5 Best Sights in The Southeast, England

The buildings and 47 retired ships at the 80-acre dockyard across the River Medway from Rochester in Chatham constitute the country's most complete Georgian-to-early-Victorian dockyard. Fans of maritime history could easily spend a day at the exhibits and structures here. The dockyard's origins go back to the time of Henry VIII; some 400 ships were built here over the centuries. Highlights include a museum of naval artifacts, including some fascinating 18th-century scale models; the Ropery, where costumed guides take you on a tour of an old rope factory (including its impressive quarter-mile-long "rope walk"); and the timber remains of the 18th-century HMS Namur, called the "Ship Beneath the Floor" because parts were found under flooring at the dockyard. Guests who aren't afraid of tight spaces can take guided tours of the submarine HMS Ocelot, the last warship to be built for the Royal Navy at Chatham. For a (slightly) hidden gem, climb to the top of "the Big Space" to see the stunning, 19th-century wood-beamed roof. Note that the Historic Dockyard is a 40-minute walk (or a 10-minute drive) from the center of Rochester; there's no direct bus.

The medieval Poor Priests' Hospital is the site of this quirky local museum, where exhibits provide an overview of the city's history and architecture from Roman times to World War II. It covers everything and everyone associated with the town, including the mysterious death of the 16th-century writer Christopher Marlowe and the British children's book and TV characters Rupert the Bear and Bagpuss. Look out for the beautiful (and tiny) gold dragon pendant, an Anglo-Saxon treasure that was made in Kent around 1,200 years ago.

Below ground, at the level of the remnants of Roman Canterbury, this small but informative museum tells the story of the area's distant Roman past. Highlights of the collection include a hypocaust (the Roman version of central heating) and two colorful floor mosaics dating from around the year 270 that were unearthed in the aftermaths of the bombs that fell on Canterbury during World War II. Displays of excavated objects—some of which you can hold in the Touch the Past area—and computer-generated reconstructions of Roman buildings and the marketplace help re-create the past.

Set over three floors, this fascinating museum tells the story of Chichester and the surrounding area over the last 500,000 years. It's built around the remains of a Roman bathhouse, so an entire floor is given over to life in Roman Chichester (or Noviomagus Reginorum, as it was known then). Explore further, and you'll delve both back and forward in time, with exhibits ranging from Bronze Age remains to 17th-century memorials. There are also excellent, regularly changing exhibitions on local history.

Down the hill past Church Square, Ypres Tower—pronounced "Wipers" by locals—was originally built as part of the town's fortifications (now all but disappeared) in 1249; it later served as a prison. A row of defensive cannons is fixed to the rampart overlooking the (disappointingly industrial) edge of Rye and several miles of flatland beyond. When they were installed, however, the canons pointed directly out to sea. Inside the tower is the Rye Castle Museum (RCM), which has displays on the city's history, from medieval floor tiles to 15th-century suits of armor, as well as an interesting exhibition on 1830s life as a female prisoner in the "women's tower."

A second (free to enter) outpost of the RCM at nearby 3 East Street has more exhibits, including examples of Rye pottery, for which the town was famous, and a fire engine that was built in 1745 and served the town for 120 years.