Wandering Boots Tour: Day 42 Portsmouth Maritime Museum

By the numbers

12,158 Steps

8.97kms

The morning turned out to be overcast and I was worried that my washing would get wet or stay wet for the rest of the day even though it was partially dry already. I did move some of the clothes to my room and made sure they would not fall out the window while I was out. While it looked like the weather was going to turn out wet, I left my raincoat behind as I didn’t want too much weight in case it became hot again. I visited the local maccas just as their computer system went down and was trying to load up. I waited anyway and had breaky. I was able to collect my tickets from the station for Monday and get a ticket to be dropped off at the last station on the line in Portsmouth. That would only take around 10 mins when it was around 45 mins to walk from where I am.

I arrived at the Portsmouth Maritime museum, which was around several minutes from the station. The museum was actually doing bag checks and they were happy with my bag as I had my ID, water and the charger. I was able to pick up my tickets and I did plan to visit the Submarine Museum that was on the otherside, which had a ferry service that drops you off on the other side of the river. That was my plan, although I headed to where the Mary Rose was located. That museum was the one I had wanted to visit last time I was in England and they were still building the museum, which didn’t open until around 2013. The Mary Rose had a long service history unlike another ship known as Vasa in Sweden. The Mary Rose had something like 15 years service and it was during a battle she sank in Portsmouth. It wasn’t due to being enemy action. She was under water for around 400 or so years before being raised to the surface. Only half a ship remained asthe other half rotted away. They spent years learning about the remains and what was found around the vessel. The purpose built museum.

The museum was on three levels and I entered on the middle level and actually didn’t realise it at the time. It was actually a separate ticket from the main entry from the maritime museum, although you were required to have an entry ticket. I knew all that when I booked the tickets before I left. They had actually found plenty of artifacts with the remains of The Mary Rose and used the same stuff that was used to preserve The Vasa. There were remains with the ship and they could get plenty of data including DNA from them to the point where they had information on diseases, the food they would have eaten and where they would have come from. Could even tell if they were trained with a long bow, which was unique as warfare soon changed through the use of canons and firearms so the injuries through constant training meant they would vanish. They even had a dog that was on the ship at the time, but they were not sure if it was a rat catcher. The ship on several occasions had been refurbished over is lifetime until it sank. I liked how they even found the remains of two cooking pots with the bricks for the fire. I was there on all floors for a couple of hours having a look around and was very happy that in long last that I had gotten there.

By the time I left the museum, I had lunch, where I thought I should stop for a little bit before moving on. I was heading to the Submarine Museum, well the ferry that would take me there. I was looking at HMS Victory and the last timew I was on that ship, you could not do so invividually as it was only by a tour. Plus due to ‘military’ secrets you were not allowed to take photos. I turned around and decided, sure I will do the HMS Victory. The reason it it was involved with the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 that apparently lead to the victory in Waterloo. Horatio Nelson died once the battle ended as he had been shot while on the deck. He was given a funeral where he was buried in St Paul’s in London. You were now able to do an audio tour where you pressed the device against some little boxes that gave you the next audio guide. As you walk along the ship it gives you the next part of the story from the Battle of Trafalgar and Nelson’s wounding and eventual death. After the battle the Victory ended up back in Portsmouth where she was sitting as a tourist attraction until placed on dry dock and partially restored in the 1920s. At the moment they are looking at and solving potential problems. They are replacing the struts holding the ship as the old ones were causing the hull to split, which mean water was getting inside and rotting the timbers.

Nearby was a vessel that was involved with the Gallipoli campaign, but I only looked on the outside as I found the story of the Battle of Trafalgar that included information that explained why you could have easy access to Victory. The Navy had given the ship over to a trust that would go about securing the vessel for the future and hopefully crate a temperature controlled environment like The Mary Rose. The same museum had a panorama of the battle that had been painted long after the battle, but not as good as the one in Waterloo. The rest of the museum showed off figureheads from other vessels over the years before they were broken up. There was another part of a building that was dedicated towards Nelson and it included how he was injured. I was wondering how he lost an arm and that was in one battle and then lost the sight in one eye. He even had to learn to write with his other hand after losing the other. He was apparently a tactical genius and was why the battle in Trafalgar was won, although the Victory was nearly lost in the process.

