Gravesend is a Kentish town, just over 20 miles south east of Charing Cross, in the centre of London. Gravesend has plenty of history, including housing the world's oldest surviving cast iron pier, which was built in 1834. With a unique structure that consists of iron cylinders, today the pier is much more modern as it was completely refurbished in 2004. Pocahontas, the American Indian princess who we all know from the Disney films, was a real person who lived and then died in Gravesend in 1617, and is buried in St George's Church. Gravesend is also home to the Royal College of Arts and Sciences, which was founded in 1870. If you want to go across to Tilbury, you can get a ferry from Gravesend before heading back to see the statue of Pocahontas, catch a show at the Woodville Theatre, and stroll down the High Street.