europeannovice

Do you need a whole day for Chatham Dockyards? Or would a half day be sufficient? There seems to be a lot there within the complex and some of them require timed tickets like the ropery exhibit and the submarine so trying to judge how much time is needed without rushing through.

I don't think you can combine that day with Leeds Castle or Ightham Mote, right? Wouldn't allow enough time for those.

But how about combining with Rochester?

europeannovice

Who has been there recently?

GregY2

You would only need more than a 1/2 day if you had a particular technoical interest.

We visited a couple of years ago; drove from Tunbridge Wells, had a look around Rochester, continued to the Dockyards and still had stime to visit Deal castle before getting back to our Cottage. That was a long day and I wouldn't recommend the last part but Rochester/Chatham would be easy.

Don't miss Ightham Mote if you can help it, its a lovely building in a beautiful setting. Depending on how long you did spend at the Dockyards it could be feasible to visit on the same day.

anicecupoftea

We went last September, driving from Tonbridge which took less than an hour. It was a weekday out of school holidays, and very few people about (partially because of the weather, I suspect). We were there for around 3 hours, which gave us time for the submarine, a tall ship, the rope making demonstration, a couple of exhibitions, general wandering and a trip to the cafe. So if you aim to visit something either close to your base or on the route back, you'll easily have time for a second activity. And if you find it hard to tear yourselves away from the Dockyard, the tickets are valid for a year so you could go back again later in your stay.

Gordon_R

Each to his/her own, but I would say that Chatham Dockyard does merit more than half a day. It's a huge spread out site with many "museums within museums". It would be a shame to go to the trouble and expense of visting then rushing round a small fraction of what's there in just half a day.

europeannovice

GregY2--Thanks for your reply. Did you see both the ropery exhibit and the submarine exhibit when you last visited?

Anicecupoftea--Thanks for your input too. I guess you didn't feel rushed and saw a fair amount in the three hours?

Gordon-R--Thanks also. Did you spend the whole day? It does look fairly extensive--rope making, film on ship building, a couple of museums and the two ships and submarine to explore.

That's why I don't want to plan on two major things that day. Maybe Chatham and Rochester would be a good fit rather than something like Leeds Castle or Ightham Mote. Leeds Castle appears close by within 30 min drive but does not get favorable reviews on these boards. Whereas Ightham Mote is highly recommended by all and I think would warrant more time than just a couple of hours.

Too many things to see and definitely not enough days/time to see it all.

GregY2

We did see the ropery and the submarine. Both were good but didn't take all that long - I'd say about 1/2 hour each, probably less for the submarine.

Ightam Mote is delightful but unless you want to spend a lot of time wandering the grounds, I doubt you'd be on site for much more than an hour.

Depending on where you are coming from I'd suggest an early start to vist Rochester and then the Dockyard and just make a decision about Ightam Mote on your way back.