A Day Trip to Portsmouth, England

Portsmouth is a port city with a historic dockyard and naval base in southern England. There’s plenty of fun to be had for all your maritime fans out there… or non-maritime fans out there. It’s really easy to get here and can easily be done in one day.

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Day Trip to Portsmouth, England

How to Get to Portsmouth, England.

I have always recommended renting a car in England because it lets you explore a little more of this beautiful country that exists outside of London. You are also not restricted by times and dates and have the freedom to head there whenever you like. It’s about a 2 hour drive from London via the M25 and A3.

If you take the train from London, then you are in luck, there’s about 200 trains per day that go between London and Portsmouth and will take you about 1 1/2 hours. It is a SUPER EASY day trip from London! The good thing about taking the train is the station is drops you off in the perfect location at the end of Quay, which puts you next to the Spinnaker Tower and the entrance to the historic dockyard. (Also the train station is over water… not even joking! Kind of scary right?)

Right next to the train station is the bus station and the cheapest way to get to Portsmouth. You can get a coach trip from Victoria Station in London to Portsmouth that will take just a little over 2 hours and can cost you as little as $10.00 one way.

I always use Trainline to book train tickets!

What to do.

Spinnaker Tower.

A Day Trip to Portsmouth | The Crave Ttaveler | Portsmouth is royal naval base with a historic dockyard and pretty cool observation tower. Find out how to get there from London and what to do when you get there!

The 557 feet tall sail-like tower can be seen from 23 miles away and gives you unparelled views of the historical harbor, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth city center, and plenty of sea.

The tower has 3 levels – the main observation deck with the cool glass bottom floor that you can stand on, a restaurant (called The Clouds) to grab some afternoon tea, and then the upper rooftop deck, complete with tiki bar and lounge chairs. There is an elevator to the first two viewing decks, but then you have to climb the rest of the way to get to the top deck.

If you’re up for the challenge, then it’s 587 steps all the way to the top… no thank you.

Shopping.

Why not stop by Gunwharf Quays shopping center after the Spinnaker Tower, you know, since it’s right there. It’s an outlet mall with over 90 shops, so why not treat yourself to a little shopping on your vacation?

Or just walk around the streets of Portsmouth and get your hands on some one of kind harbor and maritime decor for your home.

Historic Dockyard.

This is seriously the Navy guy’s or gal’s dream. As soon as you enter the dockyards (which is still an active Naval base) you are greeted with massive tall ships and submarines, museums and seagulls…. Navy boys and food?

But seriously, this place is pretty exciting to walk around and I’m not a marine/ warship history kind of person.

The dockyard has warships you can board, the National Museum of the Royal Navy, harbor tours, the submarine museum, and action stations (where you can scale the tallest indoor tower, complete challenges inspired by the Royal Navy, and even do a Ninja Warrior course.

It’s £31.00 ($38.00) for 11 attractions in the Dockyard. However, you can enter the area for free and also pay individually for separate attractions if you don’t want to do them all.

The HMS Victory.

The HMS Victory is in the Historic Dockyard, but it’s a must see. Built in 1765, it was the grandest, most up-to-date ship in King George III’s Royal Navy.

The HMS Victory was the flagship in admiral Nelson’s victory over the Spanish and the French in the Battle of Trafalgar, which is known as Britain’s greatest naval victory ever. This battleship had a crew of 820 and carried over 100 guns on board.

There’s lots to see and do on the ship, but the stairs are steep, the hallways are tiny, and the ceilings are low, so if you are not a fan of confined spaces, then this is not for you.

The Mary Rose.

The Mary Rose is also in the Historic Dockyard, it’s all the way down at the end, past the Victory. It’s not included in the all access dockyard ticket, so you have to purchase separately, but it’s worth it.

I like traveling to pretty places and exotic destinations, but I’m also a history buff and I love learning about the history of other cultures and countries. The Mary Rose was perfect for me, since I’m a huge Henry VIII fan (anyone remember the show The Tudors?!?!). This was a ship that Henry VIII had commissioned not even a year after he was king.

By the time the Mary Rose sank, Henry VIII had 58 vessels, established Portsmouth as the first royal naval dock, and made England a very powerful and scary country to mess with. The Mary Rose sank in 1545 in Portsmouth while holding off the French fleet, but nobody really knows why she sank. Most say it’s because the gun ports were open and when the ship turned to fire, with the help of a gust of wind, water came pouring into the ship and she sank immediately taking all but 35 lives with her.

The Mary Rose was found in 1960’s and given the go ahead to raise it in the 1970’s, but it wasn’t until 1982 that she was lifted out of the water. The silt had preserved over 19,000 objects and the starboard side of the ship (thanks to the lack of oxygen), enter the Mary Rose museum and you can see that ship and all the objects that have been preserved.

Have a Pint.

After a long day of walking around and exploring, you deserve a pint. Stop by The Ship Anson which is right across from the train/bus station before you head home and grab a pint or some fish and chips.