Sussex Day Trips #5 - Portsmouth visit 1
This is one of my favourite places in sussex if not most, so much so that I wanted to stay over the weekend 🥰. However, to and fro fare from Crawley costs only a fraction of the price of overnight accommodation and I visited twice - it most definitely requires at least 2 days to cover the the dockyard alone. Good thing they have annual entry passes.
Made few right decisions by starting early, alighting at Portsmouth harbour (there is another stop before called Portsmouth and southsea-would’ve been longer had I got down there 😅) and checking the schedule for harbour tours. Google showed 10 min walk from station to dockyard but it’s barely 5 minutes and I took the annual ticket at tourist centre near the station which saved some time in the queue.
2 attractions - submarine and a war museum could only be visited by water (there is a route by road but it takes way too long and dockyard closes by then, so better not to try that). Noting down the timing of harbour tours and submarine tours, I planned my day.
First stop is at HMS warrior which is a warship. I believe it won war without entering into one because hearing about this giant, the enemy surrendered (there isn’t a better victory - imagine lives it saved 🕊️).
It is filled with weaponry and war equipment and rooms are quite small.
Next I took the harbour tour which is guided trip by water around the dockyard and there’s an option to get down at shopping centre Gunwharf Quays for lunch and take next ride back. I continued the tour back to dockyard.
We saw a ship which sailed that morning 😍.
Right next to the boat tour area is a ship building workshop and they have free tours as well. We need to sign up for the next tour (may require minimum number - can’t collect).
As it was colliding with submarine tour, I decided to skip it and had lunch at their restaurant - I believe it’s the only one in dockyard.
I had little time left before submarine tour so went to pirates exhibition. They seem to be lot of pirates and smugglers☹️.
Submarine is the highlight of the day. It wasn’t in use for more than 75 years but well preserved and apparently functional too.
There are 2 viewing devices and visitors are allowed to take a peek - one was quite clear and pigeons pooped on the other 😂. The submarine has 2 sections. One is where people ate and slept - they have props which gives us good idea on portions.
Other is machinery required for working of the submarine.
Right next to it is a small museum with details of the submarine’s history and construction.
It was quite peaceful tucked away from rest of the dockyard and view at waiting area is quite good with all the sailing boats lined up.
I returned to the main dockyard. There are few small workshops and stores lined up. I went into one workshop which is also about ship building. However, instead of just having display pieces and information boards, they have some life like props so we can visualise how life was for the workers.
Towards the end, there’s a huge area where there is another museum, HMS victory and Mary Rose. Mary Rose has separate ticket and, since there isn’t much time left, I visited HMS Victory. Even though it seemed similar to HMS Warrior from outside, it’s quite different inside.
It is in this ship, that war plans are discussed by higher officials.
Obviously, it is more luxurious in contrast to modest living conditions in Warrior, war equipment replaced with bigger kitchens and roosters cages.
With less than half hour left to closing and quite tired, I took a quick look around the naval museum.
After coming out of the dockyard, there was little time left for next train so, dragging my tired feet, I went to Gunwharf Quays.
It’s a great shopping centre and, needless to say, I didn’t make it to the station until an hour later. There was 50% off in MK store and while wondering if I should get a bag for 150£, the SA told it was further reduced to 107£ ( I mean how can I not 😁).
They also have Cadbury and Lindt stores with huge variety of chocolates. I went back barely in time to get on the train and, when there was an announcement not to forget the shopping bags while getting down, felt like it was directed to me 🫣.
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