Portsmouth is the only island city in United Kingdom and is located in Hampshire, South East England around 70 miles (110km) south-west of London which is around a 90 minutes one-way trip. Portsmouth has a long history which can be traced back to Roman Britain and has been a significant naval port for centuries and was considered the greatest naval port at the peak of the British Empire (until 1945). Currently, Portsmouth is considered a great tourist attraction as it is close to London and can be covered in one day.
Portsmouth according to Winston Churchill’s book “A History of English-Speaking Peoples” was founded in 501, however, according to other sources Portsmouth was founded in 1180 by an Anglo-Norman merchant Jean de Gisors.
In 1194, King Richard I gave Portsmouth the status of market-town with a royal charter granting the town 15-day free market fair, weekly markets and tax exemption. King John reaffirmed King Richard I’s rights and privileges, and also established a permanent naval base with the first dock in 1212 by William of Wrotham.
After the decline of the British Empire around the second half of the 20th century, the shipbuilding jobs fell around 46% in 1951 and a further 14% in 1966 reducing the manpower in the dockyard. Although the long-standing industries of the port changed, Portsmouth has managed to still be attractive to industry specially for electrical engineering.
After the invasion of Argentina on two British territories (Falklands Islands) in 1982, the British dispatched two aircraft carriers from Portsmouth reassuring the significance of Portsmouth as a naval port and its importance on the British defence interests. However, the dockyard was downgraded to naval base in 1984.
Currently, the naval base is officially known as Her Majesty’s Naval Base Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) an is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy. The base is the headquarters of 2/3 of the Royal Navy’s surface fleet and two aircraft carriers. However, the naval base is a major part of the city of Portsmouth.
In 1985, a partnership between the Ministry of Defence and Portsmouth City Council created the Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust allowing that the historic south-west corner of the naval base (under a 99-year lease) to became the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. This allows the public to visit important attractions like the historic ships like Mary Rose, HMS Victory and HMS Warrior. Therefore, the most important place to visit is the Historic Dockyard.
Portsmouth is a very important locations for all the boat enthusiastic as you are able to see some historic boats but if you are lucking and take a harbour tour, you are also able to see some of the most modern ships dock at the naval base. Portsmouth is a day-trip from London but it is very important for you to start early and leave London at latest 10am and you can travel by train or car.
We left London around 10am and after a late breakfast, we arrived to Portsmouth around 12pm in order to find a parking space (luckily the Dockyard has its own parking lot). The historic dockyard has opening times between 10am and 5pm with a last entry at 3.30pm.
After buying the general tickets, we bought the tickets for the next harbour tour as these have set departure times. After buying all the tickets, we were ready to explore the place as it is the home of 12 historic ships, 4 museums and various buildings while we waited for the harbour tour.
After waiting for less than 20 minutes, we were ready for the harbour tour as I wanted to take photographs with some daylight. Portsmouth is the home of the modern Royal Navy and with this harbour tour you are able to see all the new state-of-the-art ships like frigates, destroyers and helicopter carriers as well as a harbour view of the historic buildings.
Additionally, to see all the ships dock at the naval base, you are able to see part of the of Old Portsmouth on one side and on the other side Gosport. This allows you so see some memorable buildings of Portsmouth like the Spinnaker Tower.
The Spinnaker Tower is an observation tower with a height of 170m (560ft) and was the centre of the redevelopment of the harbour. The tower was designed by the architectural group HGP Greentree Allchurch Evans and was opened on 18th October 2005. The tower was modelled after a spinnaker which is a type of sail that uses wind to move.
After the harbour tour, we went to HMS Victory as you are able to see the interior of the boat and under the hull. The HMS Victory was built by Chatham Dockyard and was launched on 7th May 1765. The ship has a length of 69.34m (227ft 6in), a beam’s height of 15.80m (51ft 10in), a hold’s depth of 6.55m (21ft 6in), and a top speed of 11 knots (20km/hr).
The HMS Victory was the flagship of Lord Nelson’s fleet during the Battle of Trafalgar on 21st October 1805. This was operational until 1824 when it was demoted as harbour ship. In 1922, the ship was moved to a dry dock in order to be preserved as a museum ship to the Georgian Navy. Since October 2012, it is active as the flagship of the First Sea Lord making this the oldest naval ship still is commission with 243 years’ in service as 2021.
After the HMS Victory, we went to the HMS Warrior 1860 as the HMS Victory you are able to explore the interiors. The HMS Warrior was built by the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, launched on 29th December 1860 and was the pride of Queen Victoria’s fleet during the Age of Steam. The ship has a length of 128m (420ft), a beam’s height of 17.8m (58ft 4in), and a top speed of 14 knots (26km/hr).
The HMS Warrior was the name ship of the Warrior-class ironclads as was the first armour-plated and iron-hulled warships. The ship was built for the first ocean-going ironclad warship in response to France’s attack in 1859. After this, the ship toured Great Britain in 1863 and was active as part of the Channel Squadron. The ship became obsolete in 1873 after the mastless HMS Devastation was built and finally in 1883 was decommissioned. Currently, the ship is opened to the public as a living museum where you are able to experience life during Queen Victoria era with authentic set dressing.
After the HMS Warrior, we went around in order for me to take photographs of every building as I was afraid that if I stayed longer on any museum the daylight would go and I could miss the photographic session.
After taking amazing photographs, we went to the Mary Rose Museum. The Mary Rose was launched in July 1511 and sank in battle in July 1545. The museum houses a collection of 19,00 artefacts including weapons, sailing equipment, naval supplies and a wide range of objects used by the crew.
The Mary Rose was the flagship of King Henry VIII’s fleet. The ship served for 33 year in wars against France, Scotland and Brittany. During this time, the ship was rebuilt in 1536 and sank on 19th July 1545 by the French fleet during the Battle of Solent. The wreck was discovered in 1971 and raised in October 1982 with a great collection of artefacts considering this an amazing Tudor-era time capsule making this the only ship of her kind on display around the world. Only a small part of the wreck was raised and the site is under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 managed by Historic England.
After the Mary Rose Museum, we went to the National Museum of the Royal Navy in order to spend the rest of our visit appreciating every single artefact as its collections is memorable. This collection contains treasures from the last 350 years allowing to link the sailors from the past with professional crews of today.
The museum was founded in 1911 and in 1985 became a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and is part of the National Museum of the Royal Navy. The museum consists of three building two storehouses (No.11 from 1763 and No, 10 from 1776) and a purpose-built from 1938. The museum has four galleries depicting the life and artefacts of the HMS Victory, of Lord Nelson and of the sailing navy.
After the National Museum, we still have a little time and we decided that our last stopped would be Boathouse 4 as it is an active workshop and the souvenir shop. The building was built in 1939 in anticipation of World War II.
Currently, this is a boatbuilding skill training centre in order to train a new generation of students in the traditional boatbuilding techniques in order to build and conserve wooden boats.
After leaving the dockyard around 5pm, we decided to search for a local chippy in order to sample the best fish and chips meal as being at port would have fresh fish. After having dinner, we decided to return home and arrived to London around 8.30pm.
Portsmouth is the best place to visit if you are a boat enthusiast as being a major naval base is the main and only attraction on the port. However, it is also a good day-trip during the summer as you are able to enjoy a nice port with views of the sea and a nice fresh seafood or fish meal.
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