By the time I left the museum it was only going to be open for another 15 mins. I had seen most of it, but not every single thing in the area. I spent time with what I wanted before ending my day wandering around the Horrible Histories section on Pirates. It was really for kids to learn about pirates, but I thought it was a good way to end the day. I wanted to catch the next train back to Fratton. I knew I needed to get back early enough to get something to eat and to grab my dry clothes as it turned out to be another hot day. I had a look at a Tesco Express to see if they had hot food and the fridges had gone down quite possibly from the heat. I ended up with KFC and was happy to be out of that building as it was messy.

Wandering Boots Tour: Day 41 Train to Portsmouth

By the numbers

15,966 steps

12.08 kms

Today was the day that I end up in Portsmouth for my birthday and I was heading there by train on a day that was meant to be pretty hot. The pub didn’t close until 2am and I did go to sleep around 1am only to wake up in shock that I had gone to sleep. That was at 230am and I switched my light off. I didn’t wake again til 5am where I posted my bloig and then went back to bed. I was too distracted with watching TV shows than doing anything else, although who could blame me especially since I would have to leave the room for the wifi. The day was meant to be the hottest yet and the weather program saids there might be train cancelations due to hot railways. I really hoped that would not happen as I would be a little pissed if that happened.

I made sure I had a decent breakfast before I left for the blue yonder, although my train did not leave until 11am so I took my time in checking out. I ended up watching a TV show by the name of Time Team who were looking for a Roman house that had been looked at in the 1960s. The end of the show meant I was leaving with all my stuff. I was hoping the destination after this one had a washing machine as I think my clothes would be really stinky by the time I got anywhere especially if I was seating a lot on heatwave conditions. I think it is lucky I cannot smell my bag. I know my little removable backpack must smell as I know my sweat has soaked into the bag. The train turned up even though I had been waiting for around 40 mins. I could only catch trains to do with the company I bought them off. The change over station was at Southampton, where I got to my next train.. The seating area I was in had aircon that was struggling and a couple of British were bitching from the time they sat down. Complaining about the air con and that the train should be moving on time. A conductor came along and told people if they wanted to move further back as the aircon didn’t work well in that section. Everyone moved except for myself and another lady. I explained, I am Australian this is actually nice. A lady in front of me said she is from South Africa and agreed with me. It was actually comfortable. I took the train all the way to Fratton a part of Portsmouth.

I walked to where I was staying. No one was waiting at the house and I had been given a code to collect the key as it was in a little safe and on a chain. I let myself in and found my room. The door had the same thing and I was able to enter my room with the keys. Its an interesting way as I had not come across that one before. I hung around sorting out my bags and explored the rooms. I found a washing machine in the kitchen and I hoped by the time I returned no one else had the same idea. There wasn’t a dryer, but with this heatwave it will be all dry by morning or within a couple of hours. I head for the museum that I had found when looking at things to do in the afternoon. On the way I got a sausage roll from the supermarket as I had not had lunch yet at it was nearly 3pm. The museum was easy to find even when I visited it via a local cemetery. The museum was not actually that bigI spent around 20 mind walking around it and that did include the butterfly house. It was a nice little museum, mostly for kids really, but I was glad that I had visited it. I thought there would be more dinosaur related things, but I was happy with what they did have.

I headed for the nextthing on my list that I wanted to visit this afternoon before it shut, but I didn’t know if I wopuld have time. There was another fortification and that was Southsea Castle built by King Henry the VIII. I headed for the very busy beach area and people had their portable BBQs puffing smoke in one direction  to make the park pretty smokey. Once on the promenade, I found the pier and I wandered part of it while thinking it was funny I was seeing plenty of pink people who were over burnt and becoming crispy. The pier did include food stalls and an arcade area that was very noisy. Walking on I did find the Castle and found that it was actually free to visit. There was around half hour before it closed and I did have a look around. It was over 400 years old and one of the line of defences in the area. They even had a chain that went across the harbour entrance to stop enemy ships from entering. The castle had been redesigned since Henry’s time especially during the 1800s. The castle includes a lighthouse too that had a keeper until it was automated. At one point the castle did blow up as some gunpowder caught fire. During WW1 people did use the castle, but they had bad experiences of trying to sleep there. I did have a drink before leaving.

Even in late afternoon there was still plenty of people enjoying the sunshine. I was heading back so I could get the washing done and get some dinner somewhere. I checked two supermarkets on the way back and they didn’t have a great selection. I ended up in a Chinese takeaway getting chips and a steak and kidney pie. I ate first and then put the washing on after a shower. I still had my detergent from Cardiff. I still hadn’t ordered my new vehicle license yet and I did that before I get home or else I would be a touch stuck. It should be waiting for me by the time I get home. I was able to check things online that I hadn’t been able to do and make sure payments like health insurance were correct. I think I have sorted everything out properly.

