HMS Unicorn is a 46-gun frigate launched at Chatham in 1824 and now permanently moored in Victoria Dock, a short walk east of the city centre. She is the third-oldest ship still afloat anywhere in the world and the only one to retain her original below-deck timbers and fittings. Walking through her four decks gives an almost eerie sense of an early-nineteenth-century warship preserved in mid-build.
The visit is self-guided and takes about an hour. Bring something to keep your hair tidy on the lower decks — the headroom is even tighter than you expect. Modest entry fee. The dock and the surrounding quay also house the North Carr lightship.