Nephew Richard met us and helped us to our hotel before spending most of the Day escorting us around the Navel area of Portsmouth. 1st stop the Mary Rose the pride of Henry VIII, sunk in the harbour with the king watching it go down. It took years to dry it out to the point of being displayed, fascinating museum giving a great insight to the life of a sailor,
Next up is the Victory flag ship of Navy and the ship that Nelson died on in the heat of battle. I have wanted to see this ship since I was a kid. For its time it was a mighty piece of military power. It still flies the ensign as it is still an active and oldest Royal Navy vessel. we then headed over to a WW1 ship. it saw service and had the name of the lucky one, having never lost anyone. the difference between the victory and this was extreme, a solid tin can it felt cold and soulless. our 3rd ship was the "Warrior" a combination or the change over ship, built with timber hull cased with iron, it had masts and steam power. there wasn't a ship afloat that could touch this in it's day
even its guns were varied, old style like on the victory and the latest rear loading guns. I made the mistake of asking a question and the very knowledgeable Mike then spent 20 minutes giving us the history of the Warrior and indeed anything Navy. it was still worth while. a very historic ship that links the old and new technology.
This is taken from Lord Nelson's cabin at the back of Victory looking out over to the latest Royal Navy aircraft carrier the Queen Elizabeth.
after a spot of lunch we headed back to check in at the hotel and then on to meet Rich, Jo and Winnie for dinner.
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