Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

A Brief History of Portsmouth

It had been more years than I care to remember since my parents took me to visit Lord Nelson's flagship, HMS Victory, at Portsmouth. It was on board the HMS Victory that Lord Nelson lead the navy into action at the Battle of Trafalgar and defeated the French in 1805. After that battle, it was more than 100 years before the Royal Navy's superiority at sea was tested again.
Since my last visit, the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard concept has been created and there are a wealth of new museums and attractions so we headed down to the south coast of England to pay a visit. Parking wasn't a problem for us as there is a multi-storey car park a few hundred yards to the entrance to the dockyards. However, in the summer, it does get busy but there is also a bus and train station near the gates too. In order to gain entrance to the museums, exhibitions as well as on board the HMS Victory and HMS Warrior, you do need to purchase a ticket. However, it is possible to walk up to and around the outside of the HMS Victory as well as accessing the shops and catering facilities without a ticket. Family tickets are excellent value at 50.50GBP which includes 2 adults and up to 3 children.
The visitors centre at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard offer a suggest itinerary which gives a start time of 10.30am and finishes at around 4.45pm which gives you an idea of how much there is to see here. The itinerary is designed to take you through the history of the Royal Navy starting back in the 16th Century with the Mary Rose Museum. It is filled with thousands of artefacts recovered from Henry VIII's flagship which sank in battle not far from here. There is a small cinema showing a film of how the Mary Rose was discovered and finally raised. The story is very similar to a Swedish ship called the Vasa which has been fully restored and is on display in Stockholm. Once the Mary Rose has been restored, it too will be on display but that won't be until 2012.
Next, we moved to the 18th century and went on board the HMS Victory. Unfortunately, the weather was terrible so the quarterdeck (top deck) wasn't open but there is still plenty to see inside the HMS Victory. The tour lasts for just under and hour and you get to thoroughly explore the ship. Moving around is quite cramped so one can only imagine how difficult it was for sailors in the middle of a storm at sea or in the heat of battle. The guide really helps bring the HMS Victory to life and printed handouts are available in a number of foreign languages. Just a point to be aware of is that the tours only operate during off-peak periods. During the holiday periods, it operates a free flow system.
After the HMS Victory tour, we headed to the Royal Naval Museum which has a fascinating collection of displays aimed at both adults and children including some interactive screens to help children absorb the information. Although the HMS Victory is the most famous part of the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, there are plenty of other equalling interesting displays. Another survivor of the Battle of Trafalgar is one of the original sails from HMS Victory and it is on display in one of the buildings.
After lunch, we boarded the HMS Warrior which dates back to 1860 and was the world's first iron hulled, steam powered, armoured warship. The Warrior is also available for private hire and part of the ship was out of bounds due to a wedding reception taking place on board. Next to the Warrior is where the harbour tours which are included but unfortunately, the weather meant the harbours tours weren't running.
One area of the Portsmouth Historic Dockyards we didn't get to visit was the "Action Stations". This part of the dockyard brings the modern aspects of the Royal Navy to life with various physical challenges, simulators and technological experiments. It also features the tallest indoor climbing tower in the UK.
In the years since my last visit, the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard has developed into an fantastic day out for both adults and children alike. If you are looking for a South East England day out where you can explore an important part of British history, then you'll find it hard to beat a day at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.
Rob AthertonExplorer Travelhttp://staycationsukholidays.co.uk/visit-england/south-east-england/
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