Day 21 - Portsmouth and Brighton

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The day started out grey and stayed that way most of the day. We travelled south west past Southampton to Portsmouth and the Historic Dockyard. We visited the dockyard to see the HMS Victory (Nelson’s Flagship from the Battle of Trafalgar), but also found the HMS Warrior which was the pride of Queen Victoria’s Navy in the 1860’s.

The HMS Victory is the oldest commissioned warship in the world. It was very interesting to walk through this time capsule from the time of Lord Nelson. The Warrior is a huge ship, the first of its kind as a steel warship, both sail and steam powered. We listened to an interesting talk from a sailor who discussed the different small arms (firearms and blades) used by the different sailors and officers.

Next to the Vifctory is the “Mary Rose”, which sunk 200 years before the Victory was commissioned, and was raised during the 1980’s. The Ship is kept in a temperature contained environment being sprayed with a wax solution to preserve the timbers. Half the ship has been lost to the elements, but the other half was preserved in the silt on the bottom.

We then drove to Brighton and enjoyed a walk along the seaside. We went down to the beach, which looked more like a rockery, and along to the famous Brighton Pier. Here we stopped for a late lunch and enjoyed Fish and Chips on the pier.

Tonight we have stopped at a Premier Inn beside the M25. The weather has not gotten any better, and this evening there is a persistent English Drizzle.

Tomorrow, We are going to the Royal Observatory at Greenwich and on to an afternoon at Windsor Castle.

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