HMS Warrior served 1861-1883
HMS Victory still in commission, since 1758
HMS Victory undergoing a The Big Repair
The Mary Rose launched in 1511, sank in 1545, raised in 1982
Friday 19 July – Saturday 20 July 2024
After a delightful evening in Tunbridge Wells we sat down to breakfast in the quiet lobby of the hotel and heard the calm voice of the radio newscaster speak of a massive CloudStrike outage affecting businesses globally. Could this another hitch in our travel plans? Hopefully not, especially since we used the last of our UK cash to pay the cabbie yesterday so we’re dependent on contactless payment systems. Meanwhile as we talked with our server about our trip to Portsmouth we learned we didn’t need to go all the way in to Charing Cross and take the tube to Waterloo, instead we could hop off at Waterloo East and walk to Waterloo to catch our train to Portsmouth Harbor. Things went smoothly and soon we were gazing at the 19th Century HMS Warrior, the pride of Queen Victoria’s Royal Navy. It was a short walk to our home for the next two nights, the Royal Maritime Hotel. Before long we’d stowed our belongings, had a quick luncheon and made our way to the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard ticket counter. We knew there would be way too much for just one visit so we sought advice on how to best use the limited time we had. Soon we were aboard the “Iron Marvel” HMS Warrior, launched in 1860. Hers was cutting edge technology of the time, the first ironclad British warship powered by steam but with a full complement of sail. She was an absolute wonder of the day and served as a symbol of the power of the British Navy and in fact never fired a shot in conflict and in fact was removed from active service after only 30 years because of the rapid advancement of naval technology of the day. Next morning we trekked back to the dockyard and traveled back in time to 1805 aboard HMS Victory, flagship of Admiral Horatio Nelson’s 27 ship fleet that defeated the French at the Battle of Trafalgar devastating Napoleon’s plans to invade England. We toured the gun decks where the crew ate, slept, and fought as well as the officer’s quarters that would be cleared and turned into gun decks when needed. Most poignant was visiting the site on deck where Nelson fell in battle and the below decks location where he died just after learning the battle had been won. We actually didn’t linger as long as we’d like because we needed to make our way to the Ship & Castle pub to brunch and visit with our Jive Aces friends before their ferry ride to the Isle of Wight. But after that fabulous interlude we were back at the dockyard touring HMS Victory: The Big Repair, an under roof tour of the massive multi-year project to restore the 250 year old Victory and preserve her for future generations. Then as if that’s not enough for one visit we continued on to visit the Mary Rose, the pride of Henry VIII’s Royal Navy. She sank 19 July 1545, that’s 479 years ago yesterday, off the Isle of Wight during the Battle of the Solent taking the lives of hundreds of men and a dog. There were only about thirty survivors. After having been brought to the surface in 1982, the remains of the Mary Rose reside in a purpose built museum case after having undergone extensive conservation measures. It’s amazing to gaze at this ancient warship from many different angles, to watch projections depicting various aspects of life on board, and browse through incredible displays of artifacts that have been preserved by archeologists. As we walked back to our lodging we started hatching plans to return not only to spend more time at the historic dockyard but to also explore other intriguing historic sites here in Portsmouth. It’s been an incredible finish to an amazing visit. Yes! We do intend to return!
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