Another trip to the Historic Dockyard at Portsmouth

Having bought a ticket for the dockyard which enabled me to go as often as I wanted for a year, when I felt like another day out I thought this would be a good idea.  I had the rest of “The Mary Rose” to look at and as it is inside it didn’t matter if it was cold.  I therefore used my Senior Railcard to get to Portsmouth Harbour – with plenty of time on the train to read my book!

On arrival, after the bag search and having my ticket checked, I went straight to the building housing the Mary Rose and had a coffee before going into the museum.

The Mary Rose building
The Mary Rose building

Having looked at part of it before, I knew to pick up a folding stool as I went in.  I then skipped the parts I had spent time on and spent about 2 hours looking at the rest.  I am still amazed at how much they have found and how much they can tell about the people on the boat, just from their skeletons and possessions.  Some things are in such good condition – musical instruments, shoes…….  I was glad of the stool at times!

Entrance/exit to the Mary Rose museum
Entrance/exit to the Mary Rose museum

By the time I had finished it was time for lunch, so I went to Boatshed 7 (I think) and had pizza and chips (and coleslaw).  The timing was such that I wasn’t sure if I had time to look round the Victory, but I decided I would and catch a later train if necessary.

Entrance to the Victory
Entrance to the Victory

On going into the Victory one is warned about slips, trips and low beams.  Only the first was not a problem as it was dry!  They also provide a free audio guide.  At various points on the tour there are places where one points the guide at a device and one can then listen to some information relevant to that point on the ship.  A lot of them were about the battle of Trafalgar. including the preparation for leaving port, until it got to the repairs needed after the battle (somewhat extensive!)

Top deck
Top deck

The bits I liked best were seeing the quarters of Captain Harvey and Nelson and also the below deck parts where it explained about the cooking and had models of the food provided.  The places where they kept the things needed to repair the ship were interesting, too.  Can’t say I was that interested in the battle but I do understand a bit better what happened.

After leaving the Victory
After leaving the Victory

As they said, the tour took about an hour if one listened to all the parts.  I then had time for a quick cup of tea at the Mary Rose cafe before going to catch the train home.

Was it a good day out?  I would say yes – could do just what I wanted and some of the things to see are fascinating.

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