Page 20 - June2013

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City & Village Tours: 0845 812 5000 info@cityandvillagetours.com
Come and meet our local Blue Badge guide at
10.30am for morning coffee (included) at
Portsmouth's oldest pub. This is a very attractive
walk with the water never far from sight. There are
many historic buildings and the area is rich with
stories. The old defences are still in place and during
the morning we will walk along the
hot walls.
This is where, today and for centuries past, families
have been used by naval families to wave goodbye
to their loved ones or to welcome a ship back.
Old Portsmouth was for centuries a rather excitingly
raffish and dangerous district. Parts of it were
bombed to smithereens in the Second World War
and it limped along decayed and picturesque for
many years. In recent times it has undergone a
complete metamorphosis, emerging as a fashionable
and well-to-do residential area. It has many famous
connections: Nelson, Kipling, Brunel, HG Wells
and son of the city Charles Dickens.
We can tweak how far you walk to suit your folk -
this is quite a compact area, ringed by water. You
can choose to return to the attractive pub for a group
lunch included in your tour fee or we can walk or
transfer by coach to Gunwharf Quays and people
can do their own thing for lunch. It’s up to you. Our
afternoon is devoted to the new Mary Rose Museum
in the Historic Royal Dockyard. There’s no text in
the galleries so you aren’t trapped into reading your
way around which frees up the senses for an
absorbing visit. In one half of the building the
starboard half of the wreck is
slowly curing like a
kipper,
and in a creative mirror image the missing
port side is recreated.
This has been called Britain’s Pompeii - the things
that were personal and precious to the crew beautifully
preserved and presented to give a snapshot of life on
board Henry VIII’s flag ship that sank half a millennia
ago. There’s time to buy tea at the Dockyard Café
(where there are interesting free displays) before
heading home at 4.45pm. Your ticket for the Mary
Rose also includes a harbour tour from the pier inside
the dockyard - if you want to take this up we might be
best going into the dockyard for lunch to create a bit
of extra time
We aren’t visiting the whole dockyard today which
makes the overall walking content of this day out
much more manageable for your members.
With morning coffee & biscuits & the Mary Rose
Museum and available daily all year:
Adults & Seniors: £25.00
With morning coffee, chicken lunch & the Mary Rose
Museum and available weekdays only:
Adults & Seniors: £32.00
Payments are due 14 days before the trip.
Old Portsmouth & The Mary Rose Museum