Open Walking Tours
The City of Rochester Society open ‘drop by and go’ walks typically happen every Saturday, Sunday, Wednesday and Bank Holiday from the first Saturday in April to the end of October. We also run open tours during the Rochester Christmas Market weekends and the winter Dickens Festivals.
Open walking tours depart from the former Visitor Information Centre at 95 High Street Rochester (next to Fieldstaff Antiques) at 2.15pm. These tours last approximately 90 minutes.
In addition to the afternoon walks, we run a 10.45am walk everyday during the Winter Dickens Festival. This walk takes approximately 45 minutes.
All these walks are free of charge but we welcome donations.
Rochester city centre is relatively accessible and wheelchair users are welcome to join a tour.
We’ve received some amazing testimonials on recent tours
- Anne Mitchell
Our guide, Terry, was a veritable “walking Wikipedia” for Rochester. He was enthusiastic, full of energy and extremely knowledgeable. His extensive local knowledge made the easy walking tour a... read more 
August 1, 2021Dream39787620399 A very relaxed, friendly but informative tour of the town /city! James pointed out many places we would have missed on our own, entertained us with stories of Rochester’s history,... read more
August 28, 2021Mary M Excellent coach tour of “ Dickensland “with Alan Moss for part of our Historical Association visit to the area. Very interesting commentary as we drove round the Hoo peninsula ... read more
June 16, 2019A Tripadvisor Member This is a free guided tour. For a start most unusual for something so professional. Donations welcome at the end but no pressure. The Tour - 90 minutes from... read more
October 1, 2020 - kmg A very relaxed, friendly but informative tour of the town /city! James pointed out many places we would have missed on our own, entertained us with stories of Rochester’s history,... read more
August 1, 2021Jane L Being in Rochester for the Dickensian Festival we came across this free (donations appreciated) 90 minute historical tour of the people and places of this marvellous City. John presented all... read more
December 1, 2021richardjanicet We arrived in Rochester, as tourists from Yorkshire, to have a look around. We met James down the High Street advertising his tours. he was brilliant. He knew what he... read more
August 3, 2022davidhG4350DF Today, I experienced a most wonderful conducted Guided Tour of Rochester, as related to Charles Dickens’ “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”.
With two magnificent and fully experienced Tour Guides,... read more
September 4, 2021 - kmg A very relaxed, friendly but informative tour of the town /city! James pointed out many places we would have missed on our own, entertained us with stories of Rochester’s history,... read more
August 28, 2021J9295EKmichelleg John was very knowledgeable and took us to the quiet portions of the city to uncover historic gems from the beginnings of Rochester. Highly recommended esp during the Sweeps Festival.... read more
May 2, 2022A Tripadvisor Member Well worth joining whether you are visiting or a resident. Our guide, John, was enthusiastic and knowledgeable bringing the history of the city to life. The Society does a great... read more
October 1, 2020Rosemary Hamilt... H Well worth joining weather you are visiting or a resident.Our tour guild Rosemary ,was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable.Bringing the Historyof the city to life.The Society does a great job.There was... read more
July 7, 2021
If you’ve enjoyed one of our tours, please leave a review on Trip Advisor via the link below.
