Three Very Good Museums (Portsmouth in General)

Member Name: reg_scrat

Product:	Portsmouth in General
Date:	05/06/01 (84 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Relatively Cheap, Very Good Museums, Not Packed With Tourists

Disadvantages: Specialist Museums - May Not Appeal to All

As a day trip from London, I reccommend conquering your prejudices and making your way down to Portsmouth and Gosport.

As there are already several opinions written about the Dockyard itself (HMS Warrior, HMS Victory and the Mary Rose et cetera), so I shall share my experiences of three other worthwhile attractions: the Royal Marines Museum, the D-Day Museum and the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport.

Royal Marines Museum:

Housed in old Officer's Mess Building in the beautiful Eastney Barracks in the Southsea area of Greater Portsmouth, the Museum tells the history of Britain's premier fighting force. Admission is very reasonable at £4.00 (Adults) and £2.25 (Children and Students). The museum is well curated and can easily be seen in1 to 2 hours. At the moment, the museum holds an excellent exhibit of photographs from the Falklands War. It strikes a good balance between a child/adult appeal as well as between the curious tourist and the military enthusiast.

The museums website is: http://www.royalmarinesmuseum.co.uk/

D-Day Museum:

Located about a mile down the beach closer to Portsmouth Harbour, the D-Day Museum is another worthwhile experience. Admission is not as good the other two museum but still reasonable by London standards (£5 for Adults and £3 for Students). The musuem has two major sections.

The D-Day tapestry, made in the 1960s to commemerate those who died during the invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944 is a one-of-a-kind sight to behold. Hundreds of feet long, it winds its way around a specially built circular gallery. Both as a work of art and as feat of manual work it is a masterpiece.

The remainder of the museum holds an exhibit detailing the preparations for (Operation Neptune) and the execution of (Operation Overlord) of the invasion. It also has a small but interesting section addressing the war effort in Portsmouth and the South Coast. This musuem, while much dese
rving of a few hours perousal, has more of a feel of a provincial museum than the Royal Marines Museum. The Gift Shop is fairly tacky compared to, say, the Imperial War Museum.

Website: http://www.ddaymuseum.co.uk/

RN Submarine Museum, Gosport:

It is a bit of a wander to get from the D-Day Museum to the ferry across the harbour to Gosport and then to get down to the sub museum. Let me assure you, however, that it is worth the visit. Admission is £4 for adults and £2.75 for concessions.

The highlight of the museum is the guided tour of the resident submarine HMS Alliance (constructed 1945), which, in my case, was expertly given by a friendly and knowledgable stoker who had served upon her in his youth. The tour gave me a real insight into the life of a submariner - especialy the vulnerability one must feel when separated from hundreds of tons of water by only a steel bulkhead. The tour takes about 45 minutes and encompasses virtually every section of the sub.

The land-based museum introduces the vistor to the history of British submarines - right up to the present day. I found it fascinating (I am a bit of a nerd when it comes to such things), but I realize it may seem a bit much to the casual visitor. The history is not to technology-orientated however - the exhibits focus as much upon the life of the submariners themselves as it does on the vessels they operated.

An interesting touch are the periscopes from HMS Conqueror, the submarine which sunk the Belgrano during the Falklands war. These are installed in the lower gallery, giving visitors the opportunity to look out across the harbour. Like the other museums, one can comfortably see it in about 2 hours or so.

Website: http://www.rnsubmus.co.uk/

All in all, these three sights make for a satisfying day in Portsmouth. Bursting with maritime history, anyone who has not yet been down should make it their priority this summer.

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