Portsmouth, England

We sailed into Portsmouth in a cold rain. Typical. Portsmouth has been settled since before the days of the Roman Empire and it has been an important naval port for centuries. Many famous ships are here including Lord Nelson’s HMS Victory and Henry VIII’s Tudor battleship Mary Rose. Dale was excited to get out and see them all so that’s how he enjoyed his day. Unfortunately (for you) he did not take any pictures 🙁

I opted for a trip to Beaulieu, one of ten Treasure Houses of England — the most magnificent palaces, houses and castles. I had never heard of it. It is located in their newest National Park, the New Forest, which historically was a hunting park for kings. We drove for miles through the forest, which has towns in it since they grew up in the centuries between hunting park and National Park. As always, here are my bus window views:

The forest boasts hundreds of wild horses, cattle, donkeys and deer. We had to stop several times to let the horses cross the road.

As we drove through the town of Lyndhurst, in the New Forest, we saw the church where Alice in Wonderland is buried. Apparently the story was based on a real person and she travelled the world making personal appearances later on. The town has, of course, capitalized on that bit of history.

Beaulieu is an ancient estate situated on the Beaulieu river adjacent to a picturesque town. It was originally part of the Abbey there but after the Dissolution of the Monasteries it was converted to a private residence and has, since 1538, been home to the Montagu family who currently live upstairs while the public tours their downstairs.

By afternoon the sky cleared and we had a lovely time walking the grounds and looking over at the town.

The inside of the house looked like it came right of Downton Abbey and the gardens were (mostly) well manicured.

The Abbey is in ruins but for a couple of buildings. The gravel circles in the yard, here, mark where the pillars of the church once stood.

The grounds were peaceful and lovely and I could have enjoyed sitting on a bench for a while but I felt I owed it to you to go to the National Motor Museum and take a couple of pictures. After all, it is the main attraction at Beaulieu and it is impressive. They have the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car and I did take a picture but my photo software is not working so I can’t show you. The electronics here, as well as the people (us) are getting ready to be done, I think.

We’re trying to have one last meal with each of our new friends here and it’s time to start packing. One more day to go!

When we left Portsmouth we had an evening of sailing down the Solent past the Isle of Wight. Below is a view of the old Portsmouth dock yard full of maritime exhibits.

The pilot boat picking up the harbor pilot was our last contact in Portsmouth. They we passed many interesting places as we headed south around the Isle of Wight.