Portsmouth, UK visit

Unfortunaltely, I can't share photos anymore due to a lack of free storage. Please see my Facebook account for those.

Taking a ferry across the English Channel was a fun experience. It had events tailored to children, an arcade, a restaurant, a gift shop, and a couple of bars since it had multiple levels. Passengers could roam the back half of the ship outside with chairs randomly placed to sit. Tanya and I took turns staying by the kids and looking around. The activities were for kids younger than ours, so they played on their laptops after exploring the ship. There were various areas along hallways with cushioned couches by small tables for passengers to sit during the trip. It would take around six hours to make the journey. Ferry tickets were cheaper than flying, and we had the time. Plus, we now have a new kind of traveling experience to remember.

When our time to arrive was approaching, I sat down to start looking for land from our big window seats. Tanya was tracking our progress on her phone as well. We saw the faint outline of the English coast in the distance and sat back as it drew closer. Buildings began to come into view, and we could see other ships and boats as we entered the harbor. The harbor was quite large, with docks on either side. We could see floating piers with people's sailboats or other vessels docked, but the other side was quite different. An old British three-mast sailing ship, an aircraft carrier, and a four-mast sailing ship from another country were docked. As we turned toward the port for the ferry, we saw a British battleship further into the harbor.

Approaching our port, we could see three other ferries docked. This was definitely a busy place in terms of shipping. Tanya and I stood outside one of the decks and watched the ferry pull in. We knew it would be at least another thirty minutes before we got off. After waiting for the ship to be secured, everyone who drove a vehicle was allowed to leave before those who didn't, like us. When the time came, we loaded up our luggage and walked to customs. Happily, it was an easy transition. We then walked to a bus stop at the entrance of the port and waited a little while for our bus. After getting off, we walked to another stop where our bus never arrived. Instead of waiting for the next one, we decided to walk to where we were staying. The walk wasn't very far, but we planned on riding the bus because of our luggage. Since our bags were all backpacks, it made the walk a little easier.

We're staying at a bed and breakfast, a good-sized townhome converted into a B&B. The host, Gary, meets us, gives us our key, and we get checked in. We are staying in one room with four beds and a bathroom. Our stay is less than a week, so we can manage it. The kids are happy about being in an English-speaking country and don't complain much. The B&B offers a traditional English breakfast each morning, and we look forward to it. We get some sandwiches for tonight's dinner and rest from our travels. It was nice to have a familiar language on the TV as well. We lie in our beds and talk about the past couple of days and the ferry experience. Knowing we will be here for the next few months, we are all excited about not having a language barrier for a while. However, Tanya and I mentioned how quickly we could adjust to understanding signs and people with a little study and knowing some basics. Despite that, it was nice to give that part of our brains a rest.

The next morning, we go downstairs for breakfast. Gary greets us and asks what we want with our breakfast. If we want everything, we get a fried egg, sausage, a hashbrown, baked beans, a thick slice of ham, and two pieces of toast. Each of us gets everything, so we know what we like. It was a great breakfast despite the beans not being as flavorful as I'm used to. All of us go back to our room and plan our time while we are here. The day is nice, and we need to take advantage of that since it can rain often and unexpectedly. We plan to check out a park, go by a grocery store for lunch, walk along the waterfront to see what's there, and get some fish and chips for dinner.

Later in the day, closer to lunch, we head out. On our way to the park, we stopped at a store for snacks. We've been trying so many other types of pastries and desserts in other countries that we haven't had a good jelly-filled doughnut in a while, so that's what we bought. We get to the park, which has a large pond in the middle with ducks and swans swimming around. There are benches lining the walking path surrounding the pond. We sit on a couple of benches to enjoy our doughnuts and the sun. Since the coast is across the street, seagulls are also flying around. The two youngest feed the swans some crumbs while we gaze around the park. After a while, we walked across the street to the beach and boardwalk. It is a pebble beach, and we look for interesting-looking rocks among the smooth stones. We only spend a little bit of time doing so since it's very windy. The boardwalk has amusement park rides on the pier, but they are closed right now. We still go to the arcade and look around. Tanya and I don't have any cash or coins on us, much to the kids' dismay, so they can't play anything.

