Days Out Near Medway With Children, Checked October 2026

For a day out with children near Medway, most families start at the Historic Dockyard Chatham, where one ticket lasts a year; Rochester Castle, the Norman keep above the river; or Diggerland in Strood, where children drive real diggers. A short drive out, Leeds Castle has playgrounds, a maze and birds of prey. Every entry was checked against the venue’s own site on 28 October 2026.

We have not visited these places and nothing here is a rating. Each entry sets out what the venue publishes: prices, opening dates, ages, booking rules, food, parking and access. Food hygiene ratings come from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) register; where a fact comes from somewhere else, we say so.

This time of year matters. Diggerland’s last day of 2026 is Sunday 1 November. The Dockyard closes for the winter after Sunday 15 November, apart from Mission Christmas. Fort Amherst’s tunnel tours are suspended until December, and Kent Life shuts on 8 and 9 November for its fireworks.

Chatham and Gillingham

The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Warships, the Victorian ropery and the RNLI’s historic lifeboat collection, on the dockyard’s own site. It is open daily from 10am to 4pm until Sunday 15 November 2026, except 9 and 10 November, and then closes until February 2027 apart from Mission Christmas. Tickets last a year: adults £29 online (£32.50 on the door), children aged 4 to 15 £18.50 (£20.50), a family of four £78 (£87); 3 and under free. Mission Christmas, on selected November and December dates, is a 45-minute story with Father Christmas and a gift for each child, at £25 a child and £17.50 an adult; there are quiet sessions. The Mess Deck restaurant is rated 5 by the FSA (July 2026). The dockyard says the walk from Chatham station takes 35 to 40 minutes. Main Gate Road, ME4 4TY. thedockyard.co.uk

Royal Engineers Museum, Gillingham

The museum of the Royal Engineers, in Brompton. It opens Tuesday to Sunday and on bank holiday Mondays, 10am to 5pm, last entry 4pm. Adults pay £17.50 (£15 for Medway residents), children aged 5 to 15 £8 and under-5s nothing; a family of two adults and two children is £45. Carers go free. The Courtyard cafe opens from 10.30am to 3.30pm and has high chairs, and baby changing is on the ground floor. Most of the museum is step free; the First World War trench has two steps and a step-free alternative. The museum says Fridays are generally the quietest day, and child-size ear defenders are available at reception. Prince Arthur Road, ME7 1SA. re-museum.co.uk

Fort Amherst, Chatham

The Napoleonic fortress above Chatham, run by the Fort Amherst Heritage Trust. The grounds, with their cannons and ramparts, are free and open all year, and dogs are welcome. The trust’s own page says its tunnel tours (from £10) are suspended until December 2026, so for now this is a free outdoor visit rather than an underground one. Its Halloween programme includes Clown Chaos for younger children; ghost tours, from £17.50, carry age limits. The Cannon Cafe serves an afternoon tea that has to be booked, from £25, and is rated 5 by the FSA (January 2025). Dock Road, ME4 4UB. fortamherst.com

Medway Queen, Gillingham Pier

The paddle steamer that crossed to Dunkirk in 1940, kept by the Medway Queen Preservation Society. The ship is open every Saturday until 6 December, 11am to 4pm, with last admission strictly at 3pm, and the society warns that restoration work can occasionally affect access. A ship tour costs £10 for an adult, and accompanied children under 16 go free. Parking on site is free, tea and coffee are served on board, and dogs on leads are welcome. The society is rated 5 by the FSA (February 2025). Gillingham Pier, ME7 1RX. medwayqueen.co.uk

Capstone Farm Country Park, Chatham

Medway Council’s country park: 114 hectares of woodland, meadow, lakes and trails, with a play area that has a cable runway, an inclusive roundabout and separate multi-plays for juniors and toddlers. It opens at 7.30am every day; in November and December it closes at 4.30pm. Entry is free and all-day parking is £3.50 (free for Blue Badge holders). The cafe and toilets open from 9.30am to 4pm between October and March. The cafe, Cafe Focus, is rated 5 by the FSA (March 2026). Capstone Road, ME7 3JG. medway.gov.uk

Chatham Snowsports Centre

A dry ski slope off Capstone Road with a 200m slope and what the centre calls “the UK’s longest toboggan run”. Tobogganing is £5.50 a ride, £10 for two or £20 for five; the minimum age is 4, children aged 4 to 7 ride with an adult and those 8 and over ride alone. Sno-tubing is £6 for 20 minutes, also from age 4. The centre says pre-booking is essential and it cannot guarantee places to walk-ins. It runs tots, junior and family ski lessons. Its online calendar shows it open from 10am to 6pm on some days and to 10pm on others. The site is rated 5 by the FSA (January 2026). Capstone Road, ME7 3JH. jnlchatham.co.uk

Buckmore Park, Chatham

An outdoor karting circuit on Maidstone Road with sessions for juniors aged 6 to 15. Beginners start with a 30-minute open session, then Bambino School for 6 and 7 year olds, then a 1 hour 45 minute training session with a track walk and a briefing for 8 to 15 year olds. Junior karts need a driver at least 4ft 2in (127cm) tall. Sessions are booked online, where the prices are shown. Buckmore Park Karting is rated 5 by the FSA (April 2025). Maidstone Road, ME5 9QG. buckmore.co.uk

