Charles Dickens lived just outside of Rochester in Chatham as a child and returned to the area as an established author in 1856. Many of his books reference buildings in Rochester, and you’ll find plaques all around the High Street explaining their Dickens connection.
If you’re visiting London and want to experience a little English life outside the big city, Rochester is less than an hour away by train and would make a really fun day trip with its charming shops, eateries, cathedral, castle, and most importantly: the largest second-hand bookshop in England.
Since places are always enhanced by stories, here are five places that have a starring role in A Tale of Two Cities.
My own personal Canterbury tales don’t include thirty-one pilgrims, and my goal wasn’t the shrine of Thomas Becket, though I did attend an Evensong service at the cathedral and walk by the site of his murder, but for the three years I lived in France I made my own yearly pilgrimage to Canterbury. It became the last stop before my family and I took the ferry from Dover back across the channel, and I made so many memories walking the ancient streets amidst centuries’ old buildings.