond, and a private bar (with an impressive collection of malt whiskies).
The rooms are understated, and superior rooms have four-poster beds.
140 Wincheap, Canterbury, Kent CT1 3RY. www.thanington-hotel.co.uk. & 01227/453227. 15 units.
£60-£140 double. Rates include English breakfast. AE, MC, V. Free parking. Amenities: Bar; 2 breakfast
rooms; TV lounge; indoor pool. In room: TV, hair dryer, Wi-Fi (free).

6

ROCHESTER & CHATHAM
Rochester and Chatham are 30 miles SE of London
The north Kent coast is an area that pays tribute to a pair of historic figures: Charles
Dickens and Admiral Nelson. The twin towns of Rochester and Chatham are less
than a mile apart, on either side of the meandering River Medway. The river proved
such a safe, deep spot that it was where England's warships were built for hundreds
of years, from wooden galleons to submarines. And it was the dockyards that, curi-
ously, were responsible for much that we remember of Dickens's work. He came here
as a youngster when his father started work at the Navy yard, fell in love with the area,
and featured its locales in his novels. Nowadays it's a place where history rules, and
you get a feel for the past in its museums and festivals.
Essentials
GETTING THERE Southeastern trains (about £16) run from London's St. Pan-
cras to Chatham every half an hour (40-min. trip), and hourly from Victoria (1-hr.
trip), and from Cannon Street (1hr. 15 min.) at rush hours; they call at Rochester
several minutes earlier.