PORTSMOUTH (PART 3)

At the end of our first full day, we took a harbour tour (all included in the Ultimate Explorer price). As I've mentioned before, it is well worth getting the Ultimate Explorer ticket, because, for a  few pounds more, you can visit the dockyard as many times as you want over a year as opposed to just a day ticket. For us, as we were in Portsmouth for three days, it meant we could go every day and not pay an extra penny. And there was still loads to see when we left, so another visit sometime is tempting. Here is a map of the Dockyard to give you an idea of how much there is to see.

At the time of our tour, there were two massive aircraft carriers in dock for maintenance. They are the only two we currently use, being HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales. They were enormous and towered above the sea, the bows curled upwards to facilitate the take-off of planes on a short runway.

Other naval ships vied for attention  and even a humungous cruise ship (how on earth does that thing float?)

The following day we returned to look at another historic ship, The HMS Warrior, launched in 1860. Again, it was incredible to see how shipbuilding had progressed in the century since HMS Victory. The ship seemed wider, the ceilings higher and somehow with more comfortable conditions, although probably not when all 800 men were on board! The dockyard staff on board, whom we could approach to ask questions, were actors dressed in Victorian sailors' costumes and played their part well. At one stage, we were in the officers' dining cabin and I spied two paintings on the wall. One was of Victoria and I assumed the other was of Albert. My friend and I were musing over this when one of the officers approached us and confirmed that it was indeed Albert. "He died two years ago", the man said. Other crew members addressed us both as "M'am". It  was a lovely touch and got us into the spirit of the time. Here are some pictures taken of HMS Warrior (the first one is the first thing you see as you step outside Portsmouth Harbour train station!)

Officer's cabin

Officers' dining room

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and can recommend it. Sadly we didn't have time to see everything in three days, but we still have the option to return within the year. Watch this space!! Why don't you give it a try too? I can recommend the Premier Inn Hotel which is literally a two-minute walk from the Dockyard.  It is also a ten-minute walk to Gunwharf Quays - a modern harbour-front shopping mall with loads of pubs and restaurants to eat out at in the evenings, as well as the famous Spinnaker tower.

I apologise that the photos are not great - the weather, as is always my luck was not great. Thunder and lightning were forecast most days but thankfully it did not rain for long. so we were still able to get about and cover most things we wanted to do.

PORTSMOUTH (PART 2)

The following day, we returned to the Historic Dockyard, intending to get everything done in a day, but there is just so much to see, it is impossible to do in a day. In fact, if I'm honest, you probably need a week.

We started off with the Mary Rose exhibition and that in itself is worth at least 3 hours. Henry VIII's flag ship, The Mary Rose, sank in 1545 fighting off the French who had reached as far as the Isle of Wight with their fleet. Henry VIII later tried to have it pulled up with ropes attached to the mast, but the mast snapped and it lay at the bottom of the sea for many centuries, despite attempts in 1836, when it was discovered by fisherman and later professional divers who also failed to bring it to the surface. It was rediscovered in 1971 and this time a project to bring it to the surface was successful in 1982. Since then a museum has been built around it and attempts to recover more of the ship continue. You can read more about it here.

Half of the ship is beautifully restored behind glass to preserve the temperature and right humidity for the timbers. Hundreds of artefacts found on board have given great insight into various aspects of Tudor life and even the nationalities and medical conditions of those found on board, including a little dog. Video projections onto the ship show life on board ship. It was really interesting.  The climax of our tour, ended in a realistic theatre experience with 3D glasses to experience the dive down to the bottom of the seabed, when they found it in the 1970s. You got the sensation of diving yourself, the wind on your face as you resurfaced. It was truly amazing. Here again are some pictures of that morning. Incidentally, the ship was named after Henry's sister Mary and the Tudor emblem of a rose.

cross-section of the decks which would have housed 500 men

Figurehead of the Mary Rose

The afternoon of that day was spent going on board HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar, where he lost his life in 1805. It was another fascinating experience to see how shipbuilding had advanced in the centuries between Mary Rose and Victory. The ship seemed more spacious, luxurious even for the officers such as Captain Hardy and Admiral Nelson. Most men slept in hammocks strung from beams, whereas Nelson had a proper bed which was easier for him to get in and out of, as he only had one arm by then. The decks were wider and longer, giving the impression of more space, although with 800 men on board it was probably unbearably overcrowded with noisy smoky cannons being fired at the enemy.  Here are some pictures of HMS Victory.

