We checked 15 Medway shops and centres, from Baggins Book Bazaar to a dinosaur fossil shop, for opening hours and addresses. Updated November 2026.

Medway has 15 places worth a Christmas shopping trip in 2026, and this guide lists them with opening hours, addresses and what each one sells. Store 104, Fieldstaff Antiques and Baggins Book Bazaar on Rochester High Street are the names most people land on, with Hempstead Valley for the big chains. Every entry checked against the shop’s own site on 5 November 2026, and we say where we could not.

We have not shopped at any of these for this guide, and nothing here is a review. Each entry says what the shop says it sells, in its own words where we can quote them. Shops often change their hours close to Christmas, so check before a special trip.

Dates for the Christmas shopping diary

Saturday 7 November: Santa’s grotto opens at Hempstead Valley. The centre’s notice recommends booking.

Sunday 15 November and Sunday 20 December: Rochester Farmers’ Market. Visit Medway says it runs from 9am to 1pm on the third Sunday of each month. Those are the third Sundays; we have not seen the two dates confirmed individually.

Friday 27 November to Sunday 13 December: Rochester Christmas Market. It runs for nine days over three weekends in Castle Gardens, and it is open to 9pm on the Fridays and Saturdays.

Friday 27 November to Wednesday 23 December: 100 under £100. Nucleus Arts’ winter show of affordable work in Chatham. See the entry below.

Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December: Rochester Dickensian Christmas Festival. Expect very large crowds on the High Street, which makes this a weekend for the spectacle and not for quiet browsing. Our market page has the council’s figures.

We found no late night shopping dates from Medway’s shops or centres. We will add them if any are announced.

Rochester High Street

1. Store 104

Store 104 describes itself as “an independent, family-run, book, yarn and gift shop in the heart of Rochester”. The Francis Iles Gallery says the shop is run by the family’s next generation and shows work by Medway artists.

Its own page sums up the stock as “quality yarns, fine books, and speciality coffee”. Leonard’s café is open 10.30am to 4.30pm Monday to Saturday and 11am to 3.30pm on Sunday.

Open Mon to Sat 10am to 5pm; Sun 11am to 4pm
Call 01634 843881
Address 104 High Street, Rochester, ME1 1JT
Website store104.co.uk
Good for books, yarn, gifts, cafe

2. Fieldstaff Antiques

Fieldstaff says it has been in antiques, collectables and vintage for over thirty years, with “thousands of items of stock displayed in four large showrooms ranged across three floors” of a listed building. The shop says it caters for a wide range of pricing “from pocket-money upwards”, and it also sells gift vouchers.

Open Tue to Sat 10am to 5pm; Sun 11am to 4pm; closed Mon
Address 93 High Street, Rochester, ME1 1LX
Website fieldstaffantiques.squarespace.com
Good for antiques, collectables, vintage, gift vouchers

3. Kaizen Antiques and Jewellery

Kaizen says it has been established in Rochester since 1997, and calls itself an antique jeweller and “a treasure trove of beautiful jewellery, antique furniture, silver, paintings and ceramics”. Its site gives two sets of hours: one panel says Tuesday to Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday, while another line says Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 12pm to 4pm.

We print the first, and it is worth a call before a Sunday or Monday trip.

Open Tue to Sat; closed Sun and Mon (the site also gives wider hours, see above)
Call 01634 814132
Address 88 High Street, Rochester, ME1 1JT
Website kaizenantiques.co.uk
Good for antique jewellery, silver, paintings, ceramics

4. Baggins Book Bazaar

Visit Medway, the council’s tourism site, calls Baggins “England’s largest secondhand bookshop” and “a treasure trove for book-lovers, with thousands of books on most subjects, including children’s and fiction”. It sits next door to the Guildhall Museum.

The shop’s own website would not load for us on 5 November, so we have no published hours to give; phone before a special trip.

Call 01634 811651
Address 19 High Street, Rochester, ME1 1PY
Good for secondhand books, children's books, fiction

5. I Dig Dinos

I Dig Dinos calls itself the only dinosaur shop in Kent. Its site lists “100s of fossils” from real dinosaur teeth and bones to ammonites and shark teeth, and says it specialises in insects in amber and copal, with trilobites, minerals, crystals and even meteorites as well.

