Tudor coastal fortress overlooking The Downs, one of England's key naval anchorages where fleets assembled and convoys gathered during the American War. Militia reinforced the garrison during the 1779 Franco-Spanish invasion threat.
Start at Deal Castle overlooking the Downs, where warship fleets assembled before crossing the Atlantic. Drive inland to Chatham, the Royal Navy's great building yard.
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Directions to next stop
- Head northwest on Marine Road
- Turn right onto The Strand, A258
- Turn left onto Gilford Road
- Turn left onto London Road, A258
- Turn right onto London Road, A258
- Turn left onto Mongeham Road
- ... and 32 more steps
Distance: 77.0 km
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Drive: 64 min
One of the Royal Navy's principal dockyards, Chatham built and fitted many warships used in the American war. The dockyard was also a target of concern during the war when Britain feared French invasion.
Chatham built many of the warships that fought in American waters. Walk up the hill to Fort Amherst, the strongpoint that defended the dockyard from French invasion.
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Directions to next stop
- Head northwest
- Turn slight left onto South Pondside Road
- Turn right onto Maingate Road
- Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Western Avenue
- Continue straight onto Western Avenue
- Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Dock Road
- ... and 5 more steps
Distance: 2.1 km
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Drive: 5 min
Key strongpoint of the Chatham Lines, substantially enhanced during the American Revolutionary War (1778-83) to defend the vital Chatham Dockyard. Underground tunnels were carved between 1776 and 1805.
Fort Amherst's tunnels and ramparts were expanded during the war as France threatened the dockyard below. Tomorrow, drive south through the Kent and Sussex countryside.
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Site of a massive 15,000-troop military camp established in 1778 during the American War. George III reviewed militia forces training against threatened French invasion after France allied with the American colonies.
Fifteen thousand troops camped here during the invasion scare of 1778. Continue south to Stoneland Lodge, country retreat of the man who directed the American war.
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Directions to next stop
- Head south
- Turn left onto Frant Road, B2099
- Turn right onto Buckhurst Lane
- Turn left onto Buckhurst Lane
- Turn right onto Wadhurst Road, B2100
- Turn left onto Tunbridge Wells Road, B2100
- ... and 18 more steps
Distance: 38.3 km
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Drive: 39 min
Country estate of Lord George Germain (Viscount Sackville), Secretary of State for the Colonies 1775-1782. Germain was the principal architect of British military strategy in America and bore much blame for the defeat.
Lord Germain ran the war from here and from Pall Mall. Drive on to Lewes, where the author of Common Sense once lived as a humble excise officer.
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Directions to next stop
- Head northwest
- Turn left onto Castle Precincts
- Turn sharp right onto Commercial Square, A2029
- Keep left onto Phoenix Causeway, A2029
- Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Malling Street, A2029
- Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A26
- ... and 8 more steps
Distance: 8.1 km
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Drive: 11 min
Thomas Paine lived in Lewes 1768-1774, working as an excise officer and participating in the Headstrong Club debating society at the White Hart Inn. His experiences with taxation and political debate here informed 'Common Sense' (1776).
Tom Paine honed his rhetorical skills at the Headstrong Club, a debating society at the White Hart Inn in Lewes — the training ground for the voice that would write Common Sense. Nearby Firle Place was home to the general he helped defeat.
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Directions to next stop
- Head northeast on The Hard
- Keep left
- Keep left onto Hope Street, A3
- Continue straight onto Hope Street, A3
- Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Mile End Road, A3
- Keep right onto M275
- ... and 11 more steps
Distance: 21.0 km
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Drive: 26 min
Ancestral home of the Gage family; General Thomas Gage, British Commander-in-Chief who ordered the march to Lexington and Concord that started the Revolution in April 1775, returned here after his recall and is buried at the parish church nearby.
General Gage ordered the march on Lexington and Concord that started the war. Tomorrow, drive west to Portsmouth, the navy's premier home port.
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The Royal Navy's foremost dockyard and home port for many vessels that served in the American war. HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship (built here 1759-1765), was also in active service during the Revolution.
HMS Victory was fitted out here for the fleet that fought in American and Caribbean waters. Cross the harbour to Gosport, where captured American sailors were held.
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Held American prisoners of war, mostly captured sailors and privateers. Conditions were harsh, and several escape attempts were made. Benjamin Franklin helped organize relief supplies for the prisoners from Paris.
Hundreds of American prisoners endured harsh conditions at Forton. End the tour at Buckler's Hard, the New Forest shipyard that built warships from ancient oaks.
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18th-century shipbuilding village where warships for the American War were built, including HMS Agamemnon (1781) which fought at the Battle of the Saintes (1782). Henry Adams supervised construction.
This peaceful riverside village built warships that fought in the American war — a reminder that the conflict reached into every corner of England's southern coast.
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