FLEET SPECTACULAR AND NELSONS NAVY Portsmouth, the home of the British Navy for over 500 years. ----------------

The 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar and Admiral Lord Nelson will be commemorated when the Royal Navy present "Trafalgar 200" .

As part of the celebrations ships from over 40 of the world's navies will take part in the "International Fleet Review" on the 28th of June 2005

The whole venture will be on a truly grand scale with everything from ancient tall ships to warships of today and aircrafts in exciting fly pasts.

In the evening spectators will be able to watch a massive 'Son et Lumiere' from the shoreline.
The presentation will feature sounds, lights and action on the high seas.

The recreation of a sea battle from Nelson's time is planned with blazing broadsides and gun smoke. Music and radio broadcasts should add to the effectiveness of the floodlit fleet displays and the state of the art pyrotechnics.

A few days later on Thursday 30th of June the "International Festival of the Sea" will get underway set against a vista of tall ships. (It runs until the the 3rd of July.)

First held in 1966, this year's festival will combine 30 events into one enormous mix providing 12 hours of entertainment in which visitors will be able to climb aboard - tall ships, - warships,- large ships and - small ships.

There will be live music stages with sea shantys and world music plus a fisherman's wharf where you can enjoy the fruits of the sea and a host of other attractions. One big plus will be be free admission to the Historic Dockyard.

Whenever you come to Portsmouth a visit to "The Historic Dockyard" is a must.
To get a really superb overview of the 300 acres occupied by it and the Naval , go up the new "Spinnaker Tower."

This landmark has changed the citiy's skyline and when it opens will be UK's tallest publicly accessible building outside of London.

The highest of its three decks will be at 110 meters. You can zoom up into the sky in a high speed internal lift or take the external glass lift and enjoy a panoramic sea view.

The jewel in the Historic Dockyard has to be"HMS Victory."

You climb aboard and marvel at the size and superb condition of this three masted "first rate ship of the line".

It really is huge and with more than 100 guns it was the most powerful type of warship afloat.

The Historic Dockyard boasts three of the most important ships ever built and as well as the Victory there is the "HMS Warrior" and the "Mary Rose" which was built at the command of Henry VIII in 1511.

She sank 34 years later whilst going out to do battle with the French Fleet as it tried to invade Portsmouth. Located by local divers, it took many years of fund raising before salvage work began in 1982

In the Mary Rose Ship Hall the remains of the preserved ship can be viewed and there is a treasure trove of beautifully restored Tudor artifacts.

The most recent of the trio, HMS Warrior was launched in 1860 and unlike the others is still afloat. Beautifully restored, she is an excellent example of the transition from sail to steam.

She has telescopic funnels that could be lowered when the 418 foot long ship was under sail. The Warrior had a compliment of 705 men and carried 36 powerful guns.

Other attractions in the Dockyard include the Royal Naval Museum, which is housed in three storehouses that were built to supply Nelson' fleet. It consists of five galleries and stems from a collection established in 1911.

A troop landing craft from World War 2 and other small historic boats sit outside the latest attraction,which is housed in boathouse number six and is called "Action Stations"

The "hands on" displays in this £14 million exhibition include a helicopter simulator, gunnery control and, for the Marines element, a climbing wall, a canoe simulator.

For a good view of Portsmouth from the water take either one of the many boat tours on offer or ride the frequent ferry that runs over to Gosport where you can find "Explosion" the award winning "Museum of Naval Firepower" and the "Submarine World," The Royal Navy Submarine Museum.

To get the feel of the city's past, walk in the old streets around the Portsmouth Cathedral and the Garrison Church (minus its roof since German bombing in World War Two) or visit the fascinating little, Regency style, house that was Charles Dickens Birthplace.

In 1944 much of the shipping and many of the the men taking part in the greatest sea bourne invasion that ever took place were assembled in the Portsmouth area. Operation Overlord, the allied invasion of Normandy on 6th June marked the begrinning of the end of World War Two.


Looking down from Portsdown Hill there were so many ships and landing craft to be seen that it seemed as though it would be possible to walk from Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight across their decks..

The poignant story of this part of the eventual liberation of Europe is effectively told in the "D-Day Museum," (close to Southsea Castle and the Blue Reef Aquarium.)

Newsreels of the time and the 272 foot long Overlord Embroidery (a modern counter part of the Bayeux Tapestry) bring the events to life.

	So there is a lot going on at Portsmouth and another plus point is that you can conveniently fit in a visit if you are going on holiday to the continent. Car ferries leave from Portsmouth for France and Spain. Should you take one be sure to be up on deck, with camera in hand, when you sail past the Historic Dockyard.
Brittany Ferries set sail for France

Having absorbed the British view of invasion from the Overlord Embroidery it makes for an interesting comparison if you sail with Brittany Ferries to Caen and see the Bayeux Tapestry or to St Malo to learn about pirates and the French defences against Nelson's navy.

Report by Allan Rogers

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INFORMATION

More than three million people travel to and from Portsmouth every year through the Continental Ferry Port which links the city with north-west France, northern Spain and the Channel Islands. Portsmouth is ideally situated for visitors, only 70 minutes from London and close to three international airports.

Useful Links:-

SeaBritain 2005 is a year long festival of events exploring every aspect British maritime heritage for a calender of events click on this link SeaBritain

Trafalgar200: http:www.trafalgar200.com

The International Festival of the Sea Festival of the Sea

The Spinakker Towerr WEBCAM

Portsmouth http://www.visitportsmouth.co.uk/main.asp

Southport http://www.visitsouthport.org

Britanny Ferries http://www.brittanyferries.co.uk/

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