Castle · Lower Upnor · Kent

Upnor Castle

Upnor Castle is a fort located on the River Medway. Look for it within Lower Upnor’s built-up area. On the official register, it is a scheduled monument.

Photo: Upnor Castle, Clem Rutter, Rochester, Kent (CC BY 3.0)

Where

In Lower Upnor

inside the built-up area

Run by

English Heritage

a national heritage body

How well known

Top 4%

#309 of 8,556 places we list

Warmest months

May–Sep

highs of 17–23°C

In brief

Castle in Lower Upnor

One of the best-known places to visit in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

#309 of the 8,556 museums, castles, gardens and other attractions we list, by how widely it is covered (15 Wikipedias). About ↓

Inside Lower Upnor

Upnor Castle is inside Lower Upnor’s built-up area, with 25 more places to visit within 5 km. Towns near it ↓

Cared for by English Heritage

One of the places English Heritage looks after; members usually get in free. About ↓

Scheduled monument

On the official list of protected heritage; Lower Upnor has 16 listed buildings in all, on its History page. About ↓

Written from OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, the ONS built-up areas and Met Office 1991–2020 averages.

When to go

The best months to visit

Highs of 17–23°C mark May to September in Lower Upnor.

Jan8° / 3°54 mm

Feb9° / 2°41 mm

Mar11° / 4°34 mm

Apr14° / 5°39 mm

May17° / 8°42 mm

Jun21° / 11°48 mm

Jul23° / 13°43 mm

Aug23° / 13°46 mm

Sep20° / 11°51 mm

Oct16° / 8°69 mm

Nov11° / 5°60 mm

Dec9° / 3°53 mm

Green months are the warmest. Typical afternoon highs and night lows in Lower Upnor, and rain in a month. Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages for Lower Upnor. Opening times change through the year: check before you go. Lower Upnor’s full climate →

About

Upnor Castle

It is conserved by English Heritage. There are Wikipedia articles on it in 15 languages. Around it, within 15 km, lie 58 more places, Rochester Castle (2.6 km) first on our list.

Lower Upnor’s listed buildings and monuments →

Type: Castle
Run by: English Heritage
Listed: Scheduled monument
Wikipedias: Covered in 15 languages
Town: in Lower Upnor
Official site: english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/upnor-castle

Facts: Wikidata (CC0) and OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors).

The map

Around Upnor Castle, mapped

Numbered points are the places near Upnor Castle, which is in orange.

Towns near it

Towns that count Upnor Castle

The most populous of the 8 is Gillingham, at 108,485. They run in order of distance, starting where it stands.

1 · It’s in town

Lower Upnor

837 people · 27 places to visit

2 · 400 m southeast of it

Gillingham

108,485 people · 33 places to visit

3 · 500 m south of it

Chatham

76,956 people · 37 places to visit

4 · 800 m southwest of it

Rochester

67,279 people · 34 places to visit

Compare the 8 towns

Town	Where Upnor Castle is	People	Places to visit
Lower Upnor	It’s in town	837	27
Gillingham	400 m southeast of it	108,485	33
Chatham	500 m south of it	76,956	37
Rochester	800 m southwest of it	67,279	34
Chattenden	1 km north of it	2,417	24
Hoo St Werburgh	1.7 km northeast of it	8,758	25
Cliffe Woods	2.9 km northwest of it	2,689	18
Higham	4 km west of it	2,642	19

Make a day of it

Worth adding to a visit

Around it, within 15 km, lie 58 more, including 4 historic ships, a castle and a cathedral.

Castle · English HeritageRochester Castle2.6 km away 2

CathedralRochester Cathedral2.6 km away 3

Historic shipHMS Cavalier1.3 km away 4

Historic shipHMS Gannet1.2 km away 5

Historic shipHMS Ocelot1.3 km away 6

Historic shipRussian Foxtrot B-39 (U 475)2.1 km away 7

MuseumRoyal Engineers Museum1.8 km away 8

FortCockham Wood Fort1.8 km away

Within 15 km, close and well known first. Numbers match the map.

Questions about Upnor Castle

Where is Upnor Castle?

Upnor Castle is in Lower Upnor, Kent, inside the town’s built-up area.

What is Upnor Castle?

Fort located on the River Medway in Kent.

Who runs Upnor Castle?

English Heritage, so members usually get in free; check opening times before you go.

When is the best time to visit Upnor Castle?

May to September are the warmest months in Lower Upnor, with afternoon highs of 17–23°C (Met Office 1991–2020 averages).

Is Upnor Castle a listed building?

Yes: scheduled monument.

What else is there to see near Upnor Castle?

Within 15 km: Rochester Castle (2.6 km), Rochester Cathedral (2.6 km), HMS Cavalier (1.3 km) and HMS Gannet (1.2 km).

Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the ONS 2022 built-up area (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.

Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).

Photo credits (9)

Upnor Castle: Clem Rutter, Rochester, Kent, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Rochester Castle: Clem Rutter, Rochester, Kent, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Rochester Cathedral: Raggatt2000, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
HMS Cavalier: en:User:Swpmre, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
HMS Gannet: Paul Englefield from Leamington Spa, UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
HMS Ocelot: Mark.murphy at English Wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Russian Foxtrot B-39 (U 475): Hammersfan, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Royal Engineers Museum: Immanuel Giel, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Cockham Wood Fort: Nigel Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.