Rochester and Strood

Rochester Castle

The Norman keep beside Rochester Cathedral, run by English Heritage. Visit Medway, the council’s tourism site, gives the opening hours as Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm, last admission 45 minutes before closing, and closed on Mondays except some bank holidays. Adults pay £9.50, children aged 5 to 17 £4.50 and a family of two adults and three children £24.50; under-5s and English Heritage members go free. A Halloween trail, Castle Crumb Snatchers, runs until 1 November. Castle Hill, ME1 1SW; 01634 335882. visitmedway.org

Guildhall Museum, Rochester

Medway’s own museum, in the Guildhall on Rochester High Street. The council says there are exhibitions and activities for children of all ages. It is a cheap one: adults £5, children £1.10, students and over-65s £4.50, and an annual pass for two adults and two children is £12. It opens Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm. It is a short walk from the castle, so the two fit into a day. 17 High Street, ME1 1PY; 01634 332900. medway.gov.uk

Diggerland Kent, Strood

A theme park where children and adults drive real diggers and dumper trucks. Its calendar shows it open daily from 10am to 4pm for half term, with Sunday 1 November 2026 as the last day of the season; it is closed for the winter after that. Booked online, a ticket costs £25.95 for anyone 90cm or taller (£39.50 on the day), and children under 90cm go free. A £5 booking fee is added. If you are unsure whether a child reaches 90cm, Diggerland says to book a free under-90cm ticket and pay the online rate at the gate if needed. The on-site caterer is rated 5 by the FSA (June 2026). Medway Valley Leisure Park, Roman Way, ME2 2NU. diggerland.com

A short drive out

Leeds Castle, near Maidstone

A castle on a lake in 500 acres of parkland. Children have two playgrounds (Knights’ Stronghold and Squires’ Courtyard), a maze and grotto, adventure golf, a bird of prey centre and a land train. From 1 October to 19 November the grounds open 10am to 5pm, last entry 3pm, and the playgrounds and maze close at 4pm. An Explorer ticket covers a year’s visits: adults £34.50 online (£38.50 on the day), children £24.50 (£28), families from £87. Parking is included. The Fireworks Spectacular is on 7 and 8 November, and Wallace & Gromit: A Cracking Christmas Caper runs from 21 November to 3 January. The restaurant operator is rated 5 by the FSA (September 2026). ME17 1PL. leeds-castle.com

Kent Life, Sandling

A heritage farm park at Sandling, just north of Maidstone. Children can see pigs, sheep, goats, Shetland ponies, alpacas and owls, buy a bag of feed for the animals, and use a soft play area, an outdoor adventure playground, a new sandpit and digger ride-ons. In November it opens from 10am to 4pm, but it is closed on 8 and 9 November for its fireworks, when it opens at 3pm for firework ticket holders. Christmas at Kent Life, with a visit to Santa, runs on selected dates from 28 November to 24 December. Everyone except carers must book online, which is where the prices are; carers go free with proof. Rated 5 by the FSA (December 2025). Lock Lane, ME14 3AU. kentlife.org.uk

Shorne Woods Country Park, near Gravesend

Kent County Council’s 292-acre country park off the A2, with three adventure play areas, a trim trail, waymarked trails, a permanent orienteering course and fishing lakes. The visitor centre was built in 2006 from local sweet chestnut and has a cafe with a wood-fired pizza oven. KCC says the car park opens at 9am and is locked at 7pm or just after sunset, whichever is earlier. Pay-and-display parking costs £3.50 a day on weekdays and £4.60 at weekends, according to KCC. The visitor centre cafe is rated 5 by the FSA (August 2025). Brewers Road, Shorne, DA12 3HX. kent.gov.uk

How we chose

These are the paid attractions and big free outdoor spaces that families in Medway search for, within the five towns or a short drive away. Every entry was checked on 28 October 2026 against the venue’s own website, or the council’s page where the council runs it. For Rochester Castle we used Visit Medway, which is run by Medway Council. Food hygiene ratings come from the FSA register, and we leave out anywhere rated below 3. Prices and dates change with the seasons and with special events, so check the linked page before a long trip. Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@medwaylive.co.uk.

For more ideas, see things to do in Medway, what’s on in Medway this month, soft play in Medway for rainy days, Medway playgrounds, walks near Medway and Santa’s grottos. For a meal on the way home, see our guides to Medway restaurants and Sunday roast in Medway, or browse the Medway business directory.

Frequently asked questions

Which Medway attractions close for the winter?

Diggerland in Strood has its last day of the season on Sunday 1 November 2026. The Historic Dockyard Chatham is open until Sunday 15 November (closed 9 and 10 November) and then only for Mission Christmas until February 2027. Fort Amherst’s grounds stay open, but its tunnel tours are suspended until December 2026. The Medway Queen opens on Saturdays until 6 December.

What can children do for free near Medway?

Fort Amherst’s grounds in Chatham are free to visit and open all year. Capstone Farm Country Park and Shorne Woods Country Park are free to walk in; you pay only for parking, £3.50 a day at Capstone and £3.50 to £4.60 at Shorne Woods. On the Medway Queen at Gillingham Pier, accompanied children under 16 go free with a £10 adult ticket.

How much is the Historic Dockyard Chatham for a family?

A family ticket for two adults and two children, or one adult and three children, is £78 booked online or £87 on the door, and it lets you back in for a year. Children aged 3 and under are free. Mission Christmas is ticketed separately: £25 for children aged 4 to 15 and £17.50 for anyone 16 or over.