
300 Steps to The River
Part of the Creative Estuary Co-Commission Programme, Sun Pier House and Tiller & Wheel were proud to deliver 300 Steps to the River, a vibrant arts programme that reconnected Chatham’s town centre with the River Medway through creativity, community and celebration.
Just 300 steps from Chatham High Street, the River Medway is a vital part of our town’s identity and we celebrated it! Through 300 creative moments, events and activities, we brought new energy to the riverfront and invited everyone to explore, imagine and connect.
The project featured exciting new workshops and events, alongside Sun Pier House classics with a twist. It all culminated in the joyful Festival of Chatham Reach, a riverside celebration full of colour, community and river pride.
River Memories
Some of the thoughts and musings our community have shared with us so far:
“The river is the reason I remain living in Medway”
“My dad learned to swim in the River at Strood in about 1925”
“I love the sound of pebbles kerspalshing in the river”
“It reminds me of throwing stones in the water with my children”
“We love feeding the swans and ducks from the pier, it makes us feel very happy”
“Was born around the lower Medway fished it since a kid seen the changes also the history around the Medway like HMS bulwark explosion the Princess Irene explosion ..the ww1 submarine out off Stoke marshes ..dead man’s island burials..Hoo Fort and Darnett Fort upon Castle list goes on”
The project highlights
300 Steps Launch

Semaphore Flag Trail

Memory Tags – Medway Libraries

Sailing Suncatchers

Pennant Workshop

Lego Legends -The Anchor

River Medway Mosaic Workshop

Rochester Riverside Doodle

Origami Boats Workshop

Thursday Art Club

300 Steps Trail

Activity Book

Chatham Carnival

Shift and Drift Exhibition

Mucky Medway? Workshop

Nautical Stitches Workshop

BIG DRAW little people – The Big River Draw

Giant River Medway Mosaic intallation

Lego Legends of the Dockyard: 300 Steps to the River Workshop

MESS ROOM tactile footprints workshop

MedwayArtBox Exhibition

Sticks n Stones Festival

300 Footsteps Messy Paint

Watercolour Sunsets Workshop

300 Steps to the River Exhibition

Chatham Pennants

300 Steps Temporary Tattoo’s

Floodwall Mural “Dockyard at War”

Edith May “Rubbish Art” Mural

Festival of Chatham Reach

Medway and Me – Survey Results
Over 100 people shared their views on the River Medway, here are the results:


Our Partners
Tiller & Wheel
Tiller & Wheel CIC was formed in 2019 by Sun Pier House’s very own husband and wife team, Ed Gransden and Heather Burgess.
As the custodians for four historic sailing vessels; three Thames Sailing Barges – Edith May, Lady Daphne and Ardwina and a Whitstable Oyster Smack – Thistle F86, Tiller and Wheel aspire to create a sustainable business model to ensure their ongoing preservation. To do this they aim to inject arts & culture at the core of the business and redefine their purpose, from industrial working craft to cultural platforms.
Tiller and Wheel is dedicated to promoting the historic East Coast fleet of smacks and barges and providing high quality experiences and events aboard these historic vessels, and as the first to offer FREE sailing trips and an affordable subscription model, making sailing an option for all.
Creative Estuary
Creative Estuary’s ambition is simple: To transform 60 miles of the Thames Estuary across Essex and Kent into one of the most exciting cultural hubs in the world.
Creative Estuary is a consortium of public sector and cultural organisations, working together to support the TEPC. They include the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP), Kent and Essex County Councils, the Greater London Authority, 11 local authority areas represented by Thames Gateway Kent Partnership and Opportunity South Essex, South East Creative Economy Network (SECEN), University of Kent, University of Essex, Locate in Kent, and cultural organisations Metal, and Cement Fields.