A casual weekend to meet up and talk Fairey Atalantas against the backdrop of Chatham Historic Dockyard and the River Medway in Kent.

Saturday Evening Dinner and Drinks – At Medway Yacht Club. It is essential to book by Sunday 6th April.

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BOOKING OPEN NOW

EVERYONE IS WELCOME

The AOA AGM will be held on Saturday afternoon.

STOP PRESS: We are expecting at least 2-3 Atalantas to be open
for visitors in the Marina. More details as we know more.

There is a lot of information on this page.
Schedule
Booking your place
Attractions
Meals
Accommodation
If you prefer you can download the same information as a PDF file by clicking here

The Schedule

The detailed schedule and instructions will be issued to attendees nearer the time. There are a number of organised points in the schedule – lunch, the AGM, dinner – but otherwise the expectation is that people will explore in ever-changing small groups, catching up on Atalantas and everything else they want.

Booking Your Place

The AOA are organising the overall timetable, Saturday lunch venue and the AGM, drinks and dinner on Saturday night. You should book your own accommodation, other meals and tickets for attractions. This document outlines some of the options but you will need to do your own research.

AGM attendance – via the AOA

Please let us know if you intend to come to the AGM (this is separate to the drinks and dinner later on Saturday evening). You can do this by using the ‘Notice of AGM and Return’ form circulated with the Bulletin or on the ‘AGM and Dinner Booking Form’ once it is available. Please let us know as early as possible and certainly by Sunday 6^th April.

Saturday Drinks and Dinner – via the AOA

The arrangement with Medway Yacht Club requires us not notify them two weeks in advance of the names and menu choices of our party.  You must order and pay for your dinner by Sunday 6^th April and as early as possible please.

Online and downloadable bookings forms will be available via the website early in 2025 and a form will be included with the February newsletter.

Hotels, Campsites or other Accommodation

Please book your own accommodation.  The Committee are basing themselves around the Travelodge just outside the Dockyard. Other options are included below and there are many more.

Be warned – the more times a particular date is viewed on hotels the more likely is that their pricing algorithms start to increase the price. Select your hotel without looking at the specific date and then dive in and book.

Dockyard Entry

Please buy your own tickets. It is cheaper to buy in advance on the website than on the gate.  The individual and family tickets are valid for one year from the day you first use them. A ticket will give you access all over the weekend and for the next year! There are a host of discounts offered too. For example carers, residents of the Medway Towns, Armed Forces, English Heritage Members, and Museum Association members.
(We did investigate a Group Booking but the tickets are valid only for one day which did not suit the event.)

Other attractions

We suggest that people pay for these on the day, according to how events evolve. The list of attractions below includes websites where you can research prices and opening times.

The Attractions

(Back to the top)

An overview of the attractions. The Dockyard is at the core but you may choose to visit other attractions nearby over the weekend, or even extend to three or four days. There is a lot to see.

Chatham Historic Dockyard Attractions

The website https://thedockyard.co.uk has a page dedicated to the available attractions at https://thedockyard.co.uk/plan-your-visit/. These are

• Command of the Oceans – heyday Age of Sail
• No.1 Smithery – Treasure house of maritime treats
• The Historic Railway – history and 1mile of track and steam engines
• The Ropery – ropemaking
• HMS Gannett – wood on iron frame 1878, sail & steam
• HMS Cavalier – 1944 Destroyer
• HM Submarine Ocelot – Oberon Class submarine
• RNLI Historic Lifeboat Collection – largest collection of historic lifeboats
• Steam, Steel & Submarines – The Dockyard through the Industrial Revolution, WW1 and WW2
• Hearts of Oak – The story of a Dockyard carpenter
• 3 Slip – array of epic objects and vehicles from the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, Royal Engineers Museum, Library and Archive and Imperial War Museum collections.
• The Commissioners Guarden – May not be open

Historic Pontoon incl Vic 96, in the marina by Ship and Trades

This is a small collection of historic vessels on a pontoon outside Ship & Trades pub. We are trying to organize a tour and will update details if we do.

Upnor Castle 3 ½ miles driving

English Heritage, Elizabethan fort, Dutch invasion. We will not be making an AOA ‘organised’ visit but people might like to visit this impressive castle and read about the Dutch Invasion. There are great views of the river and dockyard.

Fort Amherst  ½ mile from Chatham Gate

This fort was built in the 18^th century to protect the Dockyard. It is part of an extensive area of defences referred to as ‘The Lines’.  The website is Entry is https://fortamherst.com/.  Entry is free and there are tunnel tours and an onsite Cannon Café. Perhaps for a visit outside of the ‘core’ midday to midday time?

Royal Engineers Museum, about 1 mile

£12-14 – Story of the Royal Engineers and Sappers

Medway Queen, 1 ½ miles

Paddle steamer, being restored, Dunkirk ship.  restoration at Gillingham Dock

Chatham Naval Memorial, The Lines, 3 miles

The Lines are a network of Napoleonic linear defences with projecting bastions. Now parkland it joins Fort Amherst with Brompton, Chatham and Gillingham.  The Chatham Naval Memorial, a mile from the Royal Engineers Museum, looks out over Chatham and the River Medway.
Read about the memorial here.

Rochester Cathedral and Castle, 4 miles

These are side by side close to the River Medway.  Both are worth exploring.

https://www.rochestercathedral.org
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/rochester-castle/

Meals

There are numerous cafes, restaurants, and take-away food outlets on the Chatham Maritime site and even more in the Chatham, Brompton and Gillingham. Only two meals are being organized by the AOA:

• Saturday 26^th
  • Lunch at 1200 will be at a café (to be confirmed) within  the Dockyard. This will be an informal arrangement. The aim is to meet up here with attendees buying their own food and drink.
  • Dinner at 7pm for 7.30pm will be at the Medway Yacht Club. This will be a ticketed meal and orders must be placed by 6^th April.

We may also suggest that everyone takes breakfast at the Ship and Trades pub overlooking the Marina, but this will be an informal arrangement confirmed on the weekend.

Accommodation

Options are listed below with approximate distances from the Dockyard entrance. Please also refer to the map at the top of this document.
There are obviously numerous hotels, B&Bs and AirBnBs throughout the Medway Towns.

Youth Hostel Gillingham is 4 miles away Gillingham, Kent, ME7 3JE  

Travelodge Chatham Maritime Hotel is ¼ mile from the Dockyard entrance.

Ship and Trades pub – ¾ mile from Dockyard entrance overlooking the marina. This has only a few rooms.

Premier Inn Gillingham is 1½ miles from the Dockyard in a more industrial area.

King Charles Hotel  is 1 mile from the Dockyard, opposite the Royal Engineers Museum .

Campsites The two closest, there are others a bit further away.

• Five Acres 5 miles from the Dockyard at Holywell Lane, Upchurch, Kent, ME9 7HN https://www.5acc.co.uk
• Allhallows Place Touring Park 8 miles from the Dockyard at Stoke Road, Allhallows, Rochester, Kent, ME3 9PD https://www.campsites.co.uk/search/campsites-in-kent/rochester/allhallows-place-touring-park