Well, where to start! This dockyard is home to some of the most iconic ships ever to sail the seas. History abounds with so much to see and learn – something for everyone. Open all year round, wander around, set sail and take a harbour tour, hop aboard the waterbus (be aware it can’t accommodate pushchairs, buggies or wheelchairs due to unsuitable jetties and steps). We spent two days in the dockyard and still didn’t manage to see everything. Unfortunately, there is a slightly restricted timetable for certain activities during the winter months and the waterbus only operates at weekends and so we missed out visiting the explosion museum and the HMS Alliance (which would have amused me seeing 6’4’’ hubby clamber down into a submarine)! School trips, birthday parties and wedding celebrations are all catered for.

There are nine attractions in total so we decided an annual Ultimate Explorer ticket would be more cost effective, allowing us to return later in the year. Buying on line is cheaper and by signing up to their email offers we got £10 discount to begin with.

When eventually we found our way after traversing the whole of Portsmouth, although we could have parked and rode from Tipner Lane car park, we decided to make use of the car park in Admiralty Road (convenience). There are good bus and train links along with hotels all around the area.

Although piccies can be taken everywhere once inside, no photographs are allowed of the entrance into the dockyard, and a bag search was conducted prior to entry. Security is always forefront at places like this, as I’m sure you will understand.

HMS Warrior.
Now prepare yourself for a vision of the past as you approach this magnificent 150-year-old iron-hulled warship. This ship took my breath away and you can understand how she became the jewel of Victoria’s navy. The golden age of steam allowed a reputable speed of 14.4 knots and with advanced long-range cannons was built as a deterrent to put fear into the French. Her impressive masts with enough sails to cover thirteen tennis courts are a sight to behold.

Wandering around this terror of the ocean brings you into contact with actors and staff dressed in traditional uniform, who are happy to stop and chat regaling their daily lives onboard, the food they ate and more importantly their rum ration at 11am. Surprisingly rum rations ceased as late as 1970.

One such ‘sailor’ explained that when firing the cannons it was paramount to keep knees bent and cover their ears and most importantly of all to open their mouth to avoid decompression smashing their teeth – whilst remembering to step out of the way to avoid legs being crushed from the recoil. All in all just another day in the office.

The Warrior was the first warship to have ‘washing machines’ and cleanliness was important for a large number of crew living in such tight quarters. The seamen slept in hammocks whilst officers had their own cots. The carpenter however was more savvi and made his own bed into a wooden hammock ensuring he never fell out of it during bad weather, so naturally the captain wanted to get in on the act and had one built for himself.

Launched in 1860 with just over 700 men, it was hard to maintain health during the voyages as many suffered from TB caused by the constant damp conditions on board, although unsurprisingly venereal diseases were pretty high and were treated with mercury – yikes!

Every nook and cranny on board is accessible with someone on hand to answer any questions you may have – no matter how lame you think they sound. The engine room is 23ft below sea level (four decks down), some of the stairs are slightly daunting, its hard to imagine how sailors charged up and down whilst huge waves rocked the vessel. The machinery you see totally revolutionised the Royal Navy making her a faster and more durable warship.

Just witnessing her many beautifully crafted wooden steering wheels is impressive and with four main anchors each weighing 5.6 tons along with 121 tons of anchor cable – its difficult to get your head around these figures. One just hopes with 700 men onboard that not all of them were wanting to use the toilets at the same time!

Next, we ambled along to Boathouse 4.
Restored in 2015 this unit actively renovates and repairs old boats – staff and volunteers ply their traditional skills. There are displays of small historic boats that tell their own story of their vital roles within the Royal Navy. The staff are knowledgeable and friendly and you will find a welcoming restaurant inside.

Onto the Mary Rose exhibition.
A unique time bubble showing Henry V111’s favourite ship. No flash photography is allowed once inside. Built in 1510 and sinking in 1545 she finally broke free of her watery grave in October 1982. I remember watching the TV footage showing the moment the surviving hull was brought up and it still sits in the supporting cradle in the museum. Thirty-four years have been spent preserving the structure but now it rests suspended in time in an airtight time-capsule for all to see. Thousands of artefacts have been recovered, too many to house, including hundreds of nit combs, rosary beads and over four hundred leather shoes, longbows and Hatch’s skeleton, the four-legged rat catcher, along with the remains of dice and a board game. A window into the past is an understatement, simply mesmerising.

Actors explained that out of five hundred crew only seven survived the fatal catastrophe. Astonishingly the anti-boarding net stopped the desperate men escaping as the net was covered in sand and tar making it hard and impossible to break through.

A must-see 4D immersive theatre experience takes you through when disaster struck on 19th July 1545 during the Battle of the Solent when the Mary Rose fought the attacking French fleet near the Isle of Wight. Extremely interesting.

