We went exploring to find out how much of Chatham's Historic Dockyard is visible to the public when it is closed, and the answer was a surprising amount.

Because it was closed to the public we couldn't enter via the grand gates on Church Lane but instead had to walk along Dock Road up and over the brow of the hill and dropping down the other side to the entrance on Brunel Way. In so doing we passed a sad plaque mounted high on the wall to commemorate a tragedy neither of us had heard of. Sad because of the tragedy but also sad because of the everlasting errors carved into the gold lettering on the commemorative black granite.

But we were cheered by the Historic Dockyard itself. Despite being closed there was plenty to see and we think we might even return another time when it is open.