Call the Midwife Location Tour in Chatham: Behind the Scenes at the Historic Dockyard

Join a personalized midwife guide on a 1.5-hour walk around the iconic dockyard used for filming the acclaimed BBC series ‘Call the Midwife’. The tour goes beyond the screen, featuring an exhibition of original outfits and equipment utilized in the beloved TV show.

Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights

Originally based on the series of books written by Jennifer Worth, the award-winning TV adaptation of ‘Call the Midwife’ has captivated audiences worldwide since its debut in 2012. While the interiors of Nonnatus House are filmed on a closed studio set in Surrey, many exterior scenes and other locations are shot at Chatham Dockyard in Kent.

With over 10 million viewers and now in its fifth series, the Historic Dockyard Chatham in Kent has been used to depict the impoverished areas of East End London during the 1950s and 1960s.

As you stroll around the dockyard, you’ll recognize the streets and buildings that represent the area around Poplar Dock, where many memorable scenes featuring the show’s stars have been filmed.

This leisurely walking tour is led by your very own ‘midwife’ and guide. Your ‘midwife’ will share intriguing anecdotes about the show’s filming, behind-the-scenes facts, and provide background information on Chatham Dockyard itself. The tour also includes an exhibition of costumes and props used in the show, including a recreation of the Nonnatus House dining table.

Various other locations around The Dockyard have also been featured in the BBC One production, as well as in numerous other movies and TV shows.

Purchasing a ticket for the Call the Midwife Locations Tour also grants you full access to explore Chatham Dockyard.

Points of Interest

  • The Historic Dockyard Chatham
What's Included
  • Professional guide
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Transportation to/from attractions
Location
ME4 4UY
Staff at the visitors entrance located in the car park of The Historic Dockyard Chatham (Postcode: ME4 4UY) will give you a map of the site and information on where to meet the tour guide.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.5
(404 Ratings)
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K9482ngjoh
Sep 23, 2024
Call the midwife. - Informative, friendly guide. Few props from the show, mock up of the haberdashers & shop etc. Learnt about a few tricks the set designers use so they are able to use the same location for different scenes, without the viewers realising. Fair amount of walking, but ground is mainly level but can be uneven in few places. The tour ticket allows you to spend the full day in the Chatham historic dockyard. This was an added bonus for us, but you could really do with more than one day to take in all that is there to be seen. Well worth the visit.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tonig548
Sep 9, 2024
One for the CTM Fans!! - A great afternoon with Janet fulfilling a tragic CTM fan dream with all the ins and outs of this great filming location. Her knowledge of the cast and episodes was great plus the technical knowledge of how it’s all put together. Highly recommend! If you have extra time, explore the Dockyards, there’s a lot on offer!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ifanb1999
Sep 1, 2024
A must-do for dedicated CTM fans - Such a fun little tour to do, we went with the 60 minute tour and Irene the tour guide was brilliant. She packed it full of info with an entertaining and approachable attitude. I would say the tour suits dedicated fans of the series more than the casual viewer, as it focuses more on exterior filming than the sets you may be familiar with. But a fun and different day out!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Caroline_f
Aug 31, 2024
Love Call the Midwife - Excellent guide, clearly a fan of the show. Explained a lot about the sets and how many times the film crew used the same areas. She told us the episode and the series particular sets were used
Review provided by Viator
B3143adjackiel
Aug 25, 2024
An interesting tour - An interesting tour with a brilliant tour guide, Clare. She bought the scenes to life with her enthusiasm and humour. Plenty of history about the docks as well. Seeing the replica sets and costumes and props was great but didnt get long enough in there. Only thing I found difficult was the terrain. There were many different surfaces with drains and train tracks to trip on during this walking tour plus cobble stones in places. Also went on a tour round the ropery to see them producing ropes that are still sold to various companies.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Beckyfergy
Aug 19, 2024
Good day out - If you are a fan of the show then I’d definitely recommend this tour. We really enjoyed it, as it states it is a walking tour so keep that in mind if your not one for much walking. It was great to see all the key spots and our tour guide was so informative. I went with my sister, mum & mother in law (ages ranging from 40-76). We didn’t have time to go round all that is at the dockyard after we’d done the tour as we wanted to grab some food in the restaurant (which was very nice). Will definitely do another visit with my son & husband and go round all of the other elements of the dockyard. Parking is free if you book a tour (give your reg when getting your entry tickets).
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Helen_e
Aug 18, 2024
Call the midwife tour - What a brilliant day we had from start to finish, I would recommend this to anyone,the midwife tour was very good and informative and put a whole new perspective whilst watching the programme
Review provided by Viator
Wendid429
Aug 18, 2024
Great tour - Four of us took this tour two of which are very slow walkers. The guide was brilliant and waited patiently to accommodate them and advised different routes if couldnt do the few steps necessary. She was so knowledgable about the show. I wouldn’t say I got much out of walking the empty areas imaging the scenes but at the end when you see all the props was fun. Also great that we could see the dockyard and ships. Great day out
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Daktaridaktari
Aug 17, 2024
Great tour, great experience, lovely setting. - Much enjoyed this tour, with Irene as our knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide. I feel some of the criticism on this page is unfair: the ticket (£40) for the tour includes access to all of Chatham Historic Dockyard (£32) so unless someone corrects me £8 for the CTM tour would seem a bargain. Although often used for this purpose the Historic Dockyard is not a filmset as such, so I would not have expected a studio experience. Concluding the tour with the props and costume exhibition is a great idea. Much recommended!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
H9357spmichellen
Sep 1, 2024
Interesting, but left wanting more... - Let me start by saying that our guide was wonderful. She was full of information and made us laugh a lot. The ticket for call the midwives tour includes entrance for the whole of the dockyard. If you want to, you can go on different ships, into a submarine and see numerous exhibitions. Which although is an added bonus, we had primarily gone for the tour. The tour itself is 90% outside, you're taken to different areas of the dockyard where filming took place. You are shown how they cleverly altered the buildings to make them look like houses etc. Its only the last ten minutes of the tour that you get to see any props or anything actually used while filming, and yes Trixies wedding dress is just as beautiful in real life! I have to admit though, that it did leave us wanting a bit more. I knew that it was a walking tour before we went, but I had hoped to see a few more scenes from actual filming, but these were unsurprisingly filmed in a studio that isn't located at the dockyard. Overall we did have a good day out, we had a lovely lunch in the main restaurant and did look round the rest of the dockyard. But the reason for 3 stars is a review purely based on the tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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