Portsmouth UK

12th September 2023

Arrival in Portsmouth is at around 6 am. It is still dark and cooler than our last few destinations.

First priority is to clear British Immigration, who insist on seeing each passenger face to face in the main theatre. A detailed plan has been devised to see this runs smoothly and we are given different times to appear for screening, largely based on the departure times of organised shore excursions. Clocks were wound back an hour last night as we enter a new time zone, further complicated proceedings.

We arrived on the 2nd floor at our appointed time to see a very long queue of passengers waiting to be processed. So long was the queue that it ran the full length of the ship. The theatre is in the bow and we joined the queue in the back of the main restaurant at the very stern of the vessel. It would be fair to say most passengers were unimpressed.

It took 40 minutes to get immigration clearance

We are berthed at what could be better described as a ferry terminal rather than a cruise terminal and the importance of the Navy to Portsmouth is abundantly clear. It does not look like it caters to a lot of cruise ships.

The Cruise Terminal "Tents" (and ferry ramp on the other side of the wharf finger)

An adjacent working ship

View from the stern of Viking Jupiter (hopefully there is no one wanting to use the ferry ramp)

Portsmouth Naval Base across the water from our berth

From the quaint Medieval villages of Bruges and Honfleur, arrival in Portsmouth is a bit confronting. A visibly industrial city, dominated by the Navy is a stark difference to our past few ports.

Our shore excursion today is a bus tour with a few stops that takes in some of the sights and history of Portsmouth, and there is certainly plenty of history. Portsmouth is on an island with a strong maritime history.

Portsmouth has a wealth of military history, but in recent history it was the planning for D Day Operation Overlord that took place in Portsmouth. Eisenhower and Montgomery frequented The Golden Lion Pub in Southwick, which was very close to Southwick House the Supreme Headquarters for the Allied Expeditionary Force.

The Golden Lion Pub in Southwick

The staging of Operation Overlord from Southwick is covered in detail at a museum established to recognise the event, the D Day Museum.

One of the original landing craft (that could carry 10 tanks) is on display outside the museum.

Our next stop is a lookout where we get a panoramic view of Portsmouth from a hill that overlooks the town. It is also apparently famous for this burger joint which stays open 24 hrs and day year round. There is a large hospital nearby that keeps them busy.

A great view but not great weather to enjoy it

We are soon back at sea level and headed for Southsea to follow the shoreline along Southsea Esplanade.

There is very little wind and the threat of rain

Pebble beaches are the norm, and a few hardy souls are in the water having a swim.

We pass South Parade Pier which looks like it is very popular.

Our next stop is near South Sea Castle /Fort, an artillery Fort built by Henry V111 in 1544.

Southsea Castle

There is a lot of work going on fortifying the shoreline from erosion, utilising rocks imported from Norway, would you believe.

Serious shoreline fortification under way along the Solent coastline (Isle of Wight in the background)

Continuing along the coastline towards Portsmouth Harbour we pass Clarence Pier and arrive at our next stop, Square Tower.

The stop at Square Tower holds particular interest for Australians, as it was from this area the First Fleet of convicts set out from. The First Fleet left Spithead, the primary gathering point for fleets off Portsmouth on 13th May 1787.

Square Tower

This sculpture known as "Bonds of Friendship" was erected in Portsmouth (near the Square Tower) in 1980 with a similar one of polished brass erected in Sydney (now located in Loftus Street) at the same time. It commemorates the sailing of the First Fleet and the strong bonds between the UK and Australia. The unpolished rings in Portsmouth represent the Old Country, whereas the polished brass rings in Sydney represent the New Country.

Built in 1494, during the reign of Henry V111, the Square Tower was part of the fortifications of the coastline and served as the home of the Governor of Portsmouth. In 1584, it was converted into a gunpowder store. Today, it is a wedding venue and function centre.

These days the beach side of the fortifications attracts tourists and locals, although beach access is not encouraged.

Fishing from the wharf there is popular

Not quite the beaches we are used to

Our last stop is at an area called The Hard. It is a commercial centre with a large shopping complex (Gunwharf Quays), the site of some museums and the location of the Spinnaker Tower.

HMAS Warrior (built in 1860)

Back at the ship by 2 pm, the weather was still quite overcast and it was a bit of a drama to go back out again this afternoon, so we had lunch and spent the afternoon on board. For lunch in the World Cafe we had a special treat, suckling pig.

We will make sure we are in a good spot for the departure from the harbour as much of the attraction here is probably best seen from the water.

Departure views did not disappoint. We cast off at around 6 pm and the next hour of sailing out of the harbour was very scenic and gave us much better views of Portsmouth than we were able to get on land.