The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Went this past Saturday with the kids and had a brilliant time. It was lovely to come back to the place my dad used to take me back in the nineties. Loved every corner of this place. Such amazing history and tickets last all year. Staff were incredibly attentive and truly made us feel welcome. I would give 6 stars if I could

Always wanted to visit this place, and glad I did. Went thanks to Manston museum where I do voluntary work. Only thing that shocked me was the entry price @ £38.00, and £83.00 for a family ticket, which personally thought was a bit steep. But the history, and exhibits are very good, and especially the rope house. A good day out with plenty of toilets, and food.

Easily the best museum in the UK. The amount of things to see and do is simply overwhelming. The ships are well maintained. The ropery was an absolute gem that caught me by surprise. Truly interesting and interactive. I spent a full day here then had to comeback later that week just to see everything. The ship under the floor has this really interesting vide. The audiovisual walking experience taking you to the sketch room was great. My only slight complaint is that it would be very convenient to have some way for people to enter the site from the gate nearest the train station. It would save guests from walking an extra 10 mins when arriving by train.

We went to the mission christmas (23rd) and cant rate this highly enough, after already having the joy and task of going to other meet santas this was by far the best organised and kept our 3y.o entertained and engaged throughout! Would certainly recommend and will 100% be going again next year! Thank you to organisers and all involved (actors & staff) Santa was very good and helpful with our nervous daughter 🙏

Our visit coincided with the 1940s-themed event, which was exceptionally well-executed. It is regrettable that this was the final iteration. The event's organization was commendable. However, the Call the Midwife taster session, priced at £10 per person for a 20-minute experience, received negative feedback from our group, who considered it to be a poor value proposition and not representative of the full tour. This may deter future participation in the main tour. Despite this, the overall experience remained positive.

We have used our yearly ticket a few times over the year and always end up having a long and fulfilling day out. Engaging for grown ups and a 6 year old. We usually pack a picnic, but this time having exited via the restaurant, the food looked delicious and the menu is fairly priced, so we will treat ourselves next time. All of the staff are so lovely and friendly, but an extra shout out to Jazmyn today who was FANTASTIC! She was so enthusiastic and gave us some lovely information about HMS Gannet. We feel like we learn something new every time, making the yearly ticket very much worth it. Can't wait to see further development of the site over the next 10 years.

A really great place to visit with so much to see. Great exhibitions covering a wide range of subjects. Stunning architecture

Great day out. Never been before. The historic ships reviewed elsewhere. The ticket is valid for a whole year,so I will be back in the spring. If you are walking from the station, it's a good 30 minute walk.

I visited the Historic Dockyard in Chatham during the summer of 2008. Given that there was so much to see, it was worth the money. The huge car park outside, means it will be very unlikely that you will ever struggle to find a car parking space. There are three main attractions in the dockyard - the HMS Cavalier (a naval destroyer), HMS Ocelot (an submarine) and HMS Gannet (an old royal naval part steam/sale ship). If you want to tour the HMS Ocelot you may have to wait until there is a tour available as only limited numbers of people can safely fit aboard the submarine at any one time. The 80 acre site also offers a number of other exhibitions - Royal Naval Auxiliary Service Museum, the Royal Nation Lifeboat Association historic lifeboat collection and the Kent Police Museum. The site also houses the Museum of the Royal Dockyard, and the Ropery which still commercially makes rope today. An informative tour is available in the Ropery which is included in the admission price - if you volunteer you even get to help make bit of your own rope. You are booked on this tour when you purchase your tickets. If you are in the area, this is a pretty good attraction, although it doesn't really compare to the historic dockyard in portsmouth.

The historic dock at Chatham really is a fun packed day out which will take up your whole day. There are ships, nautical memorabilia, museum, fun thigns to do for the kids, tea rooms, food, gift shop etc so much to do and spread over an expansive lot of land in the docks. You will really enjoy this day out, especially kids, good disabled facilities and toilets. Top notch fun.