Opposite brings you to the living icon that is HMS Victory.
Very sadly for me, this stunning vessel is undergoing a ten-year renovation/repair plan and so couldn’t be seen in all its glory, and whilst in dry dock only guided tours are available. A massive amount of work has already been undertaken due to leaking and rot and for the first time since WW11 the three masts have had to be dismantled.

Incredibly the Victory is the oldest ship in the world still in commission and could be called into action at any time, although being in dry dock could be a problem. This 250-year-old beauty was Nelson’s flag ship at the Battle of Trafalgar and although Nelson was lost during the battle, together they saved England from French and Spanish invasion. It houses 104 cannons, twenty-seven miles of rigging and four acres of sail. It officially opened to the public in 1928 and has been preserved as a museum ship with business meetings held for dignitaries from all countries. Ships entering the harbour still signal in out of respect for this beautiful icon.

Strict rules were implemented due to so many crew members being on board, drunkenness or theft was dealt with harshly, usually by the ‘cat of 9 tails’ whereby the accused would be thrashed up to seventy-two times, then salt would be rubbed into the wounds – ouch!

The lowest deck is only 1.3m high – poor hubby had a few bumps along the way. A few scenes from the Ridley Scott film ‘Napoleon’ were filmed on board. Taking over six years to build and around some 6000 trees were cut down and used.

Crew were generously fed and watered with approximately 5000 calories of food per day, rum toddy and eight pints of beer a day – as the water wasn’t fit to drink the brew was weaker than we know it today, lots of porridge, some vegetables and heavily salted meat along with hard biscuits, often containing weevils. The only way to soften these enough to eat was to soak them in their beverage, drunken weevils. With 480 sailors in hammocks, getting out during the night to use the toilet couldn’t have been easy, and we were told they used their urine to wash their clothes – yuk.

Nelsons cabin is split into three sections and astonishingly before battle all glass and furniture were flat packed and secured along with the windows being removed, probably where Ikea got the idea. A plaque has been placed where Nelson fell and to allow for a state funeral his body was preserved in a barrel of brandy and was buried under the dome of St Pauls Cathedral.
Very surprised to find a small gift shop on board just before you exit.

HMS M.33.
These floating gun platforms were used during WW1 during the Gallipoli campaign and were built in under ten weeks. They were small enough to travel down rivers, getting close to the water’s edge and with two 6inch guns – each with a 6 to 9-mile range they could cause quite a bit of damage. Although with the low hull and flat bottom this made her ideal for bombarding the shore but very difficult to navigate at sea. She was slow and had unreliable oil-fired boilers.

We were surprised that seventy-two crew members could actually fit inside, very snug. However, she was considered a ‘lucky’ ship with no casualties from enemy action, dodging mines and being hit four times by shells.

We made use of our annual pass and were lucky enough to spend two days here, and still only managed to visit half of the attractions. There are various cafes to visit and we chose both days to eat lunch in Boathouse 7, have to say on the second day we were extremely disappointed with the food, along with lack of choice.

Whilst there we were lucky enough to see HMS Queen Elizabeth in dock, named after the Tudor Queen and huge at 65,000 tons this aircraft carrier was a sight to behold. We finished with a brilliant informative tour around the harbour – which was very bracing and certainly blew the cobwebs away.

HMS Alliance – submarine base.

Well as promised, we returned to the dockyard, this time using the ‘park and ride’ facilities in Tipner Lane, a brilliant frequent service costing £4 return for up to five people. Approximately 15 minutes brought us to the bus station, situated next to the dockyard, Spinnaker Tower and Gunwharf Quays.

The water ferry takes you to the submarine base and the authentic WW11 HMS Alliance. One of 16 ‘A’ class subs, measuring 281 feet long and commissioned for 28 years, but in recent years had been used as a floating classroom. Retired submariners were on board to answer any questions you may have.

The museum was full of interesting facts including HMS Holland, the first submarine built by the Royal Navy and the X24 a tiny X-class sub that prepared the way for the thousands of vessels and servicemen that landed on the Normandy beaches.

Waiting for the ferry to take us back, we hopped off at Gunwharf Quays, with its high-end shops, eateries and much more. Next door is the impressive Spinnaker Tower, at a height of 560’ it offers spectacular views of the South Coast, brave the glass Sky Walk or indulge in high tea inside its Café in the Clouds. Or if you are brave enough, book a high-speed adventure, with ribs offering thrilling rides around the Solent, departing from Gunwharf Quays.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to visit the Explosion Museum, so we will have to re-visit the next time we are down South. Mind you seeing 6’4’’ hubby fitting snuggly in the Alliance was rather amusing – he was a little concerned wondering whether he would get stuck. Bless.

We will return again and can’t wait to immerse ourselves in all that our history has to offer and visit everything that we missed. I apologise for such a long blog – but there was so much to see. Great day, great value. Make sure you check the website for any updates. Have a great visit.