Chatham (England)

town in Kent, England, United Kingdom

Chatham is a town on the River Medway in the north of the English county of Kent, UK. Together with its neighbouring towns of Rochester and Gillingham it forms a large urban area known as the Medway Towns.

The River Medway from Chatham
Chatham Historic Dockyard

Get in

By car

  • From London, take the A2 arterial road (32 mi, 51 km).
  • From Canterbury, take the A2 and the M2 to Junction 3 for the Rochester exit (32 mi, 51 km, about 40 min).

By train

Fast trains operate from London Victoria (typical journey time 45 - 60 minutes) and slower stopping trains from London Charing Cross, London Waterloo and London Bridge via Dartford (typical journey time 60 - 65 minutes). Trains from Ramsgate & Dover Priory also serve Chatham.
High Speed 1 trains from London St Pancras and Faversham serve Chatham. For local journeys these trains are more expensive than the other routes.

Get around

By bus

Local buses are operated by Arriva Kent and Surrey, Nu-Venture and ASD Coaches

Buy your ticket from the driver when you board the bus (any operator), For Arriva services buy tickets on the Arriva App or pay contactless.

The Traveline and Medway Council websites provide journey planners and route maps.

See

Fort Amherst
  • 🌍 The Historic Dockyard, Western Avenue, ME4 4TY (the entrance at Main Gate – off Dock Road, is for tenants and residents only), ☏ +44 1634 823800, . Hours and days vary - See website. The most traditional and historic Royal Naval dockyard, established by the 1560s under Elizabeth I, ceased operations in 1984 and is now run as a museum. There are several naval ships and a submarine open to visit, and a working rope factory. All tickets are valid for 12 months - adults: £24; senior citizens, HM Forces and veterans (with ID) and students: £21.50; children (aged 5 – 15 years): £14; family (2 adults and 2 children or 1 adult and 3 children): £63. (updated Sep 2023)
  • 🌍 Fort Amherst, Dock Road, ME4 4UB, ☏ +44 1634 847747. Open daily in summer. 
  • 🌍 Nucleus Arts Centre, 272 High St, ME4 4BP, ☏ +44 1634 812108. M-Sa 10AM-4PM. Arts centre with studio space for artists, exhibition gallery and cafe. Occasional film screenings in a popup cinema. (updated Apr 2017)

Do

  • 🌍 Brook Theatre, 5 The Brook, ME4 4SE. Small theatre in former town hall. (updated Apr 2017)
  • 🌍 Central Theatre, 170 High Street, ME4 4AS. 965-seat theatre. (updated Apr 2017)

Buy

Eat

  • 🌍 The Thomas Waghorn, 14 Railway Street, ME4 4JL, ☏ +44 1634 405422. Daily 8AM-midnight (food until 11AM). Wetherspoon's pub with meals. (updated Apr 2017)
  • Pumproom restaurant is within the distillery, see below.

Drink

  • 🌍 Copper Rivet Distillery, Pump House no. 5, Chatham Dockyard, Leviathan Way, ME4 4LP (near the outlet centre), ☏ +44 1634 931122. W 2PM, Th F 6PM; Sa 2PM, 4PM and 6PM. Gin distillery. The gin is flavoured with juniper, elderflower, coriander, orange, lemon, cardamom, grains of paradise from Africa, angelica root and orris root. tour £12. (updated Feb 2017)

Sleep

Go next

Routes through Chatham
London ← Strood ←  NW  SE  → Sittingbourne → Dover


This article is issued from Wikivoyage. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.