It sells gift vouchers, and pitches itself at anyone “just looking for an unusual gift” as well as collectors. Sunday opening is set month by month: the shop says to check Facebook or ask in store.

Open Wed to Sat 10am to 4pm; closed Mon and Tue; Sundays vary
Call 01634 780335
Address 64 High Street, Rochester, ME1 1JY
Website idigdinos.co.uk
Good for fossils, crystals, amber, gift vouchers

6. Get Ready Comics

Get Ready Comics sells comics, graphic novels and collectibles, and its online range runs to Funko, Loungefly and The Noble Collection, with a Loungefly Christmas section when we checked. Bank holiday Mondays are shorter, at 10.30am to 3.30pm.

The council’s Safe Spaces directory still gives an older address at 168 High Street; the shop’s own contact page says 119.

Open Mon to Fri 10am to 5pm; Sat 10.30am to 5pm; Sun 10.30am to 3.30pm
Address 119 High Street, Rochester, ME1 1JN
Website getreadycomics.com
Good for comics, collectibles, Funko, Loungefly

7. The Cheese Room Deli and Cafe

Visit Medway calls it “a cheese lovers paradise”, with breads and charcuterie beside the cheese, and says dogs are welcome. It is the place on this list for the food side of the Christmas shop.

Its sister restaurant and terrace is along the street at 60 High Street. We found no opening hours on the pages we could read, and no Christmas order details yet, so phone the deli.

Call 01634 831616
Address 74 High Street, Rochester, ME1 1JY
Website thecheeseroomrochester.co.uk
Good for cheese, charcuterie, bread, dogs welcome

8. Rochester Cathedral Shop

The cathedral describes “a wide range of merchandise inspired by the rich and vibrant history of Rochester Cathedral”, and also runs an online shop. It is operated by a trading subsidiary, Rochester Cathedral Enterprises, and the cathedral says all profits go back into its mission, fabric and ministry.

If you are coming for a service, our cathedral Christmas page has the dates.

Open Mon to Sat 10am to 4pm; Sun 11.30am to 4pm
Call 01634 843366
Address Rochester Cathedral, ME1 1SX
Website rochestercathedral.org/shop
Good for gifts, souvenirs, online shop

Chatham and Gillingham

Nucleus Arts’ December show, 100 under £100, runs from 27 November to 23 December 2026 in the Halpern Gallery. Every piece is for sale, and anything sold can be taken away on the day, which suits a Christmas present.

Nucleus Arts is also planning a one-day stand of artist-made gifts, called HUMBUG, on Saturday 28 November, with details still to come. We could only find the office’s hours, not the gallery’s.

Its Rochester building has been closed since a kitchen fire on 30 April 2026.

Open office Mon to Fri 10am to 5pm; Sat 10am to 4pm; closed Sun
Address 272 High Street, Chatham, ME4 4BP
Website nucleusarts.com
Good for local art, prints, handmade gifts

10. Strum and Bass

Strum and Bass calls itself “a proud independent local business”, with a showroom of more than 150 electric, acoustic and bass guitars, plus effects pedals, amplifiers, ukuleles, harmonicas, brass and woodwind, and second-hand drum kits. It also offers tuition, servicing and repairs.

Note the Wednesday closing.

Open Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri and Sat 9.30am to 5.30pm; closed Wed and Sun
Call 01634 850058
Address 95-97 Watling Street, Gillingham
Website strumandbass.com
Good for guitars, ukuleles, lessons, repairs

11. Cataclysm Games

Cataclysm Games is in Canterbury Street, Gillingham, and sells trading cards and games under the line “play, collect, enjoy”, with Pokemon and Digimon card ranges on its site. It runs evening events, and warns that it may close early when no one comes for them, or close or open for special events, so its evening hours are the ones to check.

Open Mon 10am to 11.45am, then 2.30pm to 10pm; Tue 10am to 10pm; Wed 10am to 11.45am, then 2.30pm to 5.30pm; Thu and Fri 10am to 10pm; Sat 10am to 5.30pm; closed Sun
Call 01634 852303
Address 45 Canterbury Street, Gillingham, ME7 5TR
Website cataclysmgames.co.uk
Good for trading cards, games, events

Rainham

12. Sunburst Books

The Rainham history site describes Sunburst as “Kent’s largest charity secondhand bookshop”, run by volunteers and taking card payments. The newest hours we could find are in a July 2024 community magazine: 9am to 3pm, six days a week.

