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I'm staying here for a week so any recommendations of day trips by bus from Canterbury?
Already visited
Margate (although may go back to visit Hornby railways if that's worth a visit?)
Ramsgate
Folkestone and further down the coast to where the bus from Canterbury terminated
Winsterable
Maidstone
Chartham vineyard (also manual-gated crossing and gate box at station)
Chilham Castle
Wye Downs
Blean Wildwood (has bison)
Littlebourne, Ash and Wingham are lovely villages (Sandwich bus from Canterbury)
Sturry has a signal box which is a block post
Howletts Zoo (Bekesbourne)
Dover to St Margarets via the cliffs is a nice little walk, it takes about 1h30 so it depends how adventurous you feel. There's also a castle there in Dover - though you do have to pay to get in and explore. The town centre of Dover is a bit of a dive but there is some nice history and scenery nearby to make up for it IMO.
There are some other nice bus routes in Kent including the 18 Canterbury-Hythe, 80 Dover-Deal, 2 Tenterden-Hastings, 102/1/0 Dover-Folkestone-Lydd-Rye-Hastings.
There’s lots of great things. I might add a few more things later, but I’d recommend a day trip to Sandwich.
Firstly, route 43 is a great route. Operating every 20 mins (hourly on Sun) is really good, which also enables easily stopping off at the villages along the way, especially Wingham where you can pit stop at The Anchor, a traditional rural local pub that hasn’t gone full ‘gastropub’, but still has a decent restaurant section as well as a traditional bar section.
I’d recommend getting one of the hourly Discovery Park journeys, as these take a slightly different route into/out of Sandwich through some extra tight lanes, especially interesting on the return to Canterbury (you almost want to give the driver a round of applause for one of the corners). These journeys are generally operated with Trident/ALX400s which are getting rather long in the tooth now (the other 43 journeys are generally run by Scania/E400s, and continue to Deal and Dover as 80/81).
The 43 also has classic Kentish scenery with orchards and hop fields, and is a traditional A-road (apart from the bypass at Ash).
Geeky stuff aside, Sandwich is a charming place to visit although can be a little quiet when one of the festivals is not on. It is one of the best preserved medieval towns in the UK, as it was unaffected by WW2 bombing, and was one of the Cinque Ports. I’d recommend a visit to the free museum (check opening times). Walking around the town is superb if you like history and it reminds me of some of the small historic towns on the continent I’ve visited.
There’s a few decent pubs too, as well as a cafe/bar in the old bus waiting room near the main bus stops at the Guildhall.
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This isn’t very easy by public transport. Some people get off at Littlebourne to visit this zoo, however this involves a perilous walk along a very busy rat run with no pavement (unless you are savvy with OS maps and know the public footpath route there, which also isn’t that easy).
I believe they sometimes have a shuttle minibus from Bekesbourne Station though.
If anyone does want to visit animal parks on a bus from Canterbury, you can get the frequent Triangle in the Herne Bay direction to visit Wildwood with its British wildlife. There’s a bus stop right outside the entrance. There is also Wingham Wildlife Park, also served with its own bus stop outside on the 43.
Incidentally there was briefly a Stagecoach bus to Howletts, appropriately numbered 200, but this hasn’t operated for many years.
Dover to St Margarets via the cliffs is a nice little walk, it takes about 1h30 so it depends how adventurous you feel. There's also a castle there in Dover - though you do have to pay to get in and explore. The town centre of Dover is a bit of a dive but there is some nice history and scenery nearby to make up for it IMO.
There are some other nice bus routes in Kent including the 18 Canterbury-Hythe, 80 Dover-Deal, 2 Tenterden-Hastings, 102/1/0 Dover-Folkestone-Lydd-Rye-Hastings.
Following on from that - St Margarets Bay is highly recommended. You need to stay on until the bus turns round at the top of the hill. It is a steep walk down (and back up again) but worth it. It is an hourly service (80). You can get there from Canterbury on the 43 (36 minutes past the hour) which turns into an 80 at Sandwich (see #5). (43s at other times go elsewhere).
There is a walk described in https://explorekent.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/St-Margarets-Bay-FINAL.pdf
'Explore Kent' is a pretty good website for places to go
The 102 is a decent route especially when getting to Dymchurch and beyond, parts are like a different world. If you go beyond New Romney, you get to 'Lydd-on-Sea' (The Pilot) when you can walk down towards Dungeness. It is shingle all the way, though. Mention is made of onward travel to Hastings, you need to change at Rye (you have 3 minutes so you can guess how often that is possible - it is no longer an advertised connection - or wait half an hour).
