We recently decided to take a spontaneous trip to Chatham. We have pledged to ourselves that once we get back from our six-month international travelling stint, we are going to take more staycations in the UK and experience the beauty that is on our doorstep. Before we go away, we thought we would squeeze in a weekend in Chatham, a place that neither Dan nor I had visited before!
We were pleasantly surprised with the area and had such a great time. Below are some of the things that we did on that weekend and that we would recommend.
The Historic Dockland Chatham
If you love history and in particular historic boats, then this is a must visit for you. Dan is completely nuts for boats, so we ended up taking two trips to the dockland in one weekend!
At the Historic Dockland Chatham, you only pay £25 per adult, and you get free entry for a whole 12 months! They also do some fantastic talks and boat tours included in the price, which meant that we definitely got our money’s worth. The submarine tour was a personal favourite as it was very interesting to see inside and to see what those Men would live in for months on end. Spoiler alert… their living space is tiny! If you are claustrophobic this might not be a great tour for you!
Upnor Castle
A short drive away from Chatham is the beautiful and quaint village of Upnor and here you can find the historic Upnor Castle. You get the opportunity to walk around the castle and learn about what it would have been like to live and work there back in the 15th century. You can also get some fantastic views of the river Medway in which it sits on.
Hysteria Escape Rooms
If you are a fan of puzzles and escape rooms, then this is one for you. At Hysteria Escape Rooms there are 4 different rooms that you can choose from. There can be as little as 2 players in all of their rooms and 1 of their rooms has the option to have up to 8 players.
We choose to do the Citizen Erased room, which just happened to be the hardest of them all. You aim to escape in just 75 minutes and unfortunately, we didn’t make it out. However, it was so fun and was a great experience that honestly, we didn’t mind at all. The puzzles were difficult but not non-sensical like I have found in other escape rooms. We both agree that had we more time, we probably would have made it out!
Copper Rivet Distillery
Here is one for the Gin lovers! Following three years of restoration and refurbishment the Copper Rivet Distillery opened its doors at the historic Pumphouse No.5 at Chatham Maritime in Medway in 2016.
The distillery, which is run by Bob Russell and his two sons – Gin Guild member Matthew, and Stephen, has started producing small batch, handcrafted premium quality gin (and other spirits), from locally sourced high quality Kentish grain.
You are able to visit their beautiful Pumproom restaurant where there is good food and fantastic views of the River Medway. You can also take a tour of the distillery, which is exactly what we did. Here you find out how their different spirits are made, taste samples of their gin and vodka and even enjoy a complimentary drink of your choice at the end.
Our trip was short but sweet. There is plenty more to do in the area, but with the limited time we had, the above is what we choose to do. We will likely go back again in the future, even if it is just so Dan can look at all the boats again and geek out.
Have you been to Chatham before? What do you love to do there? Leave a comment below!
Without A Paddle Travel 