10 GOOD REASONS TO VISIT Medway Towns

A vast Dockyard, a Napoleonic fort and a JCB diggers theme park - let’s visit Chatham and Medway

- Caroline Read

1 HISTORIC DOCKYARD Chatham is a proud naval town, with the Historic Dockyard at its heart. Closed since 1984, the former Royal dockyard was one of the nation’s finest for 414 years and HMS Victory was built here in 1765. Now the main part of the Georgian docks is a visitor attraction with historic buildings, exhibition space, and a busy calendar of events. Considered so important that it’s being considered as a future UNESCO World Heritage Site, there are historic ships to climb aboard, a submarine to explore and a Victorian ropery to walk along.

2 IMPRESSIVE FORT Overlooking the dockyard you’ll find another piece of Chatham’s military history. Britain’s biggest Napoleonic fortress, Fort Amherst was built in 1756 to protect the docks from a possible overland invasion. With a new café and lots of green space that’s accessed for free, it’s an interesting place to explore, and there are usually tours of the tunnels and ghost investigations.

3 CAN WE DIG IT Diggerland has four theme parks across the UK, with one set just across the River Medway in Strood. It’s one of the only places in the UK where families can get hands-on with all sorts of diggers, dump trucks, and construction machinery. There are 20 different rides and pieces of machinery to operate, plus an array of activities like dodgems, go-karts, and play areas. Hop about the Spindizzy ride or rise up on the Skyshuttle, get to grips with a JCB, and move the earth with a huge excavator. The park is seasonal so check online for opening dates.