After this meandering, we went to a grocery store across the street to pick up lunch. We walk back to the B&B to eat and relax. When it's about dinner time, we leave to go to a place that has good ratings for fish and chips. We walk and take a bus to get to our destination. Along the way, we get to see another part of town, which is nice. We arrive at the restaurant, order, and sit at the only table. While waiting, several more people came in to pick up their order or place one. This place is quite busy, and it is a regular place for locals to grab their dinner and take it home. If the locals like it, that's where we want to be. I grab our order when it's ready, and we eat at the table. We didn't want to take it back to the room and accidentally spill something. The food was scorching since it was freshly cooked, so we divided what we had while it cooled. It did not disappoint. There was almost more than we could eat, and it was delicious. We went back to the room very full and happy.

Our adventure for the next day was going to the Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard. We hop on a bus that takes us close to the entrance. After a quick bag check of my backpack with water bottles and food, we purchase tickets. If we wanted to see more than one attraction, we had to buy tickets for one year of access. We definitely want to see more than one thing, and we already know we'll need to come back to see everything, so we opt for these tickets. The submarine museum and the HMS Alliance, a WWII-era sub, are on the other side of the harbor, so we decided to do that first. We catch the ferry, or waterbus, with little time to spare that will take us across the harbor. The boat has comfortable chairs inside, windows surrounding the seating area, an observation deck at the bow, and a snack bar.

As we are pulling out of the dock, a guy starts talking over the intercom. He begins to tell us about the history of the harbor and about the ships we slowly pass. The submarine has timed entry points throughout the day, and we expected to make one. However, we won't make it with how slow the ferry is going. Between the historical information and the slow-going, we realized we had mistakenly gotten on the harbor tour boat. The harbor tours and the waterbus apparently leave the same dock but at separate times since this was the only boat there. We talked about doing a tour but planned on doing it later. Well, our plans changed now. We could hear the information and facts over the intercom on the front deck, so we went back and forth between the chairs and outside, listening to the history of the harbor.

I don't remember everything, but a couple of interesting facts stood out to me. One was that the harbor was made deeper closer to shore by prisoners. There were prisons along one side of the harbor as well as prison hulks, or large decaying, beached ships. Another was the captain of the HMS Victory, Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson, who was mortally wounded during the Battle of Trafalgar and died onboard before they arrived home. The captain requested not to be buried at sea, so the crew put his body in a cask of brandy to preserve it until they returned to England. This piece of information was followed by an excellent joke about how men of the crew drank from that cask as an honor to the admiral, who said it was a good "full-bodied" brandy!

As we continued the tour, we saw an aircraft carrier, a four-mast sailing ship from Chile, a couple of former naval destroyers, or battleships, that were decommissioned and currently being stripped for different uses, and more ferries like the one we were aboard from France. We also followed one side of the harbor and learned some history about the town. Portsmouth is one of England's current main naval bases and has been for about as long as the country's navy has existed. Despite knowing this, good historical information was still given during the tour. Plus, it was nice to take a slow-paced boat ride by these large ships and take in the experience of this place. The day was overcast, but it did not rain, so that didn't ruin our time.

While the waterbus made its way back to port, Tanya and I talked about what to do for the rest of the visit today. We decided to do the submarine museum next time and let the harbor tour take the place of that time. There should be enough time for the rest of our plans today. The waterbus pier is next to the HMS Warrior, so we explored this ship. It was Britain's first iron-hulled, armored battleship. There wasn't a timed entry for this ship, so we walked onboard and meandered around the main deck. Most of the layout was still in its original design, which meant ropes were everywhere. The vessel was still seaworthy and occasionally went on voyages. We walked all around inspecting the cannons, storage compartments, the huge helm, and different things needed for a ship like this.

After a while, we ventured below the main deck to the gun deck. We saw cannons lining the edge between the tables where the crew ate. The tables had buckets with items stored for use when eating and other items hanging above, just as they would have been originally. There were also hammocks hanging over several tables to show where crew members would sleep and stow them during the day. We explored the captain's quarters, the dining area for officers, the officer's quarters, the galley (kitchen), and all the little things used for daily life. Since this ship is a floating museum, it had every item needed for eating, sleeping, preparing food, firing cannons, cleaning, disciplinary action, etc.

An employee was dressed in time-appropriate attire as a sailor on the ship. Their role was to act as if it was the 1860s in how they explained anything about the ship and life associated with it. This guy was great. He was an aspiring sailor working his way up through the ranks as he learned more skills. This approach drew our kid's attention, and he spent a while answering their questions. He told them a lot of historical information about the ship, politics, society's mentality during the 1860s, and how all this wove together for someone to decide to become a sailor. My oldest tried to get him to break character with small, current references in response. While the guy acknowledged his comment, as if he understood, he didn't talk about it and stayed on the subject. We really enjoyed this perspective.

