A few weeks ago Neil and I took an impromptu trip to Portsmouth, we had been there a year prior with my children but given that the tickets to visit the Historic Docklands last for a year and that he managed to land a Friday and Saturday off we booked a hotel and went away.
Managing to find a hotel last minute was surprising too considering we was on the tail end of the February half term, however we stayed in a hotel that was just by the dock lands themselves and right by the outlet shopping center too, the hotel we stayed in was called Keppels Head hotel however we got a pretty good room that came with a double bed, a single bed and what we assumed was a sofa bed. Along with a tv, tea, coffee and pretty okay bathroom, only real complaint was the shower which didn’t have a lot of power behind it all.
The bonus was probably the restaurant which Neil was extremely excited for as it had a Japanese menu as well as English menu. He devoured the sushi and I had teriyaki chicken with mash potatoes as I simply had a craving, all was wonderful and we walked to the nearby Co op for some chocolate for pudding.
But this post isn’t about the hotel, however if you ever need to stay in Portsmouth then Keppel Head Hotel is a recommended stay.
Portsmouth Historic Docklands
The Docklands themselves open at 10am which gave us time to eat up a delicious breakfast, get our suitcases packed and into the car and walk towards the entrance with camera in hand.
The last time we visited we did manage to take in a lot of the boats and ships but this time because we didn’t have the children with us we decided to check out things that they would’ve considered boring, walked around the boat house which was home to boats that needed repair, finding it funny that we found a boat named Janet (which is my mums name) which was a World War One admiralty barge.
Once we had walked around the boat house we jumped onto the harbor tour which took you around the whole Portsmouth harbor and getting close to the two air craft carriers that had docked, which was Queen Elizabeth II and Prince of Wales along with other ships, the guide shared some pretty interesting facts about the harbours history, I’m not good on boats but it was really enjoyable if cold.
We then went to see the HMS M33 which is a warship with an interesting history, we didn’t get a chance to go on it the last time we visited due to it being closed, however it was good to walk around and learn all about the lucky ship, personally I enjoyed learning of the history of the ships cat Miss Muggins who I 100% got a little plushie of, I am a sucker for cats of course!
We then went into the HMS Victory which like last visit was going under restoration and sadly due to the bad weather we’ve had over the winter has developed more damage that needed fixing. Neil picked up the audio guide and I just went for a photography explore around the ship. I truly hope that one day when we visit again that we can see the full ship in all her glory without the tent over her.
And finally visiting my favourite part of it, The Mary Rose, I am big into Tudor history and the first time I saw Mary Rose was amazing, the beginning part of the tour is a little touristy but the rest of the Museum was fascinating, there’s only a small piece of her left but walking along beside it they have made it so it’s the full size, you can stand exactly where the mast would’ve been.
Personal favourite moment for myself would have to be the fact you can walk out and see her not behind glass, you breathe in and can smell the wood, it’s incredible that it’s over 500 years old. The little Tudor nerd in me was extremely happy.
All in all the Docklands is an amazing and educational experience which I’m glad I both shared with my children and also got to explore without being on mum duty. I hope to visit again in the future as there is more things to see and do and I recommend that if you enjoy naval history then give it a visit.
You can find all the information on how to book on the Historic Docklands website, I recommend getting the ultimate explorer tickets which is what we got that lasts for a full year and doesn’t require you to pay for every exhibition.
Sarah
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Disclaimer – I paid for the tickets myself, Reviews and posts are my opinions only and I wasn’t paid to share my experience
This sounds like such a fun and spontaneous getaway! It’s great that you were able to make use of the Historic Docklands tickets and find a hotel so close to everything, especially during the busy half-term period.
Portsmouth historic docklands seems like a fun place! I love The Tudors too and my kids love ships and boats.