Portsmouth

So I went to Portsmouth yesterday. Portsmouth is sort of at the bottom of the inslet that Southampton is at the top of, the home of the Royal Navy, historically a bit sketch, and currently undergoing major efforts to make itself yuppy. It has two main attraction, conveniently located near each other in the yuppy part of town. They are the historical dockyards and the Spinnaker Tower.

So first I went to the dockyards. You can either pay 11 pounds to see one attraction of your choice or 13 pounds to see all of them (which is about 10). There are three big old ships involved, and then some museums and navy recruitment centers disguised as 'action stations'. The first of the ships is the HMS Warrior. I don't know why this ship is important, but it's from the 1800s. The second ship I saw was the Mary Rose. Now, I had never heard of the Mary Rose, so it was really a pleasant surprise. This is a 495 year-old ship used by Henry VIII that sank off of Portsmouth Harbour 460 years ago. They discovered the ship in the early 1980s and as half of had been buried all that time, it was in remarkably good condition, so they managed to raise this massive half-rotten ship to the surface and turn it upright. Going to see the ship is really intense. Because it is so old, it is being constantly sprayed with the this wax preservative that is supposed to strengthen the wood. The spraying has been going on for over ten years, and is scheduled to be completed in 2009 (at which point they will spend two years drying it out and you can see it somewhat normally in 2011). As it is being sprayed, you just walk along a viewing gallery lined with windows, and the room with the ship is rather dark and very foggy because of all the wax. And it's a 495 year old ship. Basically, hard to describe, but if you are in Portsmouth, you really should go see it.

The final ship is the HMS Victory. Which is the ship on which Admiral Lord Nelson died in the Battle of Trafalgar. This is a big deal, but nobody I've spoken to really knows why. So you can walk around the ship (and by walk, if you are over about five feet tall, I mean you will sort of be bent over in half for a good number of the lower decks) and see where he died. Also of note, they sell the largest pens I have ever seen in the HMS Victory gift shop. Like, a good inch and a half diameter, over a foot long.

Aside from boats, Portsmouth is home to a new 'tall-structure', Spinnaker Tower. When I first heard of the tower, I assumed it was actually called Spinnaca Tower because it sounds to me like everyone adds Rs to the ends of words that end with As, but in this case it actually ends with an R. Tricky, I know. So, the tower is on the water in the new University Village-esque mall they have here (Gunwharf Quays). For some reason it closes at 5 pm, but luckily with the clock change yesterday that was when a lovely sunset was occurring (see above picture). The views are surprisingly nice from the top and you can see all kinds of exciting things. Like the Isle of Wight and a tiny glint of Southampton. Once again, if you are in Portsmouth, I give the Spinnaker Tower my endorsement.

I might also add that despite being able to see Southampton from Portsmouth, due to 'engineering works', it took an hour to get there each way on the train.