There was another deck below this, the lower deck, and it was time to explore this. Here, there was more storage for ammunition, guns, and personal belongings. This level was also for the sailmaker's workshop, bathrooms and washing, and the Issuing Room where food rations were handed out. I loved seeing the organization of everything. Everything cubby or locker had a sailor's name on the round bag with their things inside. The gun room's walls were lined with rifles and pistols. By contrast, the sailmaker's workshop looked like a huge mess. Since he was mending sails or making new ones, he had to follow the seam he was working on so the sail would just gather. We went through this deck quicker since there was less to see.

The lowest deck is the boiler and engine room. This was an impressive sight, seeing all the parts of an engine but much larger. Also, this was a steam-powered engine, so some things differed from a gas-powered combustion one. We moved slowly through the engine room on a catwalk, examining the huge gears, pistons, arms, and other mechanisms. The mechanics would have moved around below us to tend to lower parts of the engine. A few signs were set up explaining different aspects of what it was like to operate this thing. I couldn't imagine the noise in here. Between parts moving and steam escaping, it had to get loud. Next up was the boiler room.

Here, there was another employee who was in character. If the first guy was great, this one was excellent. He had thoroughly taken on the persona of someone working in the boiler room. We learned there were eight boilers operated by four men working twelve-hour shifts. They had a process of receiving coal from above into a vat, shoveling the coal into the boiler, raking it around so the fire would burn evenly, and removing ash. There may have been more steps, but this was basically it. They moved from one boiler to another within this process. He showed us the tools needed for different tasks and let us use them. We learned that this line of work was paid twice as much, but the life expectancy was about 40 years old. The intense labor and coal dust were the leading killers. The employee talked about the mindset of someone in this position and the economic conditions of the time. The whole family took a lot from this experience we all appreciated his level of commitment to the character.

We moved from this ship to the HMS Victory on the other side of the dockyard. It is currently going through an extensive restoration project, but you can still explore most of the ship. A scaffolding structure covers the majority of the vessel, but it is set up so you can learn the why and how of the restoration process. We get to walk up multiple levels on the outside of the ship, seeing what has been done. It's actually a great experience involving the public in the construction aspect, so they get to see the ship differently. After walking around the scaffolding, we walked to the side of the ship to go inside.

We started at the gun deck first. This was similar to the HMS Warrior since it was for eating and cooking and had cannons between the tables. Here, they had artificial food in bowls and on plates to give it a more authentic feel. We explored this level and went up the main deck. Some of it was under restoration, so we walked along one side and looked over the central part. From here, we walked out onto the bow and looked around. There was a small brass placard on the floor indicating where Admiral Nelson fell after being shot during the Battle of Trafalgar. We looked out over the dock from the bow and made our way down the bottom of the dry dock. Here, we could walk under the ship and see everything from the bottom. This was a new experience. A placard explained some of the history of the underside. We strolled on the path, looking up at the ship from a new angle. This was our last stop for the day, so we returned to the entrance. We will be back tomorrow.

Nothing special happened the rest of the day. We took a bus back to our B&B, got dinner, and watched a little TV. Tanya and I talked with the kids about what we would see at the dockyard the next day. After our plan was made, we got ready for bed, excited about another English breakfast in the morning. This is also our last night, so we are packing our stuff. The B&B wasn't available to cover our entire time in Portsmouth, so we were going to an Airbnb across town to stay for a few more days. The family goes down to breakfast and is happy to talk to Gary. We finish and get ready to go back to the dockyard. Since we were checking out, we asked Gary about leaving our bags for our outing. He is happy to oblige us and we leave them in the dining room since it won't be used the rest of the day.

We saw about half of the attractions the day before, and today, we will see the other half. There is one called the Explosion Museum of Naval Firepower that interests us the least, so we'll skip it. When we arrive, we first visit the Action Stations: Commando Experience building. It's a place for kids, and the description says it has an assault course, climbing wall, and laser tag. The younger two really want to see this. I take the kids here while Tanya leaves to check out nearby shopping outlets for new boots. The climbing wall was fun, but the rest was a letdown. The assault course wasn't very challenging, and we had to pay for laser tag separately. My oldest looked around for a bit but didn't want to do any of the challenges. He found a table to sit at and read his Kindle. My youngest two and I did the climbing wall a few times. You could time yourself, which my middle son liked, and climbed more than the rest of us trying to do it faster. They did the assault course a couple of times and were done. We had water and ate a snack while waiting for Tanya's return.

