We started our trip visiting the HMS Warrior (1860), a Victorian cast iron warship which was surpassed by new technology within ten years of its launch. Walking round the ship gave us a fantastic insight into how sailors and officers lived on board. The restoration of this ship has been beautifully done and it is now kept in immaculate condition, every piece of brass gleaming, every piece of wood shining.
What was truly refreshing was that not once were the children told off for touching anything on board, guns were there to be stroked, tables to be sat at and hammocks to be swung in (under supervision). The small exhibition boards recounting the life of the ship, from its warship status to dereliction 100 years later and then the superb restoration project undertaken by unemployed ship builders from the north east, I found to be quite moving; a fantastic slice of naval and social history.
Our next visit was to the Mary Rose museum. This again was excellent, from the children dressing up in Tudor clothes to all the artefacts found on board, allowing us to get a feel for Tudor life. There was an informative documentary showing, which recounted the raising of the Mary Rose. The marine archaeologists' work was just incredible.
A little later we visited the actual Mary Rose, housed in a large polytunnel type structure where it is constantly washed with waxy water, which is part of the long term conservation project. Free audio guides for adults and children made this very informative. The size of the wreck was impressive and the conservation plans for it reflect the long game required to preserve these amazing historical finds.
Action Stations is an obligatory hands-on area for kids, with a climbing wall, helicopter simulators and various shooting games. The climbing wall was a massive hit and was climbed a number of times during the day. This could get rather tedious as it involved queuing for up to 30 minutes a time.
Unfortunately the Dockyard restaurant was very overpriced in our view. The quality appeared good, but five small items in a children’s lunchbox for £4.50 does seems very expensive.
HMS Victory, built in 1795, was again a fascinating glimpse at social and naval history. A small plaque on the upper deck marks where Nelson fell. The Nelson story is told well as you would expect. It is hard today to conceive how popular he was and the mass hysteria at his death.
Below deck on the Victory showed just how miserable life was on board and considerably more so the further down the social scale you went. Also how hellish it must have been when fighting with splintering wood, fire, bullets and cannonballs all competing to kill you. HMS Victory also seems to have been designed for a navy of midgets. Not recommended for visiting by claustrophobics!
We just couldn’t fit in the Royal Naval Museum and the Dockyard Apprentice Experience so ended our day with the Harbour Tour - we were apparently lucky as there so many warships in the harbour. In reality they all looked the same: grey with lots of weapons. The Harbour Tour dropped us off at Gunwharf Quay; a perfect place for some retail therapy and a meal.
For enquiries about Portsmouth Historic Dockyard tickets and prices, please contact the Visitor Centre on 023 9272 8060.