Day 5: The Great Ships of Portsmouth
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and the HMS Victory
We packed up and left Canterbury today. Our destination was Salisbury, but we spent most of the day at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard along the way. Portsmouth is the most important port in England and the location where lots of the D-Day groups sailed from. We weren’t initially excited about spending the day looking at boats, but it turns out that this experience way surpassed our expectations! Once again, Rick Steves knows best and provided us with a stellar experience. We got into the port area and attractions using our heritage passes. Once inside, John gave us a brief walking tour to show us the lay of the land. Pam and I started out with a tour of the HMS Victory from 1758, the oldest navel vessel still in active commission. Its active duty is as a museum ship, not a sea faring vessel. The ship was encased largely in scaffolding due to restoration efforts. We got a nice walking tour through the interior. Those ceilings are really low! Paul had to duck down the entire time. This boat was actually bombed by Germany during WWII as they tried to destroy culture and heritage. The HMS Victory was the warship of Admiral Lord Nelson who defeated the French at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. |
The Mary Rose and More!
After that tour, we grabbed a quick coffee and lunch before walking next door for a tour of the Mary Rose museum. The Mary Rose was once the pride of the English navy. It sunk in 1545 defending Portsmouth from the French. It sunk about a mile from shore. Some believe it sunk because King Henry VIII had an extra row of guns added which put the gun holes too close to the water. Whatever the cause, it sunk and was later rediscovered, first in the 1800’s and then again in the 1960’s. After a long excavation, the ship was raised from the bottom in the early 80s. It had been preserved by the silt accumulating on top of it. They uncovered enough to create an entire museum. We thought it was really interesting, and the tour concluded with a really cool 4-D video experience about how the ship was raised from the sea bottom. It was pretty incredible. The excavation of so many artifacts has revealed much about the innovations, daily life, and living conditions of the time. After touring the Mary Rose Museum, we had just enough time to get to the launch area for a boat tour of the harbor. It was windy but really relaxing riding around the bay, learning about all the ships and buildings. The harbor is home to Great Britain’s largest naval port, and one of their two aircraft carriers were in port. We also saw the unique building and observatory which took many millions to build. After that, we walked next door for a few minutes to see ship restoration and construction in progress. Then it was off to Salisbury. |
On to Salisbury
Along the way to Salisbury, we drove through new forest and then saw wild horses that roamed the area. That was cool to see. Once in Salisbury, we settled into our hotel. It is awesome! Our room is on the first floor and right along the river. From our window, we overlook the Salisbury Cathedral. What a view! Our group took a walking tour through town, and John showed us the lay of the land. The highlight, of course, was the cathedral and its grounds. It’s surrounded by a rock wall and several arched entries. The building has the largest cloister in the country and the tallest spire in England. It was very impressive. We also saw the Zizzy Café where a Russian spy ate after being poisoned. He walked out of the restaurant, walked to a nearby bench, and died. The poison is believed to have been put on the door handle of his home. We took a look inside of St. Thomas Church which was built to be the local church while the larger cathedral was being built. It was impressive in its own right. Inside, there were recovered frescoes that have survived because they were whitewashed when the Anglicans took it over from the Catholics. The whitewash had been removed to reveal the amazing frescoes underneath, including the large one depicting the end of days and separation of those going to heaven or hell. After the walking tour, we enjoyed the evening sitting on our outdoor patio, drinking some beer and wine and eating our picnic supper. It was really relaxing! |
Another way to look at it . . .
There were so many cool things to see at Portsmouth. From the modern architecture to the historic ships, our eyes were full of unique sights and images. It was a photographer's dream space, really, and I enjoyed capturing our visit to the area with unique cropping and camera angles. These were two of my favorite perspectives.
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