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Southampton 2023 - Ships, ships and more ships (Day 4)

 

When we were planning our trip and looking at places to visit, one place that jumped out immediately to Nicole was to go to the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. She was a member at the dockyard when she was younger, and spent a lot of time down there at the weekends in the museums and having fun in the simulator in Action Stations! We therefore decided to take a trip down memory lane. There were two ticket options available to purchase, and the one we bought allowed us to enter all the attractions at the dockyard itself, as well as the other two linked museums across Portsmouth and Gosport. A tip if planning to go to the dockyard or anywhere down at Portsmouth Harbour is to consider using the Park & Ride. This was very cheap compared to paying to park, and a very efficient service. The only limitation is the timings that it runs, and if you want to stay down at the harbour for some tea you may need to move your car as you will otherwise struggle to get a bus back.

We decided to spend the full day making the most of being at the dockyard itself. We started off by heading onto HMS Warrior, which was one of the first armour-plated iron-hulled warships, bult in 1860. We had a wander round all levels of the deck, finding out about its history. After this, we explored Boathouse No.4, where you can learn about how ships are made, then we headed to Nicole’s favourite and much anticipated part of the day, the Harbour Tour. This involved going on a short boat trip around Portsmouth Harbour to view the Naval vessels that were docked. We were very lucky on the week that we had chosen in that the new HMS Queen Elizabeth was docked. Therefore, during our harbour tour we were able to view this incredible vessel. Sailing down the side of the carrier just left us in awe of its sheer size and capabilities. We were also able to see HMS Diamond, one of the Type 45 Daring-class destroyers, HMS Kent, one of the Type 23 Duke-class frigates, and RFA Wave Knight, one of the fleet tankers of the Royal Navy. After sailing back down past HMS Queen Elizabeth once again, the boat trip headed to Gunwharf Quays, where you can disembark if you wish to head out for some shopping, a bite to eat or to go up the Spinnaker Tower, before safely returning us to the Historic Dockyard. If you have any degree of interest in the Royal Navy, the Harbour Tour is definitely something to ensure you don’t miss when you take a visit to the Historic Dockyard as there is always something amazing to see.






After having some lunch, which we ate in Boathouse No.7, we went to the Mary Rose Museum. This museum is very different to how it used to be when Nicole went on school trips there. You can now see the full half of the Mary Rose in its expertly preserved state, in full glory from a number of different viewing galleries. There are also plenty of recovered artefacts to look at, which help tell the story of the ship and its crew. We followed up this museum by heading to HMS Victory, the ship best known for its role in the Battle of Trafalgar and as Lord Nelson’s flagship. Unfortunately, we were unable to see this ship in the way it is usually presented as it is covered up due to a large scale project that is being undertaken to preserve it for the future. Despite this, we were able to take an audio-described guided tour around the ship which was really fascinating. It’s incredible to think how different life was like on board naval ships all those years ago and the conditions that the crew faced.

After a few hours of history, we headed to Boathouse No.7 again to grab ourselves some cake and a drink, before exploring the National Museum of the Royal Navy. This museum shows the Royal Navy through the years, progressing into modern day and the future developments of the Navy. It was a great way to end the day’s trip to the Historic Dockyard.

Once it was nearly closing time, we headed over to Gunwharf Quays, which is a less than 5 minute walk from the dockyard. We had chance to explore some of the outlet shops (mainly the Cadbury shop!), before going to Pizza Express for some tea. Nicole’s mum had managed to stock up on some vouchers that allowed us to have some free dough balls, so we started with these. They were very tasty, although I have to say that Nicole makes some pretty delicious dough balls too and they aren’t far off these famous versions. We then all opted for a pizza. Unfortunately, the meal didn’t go without a hitch as both the drink and pizza that Nicole wanted to order were not available. She was disappointed as she was hoping to try the vegan chicken that they offer as a topping. Nicole therefore ended up going for a vegetable version of the Pollo ad Astra, and I had a Spicy Giuseppe. We finished the meal off with some desserts, Nicole having her favourite Italian dessert of Tiramisu. 


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