Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Portsmouth

What a great way to entertain the kids at half term! Tickets to all the attractions in the Dockyards are not on the cheaper side, but you have so much to look around it it worth spending a day or two taking it all in.
You get to see the Mary Rose, HMS Warrior, and HMS Victory. They have guides around to tell you and the little ones about the history (kids + history = bonus!) and they all seem well informed and are all very friendly.
The Navy Museum is an experience in itself, i learned a fair bit about the goings on of Navy life and it was a great day out.
Like another reviwer, i’d advise going in the morning to make the most of everything, as it can take a while to walk around. There are also some great little shops to wander in, and you can pick up some fab souveniers whilst you are there.

This is an amazing walk back in time!
Everyone should try to visit if in Portsmouth. HMS Warrier was very impressive and the Victory is uncanny It is hard to believe that Nelson actually walked those decks along with hundreds of others over the years. Just remember to keep your head down as there is not much head room! I didn’t really know a lot about this period in history but after my visit I was fully educated.
An educational and fun filled day was spent going round the historic dockyard. Well worth a visit. There is also some souvenir shops to spend your pennies in!

If you buy a ticket for all the attractions it allows a year’s visit to the warrior, naval museum, action stations (interactive education centre) and dock yard apprentice. Everything else is single visit but brilliant. When I first went it was at 4.30 which meant only enough time for one of the attractions (the warrior was decided upon) since then every time I go shopping in Gunwharf Quay I have popped back across and done something else. The one ticket will have given 5 nice days out (still got to do the docks apprentice) although you can do it in one if you arrive in the morning.

The boat trip shows you all the naval ships and gives you information about them and the history of the opposite side of the river. Action stations contains lots of brilliant activities to get all ages thinking about maritime science as well as a climbing wall and 3 kick. The ships have been preserved brilliantly and show history in a format that everyone can appreciate.

great value day out

A brilliant tourist attraction for the whole family.

Lots to do so you need to allow at least half a day, preferably a whole day to visit this attraction.

It is quite expensive and if you live locally it makes financial sense to buy a Season Ticket which allows tyou access for a year at no further charge.

HMS vicory is amazing, as is the Mary Rose. Well woth a visit.

The Portsmouth historic dockyard is a very historical place with boats such as the Mary Rose, etc, you get to see a lot of the different styles boats that were used in the past. The naval musuem is a great place to learn more about the historical past and the children can get to learn a lot of different facts about the dockyard as well as the boats.

The historic dockyard in portsmouth shouldn’t be missed. The tickets aren’t cheap to go aboard all of the ships on offer, but you are able to enter the dockyard and look around the Dockyard Apprentice exhibition at no charge. HMS Victory and HMS Warrior can also be seen, although without a ticket you are not able to go on board.

It is well worth purchasing a ticket to see the vessels up close though - HMS Victory (Nelsons famous ship), HMS Warrior, and the Mary Rose. Visits to these ships and the Royal Naval Museum, will certainly ensure you get your moneys worth.

All in all, a really informative, interesting attraction which I seriously didn’t think I would enjoy.

The Historic Dockyard is an amazing place, and although the tickets aren’t cheap they’re valid for a year, meaning you don’t have to rush to do everything in a day. That’s just as well, because there are half a dozen separate attractions included. Most will appeal to all ages and all levels of interest in maritime history.

The oldest of the three ships you’ll visit is the Mary Rose, Henry VIII’s flagship which famously sank in view of the town - and the king. (It wasn’t on its maiden voyage, as is sometimes claimed, but had just been refitted). I can remember watching the raising of the ship in 1982 - one of the few times we got to watch TV at school! - so it’s both fascinating to see the ship itself, and astonishing to realise that the conservation project is still ongoing. As well as the learning about the ship and life on board her, with artefacts on show in the accompanying museum, there’s an opportunity to find out about the conservation techniques and challenges.

Your ticket includes a timed tour of the HMS Victory, Nelson’s ship at the battle of Trafalgar and in many ways the highlight of the Dockyard. Nelson of course died on the quarterdeck in 1805, so you really have a sense of being in a place where history was made. However, it’s not all about the admiral: there’s plenty to discover about life for ordinary sailors on board ship too.

Step forward to 1860 by walking around HMS Warrior, the biggest, fastest, most heavily armed ship of her day - so much so that she never engaged in battle! (I wouldn’t particularly recommend the audio guide though, when we used it a few years ago it was rather lengthy). This is a very different ship to the Victory, with steam engines as well as sails, and gives an insight about the changes in sailors’ lives over half a century or so.

There isn’t a modern battleship to walk around, but you can see and find out about them on the ‘harbour tour’ boat trip. Portsmouth is still an active naval base, so you’ll see a variety of ships (they vary according to which happen to be in harbour on the day of your visit). The commentary is great, ensuring that you actually understand what you’re seeing!

If you’ve had enough of looking at ships, try out the skills used on shore by becoming a Dockyard Apprentice. You find out about the various trades practised in the dockyard in the early twentieth century, and although it’s perhaps mainly aimed at youngsters, I enjoyed getting my apprentice’s certificate here! Action Stations offers activities based on contemporary naval skills - unfortunately I ran out of time before getting to visit.

Finally, there’s the Royal Naval Museum, which brings all these themes together and even offers a Battle of Trafalgar Experience. In addition, there are (very good) shops and (average) cafes to keep you going through the day(s) here.

spend the whole day day!!! great for kids!!!!

Nice Place To Visit..x

Very good way of spending an afternoon is down at the Historic Docklands in Portsmouth. We first went on the HMS Warrior, which is a massive ship - half steam, half sail, built in 1860, no wonder Britain ruled the world then.
Next up was the HMS Victory, not so big but more significant in history and Lord Nelson died on it.
The Mary Rose was one of Henry VIII boats and half of it is being preserved with waxy sloution. You can see this through big glass windows just near the HMS Victory.
The navy museum is small but worth a little look, and there are cafes and souvenir shops as well.
Warning - crawling around the boast is not so cool for those over 6 foot tall! The guy I was with banged his head a few times! First date too, no wonder it didn’t work out. lol