Wandering Boots Tour: Day 40 TankFest

By the numbers

16,936 steps

12.68 kms

The night has warmed up and I knew from the news that there will be heatwaves in Europe that is heading over to the UK by Saturday. Not really what I needed to know when I have already been knocked around while in Weymouth several days before. I decided to bring out the big guns in my epic wardrobe in the big. I did bring along an older wide brim hat. I had been wearing for the last few weeks a cap that had not bought me problems as the weather had been mild until this week. I think in a way I have been lucky that the heatwave started while I was in Dorchester. I most likely come home pretty tanned now. More so than I have in the last few years. I headed to a place where I would get a decent breakfast that would last me for most of a day. I got myself two bottles of water, although I knew I would not need both, so headed back to the room to leave one there.

Once I got to the train station I got myself tickets for the train as I was heading two stops away into Wool for the Tank museum and the Tank festival. Friday was the dress rehearsal for the weekend and I wasn’t expecting too many people there being a Friday. I knew the time I had to catch the train and it wasn’t a long wait as I only needed to go two stops away. I was feeling pretty good and when we pulled into Wool, I had to find where I needed to go as I wasn’t sure where the museum was apart from a short walk away. There was apparently a bus, but I didn’t see anything on the board that was going towards the museum. I started walking and there were a few others doing exactly the same thing and a few of them knew about their tanks. I don’t as I just wanted to see the museum as I had read about it in my university studies. That included some WW1 tanks, but I only changed my itinerary around after I found the tankfest.

It was around a half hour walk to the museum and I soon realised how much  people loved military armoured vehicles as the place was filling up pretty well. I even had to have my bag checked as I went through. My bag was cool as I opened it and they never looked any further . Not even in the other zippers. I had ordered a program too. Even though I had no access to a printer I was able to save the email to my phone and I learnt how to access the folders on my phone. I did look around some of the static displays and a chat about some of the guns. I never knew these guys were so knowledgeable. One of the chats I wanted to listen to was. There were several that I planned to go to one being from a Hollywood stuntman who was talking about his experiences on set with tanks like Goldeneye, Fury and even Saving Private Ryan. He did ramble about the movies including movies that were not about tanks. The other chat was about battlefield archaeology, but that was cancelled later on as there had been problems. I thought I was walking to the museum, but got caught in the normally closed off restoration area. There were plenty of tanks there and even though some had labels on what they were I didn’t know what they were.

I realised the actual museum was further on and I should follow the arrows to the museum. The museum was actually pretty big and went through the history of the tank from the beginning of World War 1 onto what they were using now. There were tanks that were built, but never ended up being used as they could not get past the testing stage or never ended up in combat like a remote controlled explosive tank or even a one man tank that was a flamethrower. There were quite a few people within the museum walking around and taking pictures. I don’t think I got to see everything, but there were even German Tiger tanks that were used during World War 2. The Tiger tanks had veterans on both sides talking about the experiences on either driving them or the people who came up against them. Some of the machines were now outside on show over the weekend. They did have some engines on show too. I was wanting to get to see the speech that was on that I didn’t know was not happening. I thought I would get some food and got bamboozled by the lady that served me in one of the food vans. She gave me old notes that could not be used anymore and she told me they had come from me. Come to think about it I did look and I somehow already had an old one in my wallet, but I still think it was either from the bank or I got scammed. I honestly do not know. I was told I could exchange them for new notes. In thinking about it the old notes I was told by the pub I am staying at are in good order especially when I seen them in a museum in Lyme Regis the day before. It has fossils and Charles Darwin. The new ones do not.

Since the talk was canned, I went to watch the display shows before going home. The program was for practice with one of the tanks in combat conditions, which included soldiers getting in and out. Then the D Day vehicles that were used with one guy telling us what they were all about and when thery began. It did seem that the commentator knew what he was talking about and people were invited to let him know if the information was incorrect. The bigger Cold War tanks were next and some you could feel the rumble of their engines go right through you and they were loud. This was basically the last of the show and I wanted out of the sun as well. I was really happy for the fact I had on my wide brimmed hat as it covered my face from the burning sun. It was actually worth going to Tankfest as I got to see tanks running instead of being a static display in a museum. They are not my thing, but I had to experience that for once. The walk back to the train station was meant to be half hour and I made it before a train that was meant to arrive. I even got my ticket checked as there were others who had the same idea of returning. I think most were going to Weymouth.