Both of these are 'fair weather' trips.
The 18 is a decent route too, once you are out of Canterbury. Unfortunately, it looks like it is single decker today. Pre pandemic I've been on it when operated by a double-decker, when it is definitely a 'go upstairs' route. The 17, through the Elham Valley, is pretty scenic as well.
However, as @Islineclear3_1 says, a lot depends on what you want to do.
I'd also suggest considering the 11, although the pared down timetable means it would have to be the 0930 from Canterbury. It's a very rural run, and is usually a Trident. It can be turned into a circular trip from Westwood via Ramsgate (Loop) and Sandwich (45), then back to Canterbury (43). Alternatively continue on to Deal (80/81) and back direct on a 12 or continue on 80/81 to Dover then 15 to Canterbury, but the latter is not the most scenic of routes.
Last year, I used a Discover ticket to do Canterbury to Ashford (really pleasant down the Stour Valley) though Ashford is a bit of a dive. Then across to Tenterden which is a lovely town, then a very nice run up out of the High Weald to Maidstone - a not especially great town IMHO but a really pleasant journey through the lush agriculture/produce. Granted, the next bit (a knackered Arriva e200 to Sittingbourne) had nothing going for it but I did quite like the Stagecoach service from there via Faversham and back to Canterbury.
Last year, I used a Discover ticket to do Canterbury to Ashford (really pleasant down the Stour Valley) though Ashford is a bit of a dive. Then across to Tenterden which is a lovely town, then a very nice run up out of the High Weald to Maidstone - a not especially great town IMHO but a really pleasant journey through the lush agriculture/produce. Granted, the next bit (a knackered Arriva e200 to Sittingbourne) had nothing going for it but I did quite like the Stagecoach service from there via Faversham and back to Canterbury.
If it is this week - best avoid Arriva, industrial action!
Maidstone to Sittingbourne - Arriva can be avoided by catching the X3 all the way (especially as Arriva have cut back the 334 to hourly). If that journey is too long, in my opinion Faversham is a pleasanter place to change than Sittingbourne.
Agree about the 11. At Plucks Gutter the bus will cross the River Stour, which divides just upstream, the wide section (the Great Stour) is that which the OP will have walked along to Chartham.
which is ideal for getting to the Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Railway. Hythe itself is a lovely old town, and there's also the Battle of Britain Museum at Hawkinge near Folkestone. Not sure if the 18 goes past it but the Canterbury-Folkestone bus (can't remember which route number) certainly does.
which is ideal for getting to the Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Railway. Hythe itself is a lovely old town, and there's also the Battle of Britain Museum at Hawkinge near Folkestone. Not sure if the 18 goes past it but the Canterbury-Folkestone bus (can't remember which route number) certainly does.
Canterbury - Folkestone. Two routes, but the one you are probably referring to is the 16 (every 20 minutes daytime) which passes near (on the aptly named Aerodrome Road) except for a couple of late journeys which do call at the Museum. The route that will take you to the door day-time is the 73 which operates Folkestone to Hawkinge.
(The 18 does not go through Hawkinge).
Dover to St Margarets via the cliffs is a nice little walk, it takes about 1h30 so it depends how adventurous you feel. There's also a castle there in Dover - though you do have to pay to get in and explore. The town centre of Dover is a bit of a dive but there is some nice history and scenery nearby to make up for it IMO.
There are some other nice bus routes in Kent including the 18 Canterbury-Hythe, 80 Dover-Deal, 2 Tenterden-Hastings, 102/1/0 Dover-Folkestone-Lydd-Rye-Hastings.
The Tenterden to Hastings becomes the 29 at the end of this month. Of the 101/100 Rye to Hastings the 101 (via Pett level and Fairlight) is by far the better scenery.
The Tenterden to Hastings becomes the 29 at the end of this month. Of the 101/100 Rye to Hastings the 101 (via Pett level and Fairlight) is by far the better scenery.
Absolutely agree with the latter point. Also, as your post implies. the new route will not continue through to Ashford as the 2 did. I can find nothing about the service via Bethersden so it may be even more difficult to get there from Canterbury.
It's about a mile - depending where in Rochester you want to get to - so about 20 to 30 mins walk (depending on your pace). If walking you're probably best getting off the 101 at the Waterfront Bus Station and then walking along the High Street through Chatham Intra.
If the walk's too long, then I'd suggest getting off the 101 at the small bus station/interchange at Chatham Railway Station and changing buses there, where a 140/190/191/700 will take you to Rochester (Corporation Street).
