London to Portsmouth

Back in the dark ages of the 70's my sister and I did a month trip to the UK. As a diehard CS Forester and Horatio Hornblower fan I had to go to Portsmouth. In those days all we could visit was the Victory and that was terrific. Today you can also visit the Mary Rose. You should go. ; ) Pam

YES! For those interested in the Napoleonic Wars at sea, it is a must. The train works just fine.

Definitely go to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, where you can see the ships Mary Rose (rescued from the ocean floor and being restored), HMS Victory, HMS Warrior, and also see the Royal Naval Museum, D-Day museum. Also in Portsmouth and worth seeing is Southsea Castle (built by Henry the 8th) which is actually a fort built to protect the waterfront. Charles Dickens Birthplace is in Portsmouth also. http://www.dmoz.org/Regional/Europe/United_Kingdom/England/Hampshire/Portsmouth/Travel_and_Tourism/ Click on Portsmouth Historic Dockyard for their website.

Get the train from Waterloo station in central London. You can see times and book advance fares at www.southwesttrains.co.uk, but buying tickets at the station won't be ridiculously expensive.

You can get discount fare tickets as low as £1.00 by booking as far in advance as possible at megatrain.com. As of today booking is open up to and including 15 September.

You could also get the National Express coach from Victoria station in London, but the train is probably nicer.
If you do decide to go by train, and you're only going for a day trip, it's worth asking how much a 'cheap day return' will be; sometimes it's the cheapest way to go.

Bought at the station, an anytime same day return ticket costs £34.40. Hop on any outgoing train and on any returning train. With Megatrain tickets you are limited to the specific departure times you booked.

Besides the HMS Victory and the Mary Rose, there's also the HMS Warrior and a harbor tour included in your ticket, lots to see. On our visit we arrived mid-morning and stayed until mid to late afternoon. I'm not as "into" ships as my husband is, but I found it very interesting, as did our teen-age sons. Train trip is one and a half to two hours each way, direct from Waterloo or Victoria stations. Off-peak tickets are about £25.50 (leave after 9 a.m., return anytime).

My sister lives there and have been to visit her twice...but she only seems to want to take us to the Quays for shopping...hmmm...gotta expand her horizons! No, we did a quick run to the dockyards, but didn't go on any of the ships - and there is an old bombed out church there (Sorry, this was 08 and I can't quite rem where, but I'm sure Google knows) - the front was bombed, but I believe they still use the back...the curators there - well, they love to talk - I think we spent almost an hour there - very interesting...and the curator handed my this old wooden carved statue about the size of a baby- I believe it was the Virgin MAry, then proceeds to tell us it was hundreds of years old - I went into don't drop it mode and wish I had my sis take a photo...very interesting stop that may not be too familiar to some...

We loved Portsmouth. The museum complex is huge, but easily accessible from the train station. There is also a boat cruise around the harbor as part of your ticket, but you may have to get in line for that. If my memory is correct, the cheaper tix were at the TI just outside the complex. You could do an overnight in Portsmouth. They have a serviceable Holiday Inn Express within walking distance and there are some good restaurants right there as well. Portsmouth also has a D-Day museum that we enjoyed.

Contact the Aquacars at Portsmouth on their website. They will fetch you from Heathrow, like us, or from your hotel in London for less money than two train fares and deliver you to the front door of your hotel. We stayed overnight in the old town part by the harbor so could walk to all the famous sights before the ferry to France. Our B&B is out of business now but there are many places to explore. Go to www.tripadvisor.com and get on the Portsmouth forum for all sorts of tips. It was really great to see the Mary Rose and Nelson's flagship, still in use today. Don't miss Portsmouth. Get the ride early one day and spend the night then have them return you to your tour.