She arrived, and we walked over to Boathouse 4, a large building housing several different sailing vessels. These were at different stages of repair or restoration. There were some boats on display to show different designs and methods of early, small military craft. We could walk under, around, and beside several to see the progress and methods used to work on them. Placards explained various aspects of naval history regarding small craft in here. It was much more interesting than I expected. Walking upstairs, seeing down on everything, and learning new things we wouldn't have even thought about otherwise made it a worthwhile stop. Our stop here was a shorter one since we

planned on catching the next ferry across the harbor.

Next was the submarine museum. We make sure to catch a waterbus this time and not a tour boat to the other side of the harbor. The boat is much smaller than the ferry for the tour and is completely full, with about 50 people. Crossing the harbor takes 10-15 minutes to reach the museum. Everyone disembarks, and we check the times for the submarine. This is the one with timed entry, and we must get our time-specific ticket next to where the line starts. We get there around lunch, and there is a larger gap between times for this. This is an excellent time to explore the museum. The gift shop is here, so the younger kids are excited about it. They love looking at things, but one would think they'd get tired of being told 'no' so much each time they go in one about buying half of what they see.

The main attraction is the X24 midget submarine. It is the only one left out of fourteen produced. It's 50 feet long and had a crew of four. This one and several others played a crucial role in clearing obstacles for the D-Day invasion. The sub is completely restored and divided into two parts to see inside. It's things like this that blow me away. As much as I've learned about WWII, I've never known about midget subs or what they did. Now, I get to experience the only one in existence and understand its importance. Displays on the wall next to the sub explain its history, the crew, and missions. A room next to it gave further insights. Another area talked of life on a submarine like the HMS Alliance outside and had various stations replicating those in a control room.

After spending time in the museum, we went out to get in line for the big submarine. Another waterbus of people was approaching the dock, and we didn't want to lose our spot for the next walk-through. We have to wait about 25 minutes before our group can enter. We're happy it's sunny and pleasant while standing in line. While waiting, I notice a British fox emerge from the shadow of the submarine and bask in the sun about 15 feet away from the line. Ironically, I had recently read an article about the many foxes in Britain, and it was almost guaranteed that I would see one if I visited anywhere outside London. It was very unexpected to see one by a harbor.

Our wait ends, and we are allowed to walk through the submarine. The first thing we see are the torpedo tubes since it's the front. One is loaded with the door open, and you can see the torpedo propeller. Stepping further in, we see no available space is spared. If there isn't something mechanical for operating the sub or some system within, there is something stored for living on board. Gauges, pipes, valves, and hoses line the walls everywhere. Even average-height people like me must watch their heads and duck through doorways. The captain's quarters has a little more room with an L-shaped couch that converts to a bed and a small table. We come to where the crew sleeps with bunks on either side and a table in the middle.

Next, we come into the control room for the sub. Once again, we are surrounded by gauges, valves, and pipes. The periscope is in the middle of the room and works. I can look through it and see the sailboats docked next to the sub. The glass is old and worn, so the clarity could be better, but it's still fun. We take some time to walk around this room, taking it all in.

Further up is the communications room with lots of equipment. After this are the two toilets, which are surrounded by more pipes and wires. The small kitchen is next, which is more of a stainless steel lined room. Past the kitchen is the engine room. I can just imagine the danger of working here with the moving parts all around. We walk past the huge piston arms of the engine as we continue to the rear and exit.

From here, we go see the Royal Navy's first submarine, the Holland I. It was lost in 1913 while under tow to be scrapped and decommissioned. In 1982, it was recovered, restored, and displayed, and we can go inside. It was built in 1901 and could only have a crew of eight since it's only 63 feet long. The design is much more round and bulbous than any other submarine I've seen. The inside still had the original engine, torpedo tube, and torpedo-firing tank. Everything else was gone, but imagining it as a tight space was easy. A platform was built where the original floor was so we could better understand what it was like to move around. It's not every day one gets to walk inside a 123-year-old submarine. I try to absorb being able to experience this kind of history. Now it's time to catch the next waterbus back across the harbor.

