A Grand Day Out... At Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

Mark Hughes-Morgan -

I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY'RE SCRAPPING HMS ARK ROYAL !
Crazy, isn't it. She's due in at Portsmouth Naval Dockyard any minute. Let's go and say goodbye.

CAN WE GO ABOARD ?
No, but you can see her up close on a 45-minute harbour tour, in between visiting Nelson's flagship HMS Victory and HMS Warrior, the Mary Rose Museum, and the National Museum of the Royal Navy . . .

IS THAT HMS VICTORY ?
Clean your telescope. That's HMS Warrior, Queen Victoria's No 1 warship, once the longest warship in the world. HMS Victory is over there.

TITCHY, ISN'T SHE ? Big
enough for 800 men to squeeze in. Follow me to the Navy's museum, for an interactive Trafalgar Experience, complete with sounds and smells  -  and to see one of Victory's actual sails.

CAN WE SAIL THE MARY ROSE ?
You can't even see the Mary Rose at the moment  -  Henry VIII's doomed flagship is being worked on prior to a grand unveiling in 2012, but the museum is a fabulous showcase of some of the 19,000 artefacts recovered from the Solent  -  including the reconstructed ship's dog, Hatch.

WHAT ARE ALL THESE VICTORIANS DOING ?
This weekend is the Christmas fair  -  a festive market, Dickensian displays, a Secret Garden. Action Stations!

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