It was a bit hard saying goodbye to Graham, Kathleen and their friend Jane at the B&B. They were all very kind and friendly. The night before Kathleen gave us free “year round tickets” to see two ships in Portsmouth Harbor, The Mary Rose and HMS Victory (we came to Portsmouth to see the HMS Victory). She only asked that we mail them back to her in the self-addressed envelope she gave us. This way she could give them to the next family that might come and stay at her B&B.
We said goodbye with warm hugs and drove 5 minutes down to the Gosport docks where we parked and rode the ferry across the harbor to the Portsmouth Royal Dockyard. Located in the dockyard were several historical Royal Navy ships ranging in age from The Mary Rose, flagship of Henry VIII, to HMS Queen Elizabeth II, a modern aircraft carrier. Our first stop was The Mary Rose.
Built in 1510 when Henry VIII was a new king, The Mary Rose was his flagship and in service until it sank in the Battle of the Solent in Portsmouth Harbor, July 1545. The ship was named after Henry’s sister Mary and the Virgin Mary. Rose refers to the Tudor Rose. It could carry around 500 men and crew. Sadly the ship sank when they fired cannons on one side then went to fire on the other side, opened the hatches, and the wind caught the sails tipping the boat. Water rushed into the open gun hatches and she sank quickly…that combined with a few holes the French warship had made in The Mary Roses side. All hands, but 35 were lost at sea.
They tried to salvage her in 1545, but to no avail. In the 1800’s a few relics were un-watered, but it wasn’t until 1970 that divers un-watered a cannon that fit the description of the ship and recovery operations were begun. It has taken 40 years to salvage and preserve the ship and it’s 16,000+ artifacts. In 2016 the museum containing the preserved ship and relics was opened to the public.
The HMS Victory was in the dry dock next to The Mary Rose Museum. This was the famous ship of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson who won the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, but sadly died aboard the ship of a gunshot. The 250+ year old ship still contains about ¼ of the original timbers from when the ship was refurbished in 1805 before setting out upon the seas. The HMS Victory was originally commissioned in 1765 by King George III and only 1/8 of those original parts remain. Most of the ship dates to it’s last refurbishment in 1814. It was amazing meandering through the various living quarters and gun decks. The further down you went into the belly of the ship the lower the ceilings. By the time we reached the hull Liam, Robert, and I could barely stand up! The Victory could carry upwards of 800 men and crew on a single voyage. It was truly a floating village.
We made our way back across Portsmouth Harbor and began the 2 hour drive into central London. I have to say I am quite proud of Robert. It’s no easy task driving into the centre of one of the busiest cities in the world, but that is where the Enterprise carpark drop off was located! We unloaded our car listening to the rumble of trains leaving Waterloo Station just above our heads and walked about 10 minutes to our hotel. The Premier Inn London is located directly on the River Thames. The room even has a partial view of the river and the London Eye.
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