If you’ve ever wondered what is behind the walls of the Dockyard, Saturday 15th June is your chance to find out for FREE!

On Saturday 15th June, The Historic Dockyard Chatham will be offering a unique opportunity for people to visit our Award Winning attraction completely for FREE! Following the success of our first free open day in 2018 in conjunction with the Medway Council River Festival, the Dockyard Free Day Our will give visitors an insight into the most complete dockyard of the age of sail.

Visitors can marvel at the Historic Dockyard’s 3 Historic Warships including HMS Gannet (a Victorian Sloop built in Sheerness in 1878), HMS Cavalier (a Second World War Destroyer and now part of the National Destroyer Memorial) and HM Submarine Ocelot (a Cold-War Submarine and the last ship built for the Royal Navy at Chatham). These warships served the Royal Navy and now reside at The Dockyard for visitors to learn what life at sea was like for them.

Have you ever noticed rope? It’s everywhere – in the garden, in theatres, in movies, at home and more – but do you know how it’s made? The Victorian Ropery at The Dockyard has been making rope for 400 years and still does today. See the Master Ropemakers at work making it on our unique Ropewalk that’s a quarter of a mile long!

With over 10 museums and galleries there’s plenty of opportunities to learn something new in a fun and interactive way. Learn more about the RNLI, saving lives at sea in the UK’s largest collection of RNLI historic lifeboats.  Experience how the ships of the age of sail were built in our award-winning Command of the Oceans galleries.

Crowds can watch Steam trains thunder along Anchor Wharf and witness them operating in their original environment in our railway display area (unique to this even).

Visitors will also an exclusive chance to experience an Air Raid! With a guided tour, visitors will be taken in to one of the Dockyard’s very own Air Raid Shelters to discover what life was like in one during the Second World War. There will be a small additional charge for this activity on the day.

Don’t miss out on family activities in the No.1 Smithery Courtyard too! An interactive education zone full of fun for the family will take place throughout the day including learning and creating your own Rocket to fire!

To attend on the Dockyard’s FREE Day Out, registration is required online via the Historic Dockyard’s website:  https://thedockyard.co.uk/whats-on/dockyard-free-day-out/

Registration opens on the 1st June and spaces will fill up quickly so be sure to register straight away!

Parking at the Dockyard Free Day Out will be limited to Blue Badge Holders only but there are plenty of ways to get to the site by foot and public transport. Please see our website for further information.

Please note – our 3 historic ships won’t be open to visitors on the day and our temporary exhibition (A Pirate’s Life For Me) will also be closed to visitors. However – we will be offering a significant opportunity for those that attend on the day to upgrade to an annual ticket – giving access to all areas of the site and our fantastic programme of activities, all valid for 12 months.