Our final attraction for the day is seeing the Mary Rose and the museum dedicated to it. It was a warship for King Henry VIII and sank in 1545 at the Battle of Solent after having been in service for 34 years and many naval battles. We walk inside, and the first thing we see is the gift shop, so we get that out of the way. For crowd control purposes, there is timed entry into the museum. We are there during the week in the "off-season," so there isn't a crowd to deal with. The first part of entering the museum is telling the ship's history through speakers and projections on the wall. King Henry VIII appears on a screen, explaining why this was his favorite ship. After this, we move into the museum. The room we enter has a large glass wall on the other side showing what is left of the Mary Rose. The lighting is dim and looks like it mimics underwater conditions. However, the displays here are well-lit, so the recovered artifacts can be seen clearly.

I notice there are three levels to the museum. Looking through the glass, I see platforms that cross in front of the wreckage to the other side with more artifacts. Viewing the ship from this angle, I'd say there is less than half the ship left. Despite this, it looks like it was cut through at an angle from the main deck's edge to the bottom's opposite side. This means you can see the different decks and rooms within them. We walk through this first area, reading exhibits about what was recovered. To go onto the platform in front of the ship, we have to enter a small room, wait for the door to close behind us, and then go out. This is to keep the room where the ship is displayed as climate-controlled as possible. There are recovered items behind us as we cross the platform. These items correspond with the deck level where they would have been found on the ship.

While on the platform, an audio reenactment of battle sounds plays, and visualizations are projected onto the ship in various places where sailors are doing tasks. This is neat to watch and gives you a much better perspective of what happened onboard. We stand there looking up and down, left and right, to take in the ship and remember it's 512 years old; 437 of those years were underwater. Many of the timbers are slightly bent or warped and look eerie with the dim lighting, but perhaps that's the point. We have to take pictures carefully due to the lighting as well. Leaving the platform on the other side is the same process as entering. This site has skeletal remains and explanations of who the men were.

Since there aren't any stairs, we use an elevator to go up to the next level. There are many different things to read about and look at since the ship was fully crewed with what they needed when it went down. A couple of recovery efforts were attempted soon after the ship sank. Several things were recovered, but they couldn't raise the ship. Everything they didn't get was left to be recovered when the ship was. We look at items from the kitchens, weapons, and personal belongings like chests and furniture. Going out onto the platform, we can view the ship from a higher point and see it from a different angle. We look at more items after crossing to the other side and back again. The room on the top level and farthest from where we initially entered is quite interesting.

This room talks about the different occupations of the men who drowned and how they were able to discover this. Based on various tests, they knew where they were from and their duty on the ship. There was also a video on the process of finding and recovering the Mary Rose. It was raised in 1981, and 35 years were spent in conservation to preserve it for display. You can watch videos about it on YouTube, which is very interesting. Next to this was an interactive display about the archers on board. They used longbows, and people could try different sizes of bows and see how hard it was to draw them back. Employees dressed in 1500's attire gave facts and information about all this. There was a sport for kids to dress up and look an archer.

My oldest got involved in a conversation with one of the employees, eventually drawing in the rest of the family. He was an older man who had served many years in the British military and was present the day the Mary Rose was recovered. He now volunteers at the museum. This man was a wealth of knowledge regarding the ship's history, recovery, and conservation process. As he talked, he took us onto the platform to give more information about Mary Rose. He used a small laser pointer to highlight parts of the ship for various reasons. This experience enhanced everything about our visit to the museum. We would go back to talk to him again. He even told us things about the artifacts that weren't on the displays. That personal, human interaction made it so much better, just like the guys on the HMS Warrior.

This was a fantastic way to end our Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard explorations. On our way out, a quick burst of rain caught us, and we ran back into the entrance of Boathouse 4 so as not to get wetter. We catch a bus back to the B&B and pick up our bags. Now we walk to another bus stop and wait a while for it to arrive. I wish the bus system in this town was close to the reliability of the rest of Europe. We take it to our next stop and walk to our new place. As lovely as Gary and the Waverly Park Lodge B&B is, which I recommend to everyone, it's nice to have a place to ourselves. We enjoy our new place and the rest of our stay in Portsmouth. Our next destination is Chippenham, where we will do our first pet sit. We are looking forward to this opportunity and have some cats and dogs to care for.