Alternatively there is the Medway Valley Line from Maidstone (West or Barracks - no ticket office at the latter) to Strood and then it's a short walk over the Bridge to Rochester.
Certainly not immediately obvious when you google Maidstone to Rochester 155 and you get an Arriva tagged timetable dated 30/10/22 citing those two places as the termini!! I don't read all threads, by the way.
No one really knows where the boundary between Chatham and Rochester is. It's an unparished area and so we cannot use parishes as our guide, and if we use parliamentary constituencies as our guide then all of Chatham town centre is in Rochester and not Chatham! The only place where the boundary is marked by signs on the ground is on the road which is Rochester High Street at one end and Chatham High Street at the other, and the signs on the ground are probably not in the right place.
But most local people would say that the west side of Maidstone Road - the Chatham-bound side of the road as you come in on the 101 - is properly in Rochester, certainly as far north as Pattens Lane and perhaps as far north as Chatham Town football ground and the cemetery. So the 101 does sort of go to Rochester, but this doesn't really help if you're looking to get to the "tourist bit" of Rochester.
As suggested above, get off the 101 bus at Chatham railway station and then take any bus towards Strood, and in about seven minutes you will find yourself at the stop called Rochester Community Hub. It's on Corporation Street which is a sort of bypass. No buses run along the "tourist bit" High Street, but that bus stop is two minutes walk from it.
Certainly not immediately obvious when you google Maidstone to Rochester 155 and you get an Arriva tagged timetable dated 30/10/22 citing those two places as the termini!!
I can't see that timetable, but the remaining 155 now terminates at the M2 bridge in Borstal as a Medway local service (i.e. essentially what the 137 used to do, before it was rationalised into the through service). The most recent changes were last weekend, hence the timetable date.
No one really knows where the boundary between Chatham and Rochester is. It's an unparished area and so we cannot use parishes as our guide, and if we use parliamentary constituencies as our guide then all of Chatham town centre is in Rochester and not Chatham! The only place where the boundary is marked by signs on the ground is on the road which is Rochester High Street at one end and Chatham High Street at the other, and the signs on the ground are probably not in the right place.
But most local people would say that the west side of Maidstone Road - the Chatham-bound side of the road as you come in on the 101 - is properly in Rochester, certainly as far north as Pattens Lane and perhaps as far north as Chatham Town football ground and the cemetery. So the 101 does sort of go to Rochester, but this doesn't really help if you're looking to get to the "tourist bit" of Rochester.
As suggested above, get off the 101 bus at Chatham railway station and then take any bus towards Strood, and in about seven minutes you will find yourself at the stop called Rochester Community Hub. It's on Corporation Street which is a sort of bypass. No buses run along the "tourist bit" High Street, but that bus stop is two minutes walk from it.
I believe the signs are in the right place for where the boundary currently lies (there's another on New Road, just at the junction with Fort Pitt Hill), although it has moved over time. Chatham Memorial Synagogue is actually in Rochester (being just over the current boundary), but was obviously in Chatham when it was built! I'd use the postcode boundaries as the marker, and your feelings aren't too far off - although not that much north of Patterns Lane - school was definitely in Chatham! We're drifting, though!
However, for the purposes of the OP's question, it's hard to advise until we know where in Rochester is desired - but the advice about in regard to walking or changing at the Rail Station is perfect as far as the main High Street and tourist area goes. The 155 is best avoided, as it turns off at the bottom of Star Hill, whilst the 145 only serves a similar area.
No one really knows where the boundary between Chatham and Rochester is. It's an unparished area and so we cannot use parishes as our guide, and if we use parliamentary constituencies as our guide then all of Chatham town centre is in Rochester and not Chatham! The only place where the boundary is marked by signs on the ground is on the road which is Rochester High Street at one end and Chatham High Street at the other, and the signs on the ground are probably not in the right place.
Historically that's not the case, with the boundary being well-established since medieval times. The ancient hospital foundation of St. Bartholomew's being a lepar hospital was deliberately situated at the city limits on the boundary with Chatham. Thus, if you mean the signs at the bottom of Gundulph Road, then yes they're pretty much spot on. The boundary running from the imaginatively named Boundary Wharf, across the High Street, then approximately up Gundulph Hill, then along the Chatham side of Fort Pitt and then southwards broadly parallel (on the Rochester side) with (the again imaginatively named) Boundary Road and then heads pretty much due south.
On that basis I'd say the 101 doesn't go to Rochester - and as you say - certainly not the historic "tourist bit".
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