I recently took two American Guests to visit Portsmouth Historical Dockyard here in the UK.It had been several years since I last visited the Dockyard and I had forgotten how tiring it could be for older people.As a result I didn't plan the day very well.This article outlines the lessons I learnt to make a visit more enjoyable.The entrance tickets are valid for 12 months but the key sites can only be visited once.These key sites include HMS Warrior, HMS Victory, The Mary Rose Exhibition and a 45 Boat Tour of the Harbour.It is a good idea to take two days over the visit.Day one would comprise one of the Ships, the Harbour Tour and visits to one or more of the museums available.Day two would include the remaining Ship, The Mary Rose Exhibition and the rest of the Galleries and Museums.Day One.If you wished to include the local Shopping Mall and Spinnaker Tower in your visit you could arrange to go on the Harbour Cruise at the end of your day as the Cruise stops at Gunwharf Quays where the Tower and Shopping Mall are situated.This would save you a 10 minute walk.HMS Warrior was built in 1860 and has 4 decks and is 418 feet long so there is plenty of climbing up and down ladders.She has engines and sail and in her day was the most powerful warship afloat.Certainly after spending two hours looking around her it was time for a rest and lunch in one of the many eating places in the dockyard.After lunch is an ideal time to wander around one of the museums for an hour and then take the boat tour getting off at Gunwharf Quays.You could now wander around the many outlet shops or take the lift to the top of the Spinnaker Tower, a 170 metre tall visitor attraction giving panoramic views of the local area and the Isle of Wight.Day Two.On the second day a visit to Nelsons Flagship is a good way to start.Once again HMS Victory has 5 decks and there is plenty of climbing up and down ladders.HMS Victory has a very low ceiling height so care has to be taken not to bang your head too often.Again it is a two hour tour and very tiring.So a break for lunch is essential before visiting the Mary Rose exhibition.This too will take the best part of two hours to do it properly.We are now left with visits to several museums.We had the advantage of reaching the Dockyard by ferry from Gosport across the water from Portsmouth but if you travelled far by car then parking would be an issue for example on day one you could park at the shopping mall and walk into the Dockyard picking up the car in the evening.There is car parking adjacent to the Dockyard but it fills up fairly early on in the day so getting there early is essential.The dockyard opens at 10 daily and closes just after 5p.M.
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