'''Chatham''' is a town on the River Medway in the north of the English county of Kent. Together with its neighbouring towns of Rochester and Gillingham it forms a large urban area known as the Medway Towns.
Get in
By car
From London, take the A2 arterial road (32 miles / 51 km).
From Canterbury, take the A2 and the M2 to Junction 3 for the Rochester exit (32 miles / 51 km, about 40 mins).
By train
Chatham Station [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatham_railway_station] is located near the shopping area of the town. Trains are operated by [http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/ SouthEastern] From London Charing Cross (via Dartford) (typical journey time 60 - 65 minutes) and Victoria (typical journey time 45 - 60 minutes). Trains from Ramsgate and Dover also serve Chatham. As of 2006 the old slam-door trains on the Victoria - Ramsgate/Dover route have been replaced with more modern rolling stock.
Get around
Local buses are operated by Arriva [http://www.arrivabus.co.uk].
See
'''The Historic Dockyard''' [http://www.thedockyard.co.uk] 01634 823807. An old naval dockyard now run as a museum. Open daily in spring and summer, weekends only in winter.
'''Fort Amherst''' [http://www.fortamherst.com] Dock Road, Chatham, ME4 4UB 01634 847747. Open daily in summer.
'''The New Art Centre''', 272 High St, Chatham ME4 4BP, Tel. 01634 812108 [http://www.thenac.co.uk]. Charity run art gallery with "wireless internet cafe" - free admission.
Do
'''Cruise''' on the Kingswear Castle Paddle Steamer [http://www.pskc.freeserve.co.uk]
Buy
Eat
'''The Feast''', 10 Batchelor Street, Chatham, ME4 4BT. Good basic turkish restaurant. Although they do kebabs (and other stuff) it is nothing like a kebab shop. A good 3 course dinner with soft drinks (they do sell wine and beer) cost __10.
Drink
Sleep
The Medway Council list accommodation on their website [http://www.medway.gov.uk/accommodations-search.asp].
Hostels
'''Medway Youth Hostel''', Capstone Road, Gillingham, ME7 3JE 0870 770 5964 [http://www.yha.org.uk]. 40 bed summer hostel about 4 miles from Chatham, housed in a districtive converted Oast House in a semi-rural setting.
Bed and Breakfasts
Hotels
'''St George Hotel''', 7-8 New Road Avenue, Chatham, Kent. ME4 6BB Tel: 01634 841012, [http://www.george-hotel.co.uk] About 5 minutes walk from Chatham station. Single rooms __40, doubles __60.
'''Holiday Inn Rochester''', Maidstone Road, Chatham, ME5 9SF 0870 400 9069. Modern hotel about 4 miles from the town centre.
'''Ramada Encore Chatham''', Western Avenue, Chatham Historic Dockyard, ME4 4NT, 0844 8010 313. [http://www.encorechatham.co.uk] Opened in 2007, located near the entrance to the Dockyard and Dicken's World, and 1-2 miles from the town centre. Rooms about __60 without breakfast.
Get out