This week, on Friday night, we departed Oxford to visit Portsmouth, a port city on England's south coast. We stayed at a Premier Inn in the village of Horndean. The staff was extra friendly and helpful. Even though the restaurant was across the car park, the manager carried our meals to our room so we could watch the Olympic opening ceremonies while we ate!
On Saturday morning, we drove the final 10 miles to the Navy Dockyard. Since we were some of the first to arrive, the queue for tickets was short and we were pleased to learn that our tickets will allow us to return for free for 12 months. This reduced the pressure to try to see everything in one day.
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| Directly behind the ticket office is HMS Warrior. Built in 1860, the ship was powered by sail and steam, and had iron sides that were impenetrable by cannonballs of the time. It never saw combat. Perhaps no one wanted to take it on? |
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| We were free to wander through all of the decks. This group of costumed volunteers seemed to be new to military drill. On one of the rifle drills, the chap on the left dropped his pipe. |
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| Matthew, pretending to climb to the top of the rigging. |
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| This photo shows the awesome size of the ship. This view is from the compass, near the stern and in front of the steering mechanism. |
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| Unlike earlier fighting ships, the Warrior has only one deck of cannons; but there are many of them! |
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| Near the Captain's cabin, we found what looks like a closet door marking the quarters of the senior Marine on board. |
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| We rode the harbor cruise which gave us excellent views of all of the ships. This is the stern of the Warrior. The current Royal Navy ensign (flag) is white with Saint George's cross. The Warrior flies a red ensign from the Victorian era. |
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| The last remaining "Harrier Carrier," HMS Illustrious. Since the Harrier is not used any longer, the ship carries only helicopters and will be replaced soon by the new Queen Elizabeth class carriers. |
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| The carrier in the rear, HMS Ark Royal, is for sale. Do any of my aviation friends want to start a partnership? We just need to find a few Harriers to purchase too. |
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| Spinnaker Tower claims to offer the best view of the area. We will have to see for ourselves on the next trip. |
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| This Royal Marine band arrived from the secure navy base (background) just as we were passing the gate on our way to tea. They formed up and marched off playing a military march. I like it when we are in the right place at the right time for things like this. |
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| Captain Matthew... |
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| "Captain on deck!" |
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| Admiral Nelson's cabin. Some of the furniture, including his planning table, are original. He wrote his final prayer here. The Royal Navy still uses this room for meetings and award ceremonies. The Victory is still a commissioned ship of the Royal Navy. |
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| This section of mast has a cannonball hole that goes all the way through it. |
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| Even though the Victory was built 100 years before the Warrior, the cannons and gun decks look very similar. The Victory has three gun decks. |
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| On the upper deck in front of Admiral Nelson's cabin is a plaque marking the spot where he standing when he was shot. He died from his wound a few hours later. On an earlier trip, we saw the bullet on display in Windsor Castle. |
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| The ship is beautifully restored and workers were repairing the port bow. |
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| In the Action Stations area, Captain Matthew drove a destroyer and flew a helicopter simulator. The building had climbing walls and laser tag also. |
We need to make a return trip to see the Mary Rose museum, the Royal Navy Museum, and some other attractions. I would also like to view the city from the Spinnaker Tower and ride the ferry to the Isle of Wight to see what there is to see there. I am glad we live in Oxford. There are many things to see and do within a short drive.
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