Portsmouth; Saturday, 22 February, 2014

After a filling breakfast I headed over to the bus stops near the station and caught the bus round to the seaside town of Southsea. The fact that Southsea is less than a mile from the centre of Portsmouth would make you think that it would be difficult to spot where one ended and the other started, but the wide expanse of Southsea Common, and the pleasant gardens of the Promenade made the demarcation pretty clear.

I had a long wander along the prom taking in the stunning views across the Solent to the Isle of Wight and watching the incredible amount of traffic shuttling backwards and forwards between the island and the mainland (Car ferries, catamarans and hovercraft all shuttling backwards and forwards)

A short walk along the prom took me to the closed Southsea Castle, but I was able to have a quick peer in past the main entrance gateway as the café was open. However, just behind the castle the D-Day museum and Overlord embroidery was open to look round.

I continued my walk along the prom down as far as the remains of Southsea Pier from where I caught the bus back to the Harbour and changed mode of transport to ferry as I crossed the harbour over to Gosport.

There were two attractions in Gosport that I wanted to visit. Both were only accessible by walking, the first a mile and a half to the North East, the other three quarters of a mile to the South West, so it was going to be a long afternoon of walking.

First stop was the Explosion! Museum on the site of the former Priddy’s Hard armaments supply depot. Having looked around their exhibitions I retraced my steps back into the centre of Gosport and back out again down to the submarine museum.

By the time I left the submarine museum it was starting to get late and by the time I was back at the ferry terminal in Gosport the sun was already starting to set.

I caught the bus the short distance back round to Old Portsmouth to take some photos of the Cathedral and the old fortified walls of the harbour, including the Square and Round towers.

A bit of a wander through the lanes of Old Portsmouth and eventually I arrived back at Gunwharf Quays knackered and in need of dinner, so I stopped off at a Yo-Sushi for a quick fuel stop.

After dinner I had a bit more of a wander through Old Portsmouth before catching the bus back round to the hotel and a well-earned sleep.