For those of you who aren't aware of it, Charles Dickens spent some of his childhood in Rochester, Kent from 1817 to 1822 and the area has been the inspiration of a lot of his works. He returned to the area for the last 13 years of his life, dyling in 1870. For example, Restoration House was Satis House in Great Expectations, where Miss Havisham Lived. The Dickens Festival is a well loved attraction. It's held on the first weekend in June and is a very colourful event with characters in costume and lots of additional entertainment. The atmosphere is said to feel Victorian. Parades go through Rochester every day and there's music, drama, dance, street theatre and more. It's well worth a visit. read more

Always good fun with character dressing up and very educational, great traditions like this are what make this country so quaint and lovely, go along to the next one you'll enjoy it. read more

Dickens Festival - Arts & Entertainment Near Me

A great day out in the June half term, they have several shows to watch, magic for Children and shows for adults. They also have a fairground and stalls where you can buy things and stalls like tombolas. read more

A VERY good festival but be prepared for it to be very, very busy. Lots of dressing up and lots of fun

A great day out. just be prepared for it being really busy and hard to walk through the crowds. Also the streets are cobble stone so not easy if you have a buggy. But it is so worth it. the street is filled with dancers and musicians. read more

A great festival always very busy. The parades are worth seeing for the Dickensian costumes people make such an effort to dress up! A visit to Rochester is always worth it many interesting shops, plenty of food and drink and lots of pubs too! read more