We found no own website and nothing newer, so please phone to confirm before you travel.

Open 9am to 3pm, six days a week (as published in 2024)
Call 01634 261643
Address 21 and 23 Station Road, Rainham, ME8 7RS
Good for secondhand books, charity shop

The shopping centres

These are not independents, but they are where much of Medway’s Christmas shopping happens, so here are the hours.

13. Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre

Hempstead Valley is a covered centre of high street names, including Marks and Spencer and TK Maxx, and its Santa’s grotto opens on 7 November. The centre says to check individual store hours.

It has not yet published Christmas 2026 hours.

Open Mon to Fri 9am to 8pm; Sat 9am to 7pm; Sun 10am to 4pm
Call 01634 387076
Address Hempstead Valley Drive, Gillingham, ME7 3PD
Website hempsteadvalley.com
Good for chain stores, Santa's grotto

14. Dockside Outlet Centre

Dockside, at Chatham Maritime, advertises more than 40 brands “with up to 60% off fashion, homeware, gifts and more”. Its store list includes M&S Outlet, ProCook, Cotton Traders and The Range.

We found no Christmas hours on its site yet. Thursday and Friday are its late evenings, to 7pm.

Open Mon to Wed 10am to 6pm; Thu and Fri 10am to 7pm; Sat 9am to 6pm; Sun 11am to 5pm
Address Chatham Maritime, ME4 3ED
Website chathamdockside.co.uk
Good for outlet prices, homeware, fashion

15. Pentagon Shopping Centre

Visit Medway says Chatham is the largest of Medway’s shopping towns, with hundreds of household and independent retailers across the pedestrianised high street and the Pentagon. The centre’s own website would not load for us on 5 November, so we give no hours here.

Individual shops set their own, so check the shop you want before you travel.

Address Pentagon Shopping Centre, Chatham, ME4 4HY
Good for chain stores

Shops we could not confirm

Several High Street names turn up in older lists, but we could not check them against a working site of their own on 5 November, so they are left out for now. That does not mean they have closed. They are Capture the Castle at 46, whose site returned an error page, plus The Candy Bar at 76, Sweet Expectations at 87 and Dickens House Wine Emporium at 53. Miss Grace Jewellers in Gillingham is in the council’s Safe Spaces directory, but its site gave us nothing we could read.

Getting there

Our parking page has the car parks and tariffs for Rochester, Chatham, Strood and Gillingham. Before any December trip by rail, read our Christmas trains and travel page.

How we chose

We started from the shopping pages on Visit Medway, the council’s Safe Spaces directory and public map data, then kept the places that sell things people buy as presents and whose details we could check, on their own sites wherever possible. Selection is by what is there and what can be checked, not by our taste, and nobody paid to be listed.

Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@medwaylive.co.uk. Taken a good photograph of any of these places? Email it to newsdesk@medwaylive.co.uk and we will add it with your name as the credit.

For more locally, see things to do in Medway, what’s on in Medway this month, Christmas dinner in Medway, ice rinks near Medway, Medway cafes and our local business directory.

Frequently asked questions

Is there late night Christmas shopping in Medway in 2026?

We found no late night shopping dates published by Medway’s shops or centres when we checked on 5 November 2026. The Rochester Christmas Market in Castle Gardens stays open to 9pm on its three Fridays and three Saturdays: 27 and 28 November, 4 and 5 December, and 11 and 12 December. Hempstead Valley is already open to 8pm from Monday to Friday.

Where can I find independent gift shops in Medway?

Most are on Rochester High Street. Store 104 at number 104 sells books, yarn and gifts, Fieldstaff Antiques at 93 has stock priced from pocket money upwards, I Dig Dinos at 64 sells fossils and crystals, Get Ready Comics at 119 sells comics and collectibles, and Baggins Book Bazaar at 19 sells secondhand books.

Are Rochester High Street shops open on Sundays before Christmas?

Several publish regular Sunday hours: Store 104 (11am to 4pm), Fieldstaff Antiques (11am to 4pm), Get Ready Comics (10.30am to 3.30pm) and the Cathedral Shop (11.30am to 4pm). I Dig Dinos sets its Sundays month by month. Hours often change close to Christmas, so check before a special trip.