Monday 10 August 2015

The Historic Dockyard and Spinnaker Tower at Portsmouth

We had a beautiful day to visit the Historic dockyard.


There is a lot to see and it is definitely a whole day out.

This was a new exhibit, a first world war ship..... which wasn't open.  We were gutted as this was what we really wanted to see.  But I felt more sorry for two elderly chaps who had a connection with the ship and who had made a special journey.  When we looked more closely at the literature it did give the opening date but it wasn't at all clear if you just skimmed the leaflet.  Poor show.

However we did the Victory, which is a great ship to go round, especially if you are small as you don't bump your head at all.  The guides on board are very good and knowledgeable, making the story of the ship come to life.


We did the Marie Rose, which I haven't seen before.  All the artefacts in the museum are real, I think there were 19000 recovered.  The tales of the people that worked on the ship and reconstruction of their faces were incredible.  I was in awe of the amount of stuff recovered and the tale that all those items told in such detail.  I didn't take any pictures, but I wished that I had taken one of the building it was housed in as that was impressive.

I loved the patterns of the tracks for configuring the canons on the Warrior.

And as the Americas Cup was about to take place there were the different team vessels (catamarans?) being loaded in and out of the docks.

My daughter and her friend visited the submarine across at Gosport (the guide asked why they weren't laid on a beach somewhere) and we had planned a return for the tour of the Navy Dockyard, but when we went back it was closed because of the Americas Cup.

It is  great day, or couple of days out but it is expensive if you want to wander at will and visit all the attractions.  The ticket we bought lasts for a year but it is unlikely that we will be back within the year.  Thankfully Caravan Club membership got you two for one so it was half of what it would have been!

If you are in the area you must do the Spinnaker Tower.....

I have no idea how high it is but on a clear and bright day it is fantastic.  I like a glass floor (CN Tower, Blackpool Tower, Spinnaker Tower).

The views are amazing.....
Looking towards the Historic Dockyard.
Or just looking out to sea......

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4 comments:

  1. Gillian Roe11 August 2015 at 14:35

    Ah, you've been in my neck of the woods! I'm glad you had such good weather for Spinnaker Tower. We still haven't been to the Dockyards with the kids - it's a bit too expensive - but I know it's worth it really and it looks like you had a great time,

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    1. Ali Whale19 August 2015 at 05:42

      It is expensive as a one off payment but if you were able to return a few times it would be worth it. There is a great activity centre there with climbing walls and all sorts of things to occupy youngsters. I never thought that two 16 year old girls would get so much out of it, but they had a great time. They thought it was funny that when they visited the submarine at Gosport the guide wanted to know why they weren't laid on a beach somewhere!

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  2. CJ12 August 2015 at 06:28

    It looks like a brilliant place to visit, so much of interest there. The Spinnaker tower is amazing, what a view. Glad you had a good time and a good holiday as well. It was similar weather where we were much of the time, perfectly fine for a British summertime holiday - the best kind! CJ xx

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  3. Katharine A24 August 2015 at 07:18

    Thanks for showing us some of Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. I'm not usually ever in that area, but will addd it to my to-visit list nevertheless. Places do seem to be getting more expensive, perhaps I'm noticing because there are so many free places to visit. Love the idea of going up the tower.

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