Okay, so it's barely a rollercoaster and your kids will probably moan about going somewhere educational (as I did a few years back) but it's actually quite fun. Honestly! I went there a few years ago but these are the things that stood out in my mind: There is a museum-type room where you can look at old photos, read up on the dockyard's history and buy things from the gift shop. There are many different speedboats that you can look at and a nice man can tell you all about them. There is a submarine you can go into and you will get told about its' history (and of course, stand inside a real submarine! It was really awesome!). There is also a warship you can go on but I believe we skipped that part. I imagine it would be pretty cool though. The eating and toilet facilities left no unpleasant imprint in my mind so I'm willing to bet that they were quite acceptable.

It's been a couple of years since I visited the Dockyard. Previous visits have always been pleasant and worthwhile. This year, a friend and I decided to have a wander around to see what was on. The first change we both spotted was the rearrangement of the car park entrance. It was hardly a big deal, as we got in and parked without too much difficulty. The next and somewhat less pleasant change was the moving of the Dockyard entrance and ticket desk, followed immediately by the discovery that the cost of an annual ticket is now £25. Our details and photographs were also taken for Dockyard records, because it was an annual ticket. These tickets have barcodes on them. The reason for this became clear after we moved on to enter the Dockyard itself. Barricades have been installed at which you must scan your ticket before being allowed past. Gone are the days when you could buy a ticket and proceed directly into the Dockyard. Now, you must make your way down a double-back ramp to the Command of the Ocean exhibit - a poor encore to the Wooden Walls exhibit - and automatic doors that then permit you to venture out to the Dockyard itself. Very little has changed materially in terms of what is open to the public and what is not. The addition of a car park outside the Wagon Stop canteen was an unexpected sight, as was the absence of the old police box outside the police museum which stood so familiarly behind the canteen. I had particularly looked forward to visiting the museum so my disappointment at its being missing was great. Both of us were feeling sufficiently let down at this point that we bypassed the attractions which any other time we would have spent time looking at. After a walk around the outside of the ropery, we decided enough was enough and left. What the Dockyard has been in previous visits and what it is now are two wholly different things, and the shift is anything but positive. My friend was at one time a monthly visitor, such was the quality of the experience. Sadly, that is no more. Neither of us intend going back again. It is a tremendous shame.

Lots of things for adults and children to do their are several Museums in one place. A Lifeboat museum that has many lifeboat stories through the ages. Also a police museum that has lots of articles that celebrate police life . a dry dock with lots of ships to look around.

Well worth a visit, especially during a special event such as the Medway Steam and Transport Fair. A lot of walking should be involved! Three ships to go around, including a submarine and various other exhibits. The rope making is amazing to see. Lots of toilets throughout the site.

if you're a tourist you cannot leave Chatham without visiting the History Dockyard. One of the most famous naval fleets in the country, and now a film set (The Compass and the currently in filming Sherlock Holmes set up scenes here) the Dockyard will leave you in awe. With several battle ship still tied up in the dock, and a submarine you can actually explore there is much to see and do at this huge location. The museum will give you insight into the history of the dockyard and its workers, you can even have a go at their famous 'rope machine'. If you look closely you can also see the old tram lines in which trams were used to transport workers around the huge dock. Also based at the Dockyard is the Royal Lifeboat association and information on them. There is a adventure playground, shop, several toilets and other attractions all to keep you busy for a very long time. This will be one visit you won't forget! If you live here however and have already visited it's not really worth going again as unfortunately very little changes.

Went to Chatham Dockyard with the family on Easter Monday, What a fantastic day out we had. massess to see and do, loads of hands on things and the added bonus of a steam fair. The littlies enjoyed as much as the adults. Will be returning for the 'Midwife' tour and cream tea Only down side for such a busy day toilets and food stops were very very busy overall +++ for a day out

fun day out , to bad we lost the kingswear castle and flying boat.