Ricoh GR does Portsmouth Naval Dockyard

Lightmancer

Legend
Location
Sunny Frimley
Name
Bill Palmer
Popped down at the weekend with some very old friends of mine for a "lads day out". In the past this involved drinking lots of beer and catching up on escapades and news. Increasingly these days it involves drinking lots of beer and comparing interesting ailments brought on by middle-age.

Anyway, this time we went to Portsmouth, strolling out of the rail station straight into a bacon butty at the Spinnaker Tower followed by a trip to the top (interesting but not earth-shattering - wouldn't bother again) a very liquid lunch, then a tour around the new Mary Rose exhibition and the old favourite, HMS Victory.

I first saw the Mary Rose over twenty years ago, when it was still being soaked with water and a preserving solution. You could actually see a lot more of the ship in those days. Today it looks a bit like what I would imagine you can see if you stuck a small camera behind the skirting board of an old house - large amounts of rotten timber and a lot of black wires and pipes. As is traditional these days you "exit through the shop", in order not to miss any "retail opportunity". I was amused to note that much is made of a dog that was employed on the ship as a "ratter". You are led to believe that his name was "Hatch", through all the cuddly toys, board games and other tourist impedimenta named in his honour. It was only as I was edging my way past the tills that I realised the only reason he was so named was because a dog's skeleton was discovered by a hatch... As one of my friends said, good job he wasn't found beside a cannon or they might have named him "Balls" instead...

The Victory is as imposing as ever, even though most of the masts and pretty well all of the rigging has been removed. At 6'3" it is always a challenge to maneuver below decks, but this time I only managed one real smack to the head, when I mis-timed standing up straight having mis-counted the beams.

My Grandfather was in the Royal Navy, as was his father before him, and his father before him. He was born in 1886, and went to boarding school at Greenwich Royal Hospital School. I still have one of his old school reports, including subjects such as "sailmaking" and a letter he wrote home to his parents at the age of 11, complaining about the food and requesting a special parcel containing (his capitals) PASTIES! (we were originally a Westcountry family). I remember him speaking of spending time on the Victory when he was a lad. I also have a cousin who was part of the team under Margaret Rule, that raised the Mary Rose. The poimt of all this familial meandering is that I find Portsmouth quite evocative, and always feel a bit closer to my Grand-dad when I am there (Brooklands Museum has the same effect, but that is another story for another day.

Anyway, here are some pics from the day, all taken with my trusty GR:

The Spinnaker Tower:
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Spinnaker Tower August 2014 GR 1 mono par Lightmancer, on ipernity

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Spinnaker Tower August 2014 GR 3 mono par Lightmancer, on ipernity

A view from the tower: HMS Warrior in the foreground, with HMS Victory and the Mary Rose Museum behind. The modern warships are HMS Illustrious (the aircraft carrier) and HMS Diamond (guided missile destroyer):
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Spinnaker Tower August 2014 GR 4 Warrior Illustrious Diamond par Lightmancer, on ipernity

Two of my oldest friends:
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(Breaking) Baz August 2014 par Lightmancer, on ipernity

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Steve August 2014 par Lightmancer, on ipernity

The stern of Victory:
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HMS Victory August 2014 GR 2 mono par Lightmancer, on ipernity

Fire buckets on Victory:
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HMS Victory August 2014 GR 4 par Lightmancer, on ipernity

Below decks:
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HMS Victory August 2014 GR 7 par Lightmancer, on ipernity

The Mary Rose museum:
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Mary Rose August 2014 GR 1 par Lightmancer, on ipernity

The Mary Rose hull (see what I mean?):
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Mary Rose August 2014 GR 2 mono par Lightmancer, on ipernity

A Tudor Rose on one of her cannon:
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Mary Rose August 2014 GR 6 mono par Lightmancer, on ipernity

...and finally, the beer kitty (or at least a small part thereof:
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Kitty GR par Lightmancer, on ipernity
 
Thank you both.

One of the nice things about going to the dockyard is that the ticket is valid for a year. It's just over an hours' drive from home so it's easy to go back and carry on another day. Also worth noting that if you buy a ticket at the gate it is £28, but if you buy online, it drops to £20. I bought mine 20 minutes before going in, and just showed it on my smartphone screen - they were fine with that.
 
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