It has been 21 years since Gillingham and Rochester councils combined to become Medway Council. ‘People have heard of Rochester and they've heard of Chatham, but no-one knows where Medway is,' admits the council's head of marketing and communication, Celia Glynn-Williams.

But, she thinks the place has ‘got a lot to shout about.' One thing that put the area's name in the history books was the Battle of Medway in 1667, when the Dutch fleet penetrated deep upriver and targeted the dockyard at Chatham. In 2017, the area celebrated the 350th anniversary with a two-week festival featuring a programme of exhibitions, music, literature, performances and educational activities.