The officers' 'luxury' quarters

below deck

Nelson's quarters

Nelson's bed

There was still some time left in the day to do a harbour tour, but, so as not to overwhelm you with photos, I'll write more about that another time, together with a visit to HMS Warrior, a Victorian naval ship. I did say there was so much to see and how lucky we were to get a ticket that would enable us to visit the dockyard as many times as we wanted (for a whole year) and not be constricted to just one day.

PORTSMOUTH (PART 1)

I've not long returned from what will probably be my last trip away from home this year. My old friend from uni days (we've known one another 55 years this month) offered to go away on holiday with me for a few days. She had suggested Portsmouth as a possible destination and, as I have never been there, I decided "why not?", although I must confess I did not really think there would be much to see. How wrong was I?

We booked into a hotel right down by the harbour and my train arrived at Portsmouth Harbour station, despite engineering works on the outward journey on a Sunday which involved a bus service between Arundel and Barnham. The train station was a few minutes' walk to our hotel and a few minutes' walk to the Historic Dockyard. My friend had arrived by car and we met up in the hotel foyer at 2pm.

Now, I don't know if any of you know Portsmouth well, but the Historic Dockyard is a must to see.  My friend had researched it well and had discovered, if we booked online and bought Ultimate Explorer tickets, which only cost a few pounds more than the day ticket, we could visit the dockyard for a whole year. It was certainly a wise move as a day is not enough to see everything there is to see. Having arrived in Portsmouth at 2pm, we immediately strolled to the dockyard at 3, only to discover that one of the things I wanted to see (a submarine) was not open on Mondays or Tuesdays. As I was returning home on Wednesday, I only had that day to see it. So I caught the 15.30 free crossing over to Gosport where the submarine is docked and was the last on board for that afternoon.

I wanted to get a feel for what it is like to be on board a submarine and it was a wonderful experience. I got to chat with one of the guides all to myself. He told me had worked on the Polaris submarines in his youth. There were normally 65 people on board and I tried to imagine how cramped and claustrophobic it must feel particularly when submerged under water. Here are a few pictures of it.

The following day, it took us all day to look around the Mary Rose exhibition and HMS Victory. More about that next week. There are so many photos to put on one post and I was absolutely blown away by what there was to see. If you have never been, I can thoroughly recommend Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard, but don't imagine you can see it all in a day - you need at least two days if not more to see a fraction of it. I'll get together more photos for my next post.

Holidays

I may have mentioned once or a million times before, that, being a widow with no close family whatsoever (siblings or cousins), holidays are now a thing of the past for me. I cannot really expect my loved-up daughter, Kay, and her husband, Darcy, to accompany me while I play gooseberry, so have accepted that, unless I go away on my own anywhere, I shall never go anywhere abroad any more. I don't have the courage to go on singles holidays, although various people have advised me to and said they are just fine. I would find eating out on my own in restaurants stressful and attract sympathy and curiosity from every corner, which I would hate. I have thought about doing trips to UK cities on my own for a few nights here or  there. Wandering around cities on my own would present no problems - after all I live in one of the biggest in the world and can negotiate myself round that - and snacking at cafes and room service would probably deal with the eating alone problem. So that is the way forward for me.

I have been very much absent from blogging myself in the last month mainly because, now that Kay's wedding is over, I have been able to turn my thoughts to escaping for mini breaks. First I went down to Salisbury for the day to visit an old school friend as well as the widowed husband of another schoolfriend. It was nice to travel on the train and see something different, as well as chat with old friends. Then over the August Bank Holiday weekend, I went up to the Midlands to visit my sister-in-law Jill, Greg's sister. She has been going through a very tough time as her partner has dementia and has gone into a care home. He was diagnosed as "end-of-life" a month ago, but has miraculously bounced back, but still causing worry as he seems to like standing on chairs near windows to get at imaginary things on the ceiling! It was lovely to stay with her and help her with household chores and the garden. Our drives through the countryside to get to the care home were lovely and I think Jill appreciated chatting to someone who does not have dementia! Finally last week, I went down to Brighton for the weekend to visit friends there. I had some spare time on the Sunday before I got my train back home, so went along to Brighton Pavilion. I had been there before as a child, but remembered little so wanted to make an effort to go now. I was not disappointed.

It was the plaything of George IV who wanted to enjoy the Brighton sea air and invite guests down there to relax and be frivolous. He was obsessed with the Orient, so the design and interior decoration is very heavily influenced by China with original hand-painted Chinese wallpaper; Chinese lamps and lanterns; dragons everywhere and Chinese furniture. The Pavilion was later used by William IV and Victoria, before being sold to  the town of Brighton in 1850. Here are some pictures of my memorable visit.