Tomorrow I head to Portsmouth for half the weekend, which is part of my short trip like I did in York and Cardiff. Portsmouth is the last of three locations, I will be staying at in the UK before heading to Singapore and home. This trip has been full of memories and experiences so far and I wouldn’t change anything except for not losing my cards. That was not the easy part of the trip as I was making sure I didn’t spend too much money.

Wandering Boots Tour: Day 39 Sunny day in Lyme Regis

By the numbers

12.916 steps

9.53 kms

I was still feeling the after effects of the day before from getting sunburnt in England of all places. I got too much sun yesterday and I was kind of paying for it today. I felt alright, but I didn’t want to walk too much in the sun. I got up early enough to catch the second bus into Bridport, which would take me into Beaminster. I caught the bus from the train station as it was the easiest place to get it and got myself a day pass as I thought I would be getting on and off the bus. I even had the bus timetables in my phone so I would know when to catch the next bus or wait for it. The best part it I also watch Google maps to make sure I am getting off at the correct spot or else I would become stuck.

Once I arrived into Bridport, I realised I had gotten off one stop too early even though it was not far from the actual stop and the tag did have the numbers of the bus’ that stopped there. I had around 10 mins before the next bus came along, which was the Beaminster one. On the way I did see a sign saying 6 miles and I have to keep thinking that is not kilometres and something like that would be a touch too much especially when I am already sunburnt. The arrival into Beaminster had me walking around some of it. The reason I was visiting the village, was family had come from the village. I was hoping to visit the museum. I had half hour or so before the museum opened and I found the location and of the loos as well, which I would need. The bus timetables had an extra service that I never had on my online guide, which I was happy about.The problem with being in Beaminster on this particular day was there happened to be a festival on and the museum from the way I read the info board was that it did not open until around 2pm. I am guessing that was a festival thing as they have other things on at 10.30am. I did wait until well after the time and even tried the door. I could have stuck around all day, but there are a limited bus service and not an area I would really want to get caught in, which includes the other bus services too.

The little hiccup in my plan to visit the museum again was exactly like last time, but I also wanted to visit Lyme Regis. I was annoyed with myself that I should have made 100% certain that it would be open. Some of my problem I think was the heat as in not the Aussie summer heat, but the sunburn that I already had. I did want to have an easy day and the bus did take me back to Bridport. The next bus was actually late and I was beginning to wonder if it left from elsewhere until it arrived around half hour later. The bus did seem to take a while to get into Lyme Regis. As soon as I arrived, I knew what I wanted and that was what you do have at the beach. Fish and Chips, although it was a cod. I found a shady area under a wall as I really wasn’t liking the sun at the moment and needed shade. The seagulls didn’t like my idea as they sat there wanting my food, but there was a wall at my back  It was in the shade, but I was happy. The one museum I wanted to look at was the fossil museum. Lets say I was impressed when I walked into the museum as I had never seen that many fossils in the same area. They were actually a private collection as the owner is a palaeontologist. There is advice about collecting in certain places especially when you can only do so with the tides and if you need rescuing then the life boats will be a bit rude, which is also obvious. Several of the collection of fossils were from China and there was even dinosaur poo. It wasn’t a huge museum, but there was plenty there to see .

I stayed at the museum for a little while and looking at the collection. The shop had fossils for sale and while it would be cool to have something like that, I think it might not be good for my bag in going home on the plane. I did follow the river, which was like a canal, but one side of the path there was a huge drop off and the other side was a stream. They had somehow split a stream, but it could be something to do with the local mill that was now functioning again. I headed for the bus stop as I thought I had done enough for one day and I will say its an easy day. The bus did come though I was happy to wait for it in the shade of the bus stop as I think it was hotter than the day before. The bus was at least air-conditioned and seemed to take a while in getting back to Dorchester, but it was a nice afternoon to get back to town. The only real problem with doing anything online on my computer is that I have to move closer to the pub to use their wifi as it doesn’t reach the room. I did have to hand wash one shirt, which I wore yesterday as I think it would stink to high hell with sweat. Luckily I wont need to wash until Monday when I end up in Canterbury. There isn’t washing facilities where I am and they all seem to be dry cleaners.

Tomorrow I go to a tank fest that is at the tank museum, which means I will get plenty of things to see including talks and displays. Hopefully they understand that I cannot print off my emailed ticket or I get sent away.