Portsmouth 17 September 2016

Anticipating a quiet weekend I was so surprised to get an email from my friend Lee from Cape Town who was in Portsmouth on a quick family visit, asking if I was busy! I'm never too busy for my friends so before you could say "how are you", I had booked a train ticket and made arrangements to meet up.  This is a new part of the country to me so I was only too happy to get up at the crack of dawn to catch the 8.28 train (it was Saturday - that's early!).  With two train changes in the 2 hour journey, there wasn't much opportunity to nap.

I've met some great people since arriving here but old friends are the best!  We had so much to catch up on that Colin decided he would drop us off at the Gunwharf Quays and leave us to it.

We had lunch and a bottle of wine - neither of us had to drive so no problem there.  Then we took a walk around the Quays talking, talking, talking.  Lovely.  The Quays are the site of the Spinnaker Tower - one of the highest structures in the UK at 170 metres.  Did you know that in high winds it can flex up to 6 inches?  Disconcerting that.

There was quite a few nautical themed statues and artworks around this busy centre as well as a LOT of high fashion shops so a bit of shopping happened.

Colin, having had a lovely quiet afternoon, collected us and we headed back to the highest house in Portchester with the best view.  I need to work out how to do night shots with my camera but I quite like the effect here.

This one is a bit better.  How's that view?

Now was time for champagne - that's a long standing tradition with Lee.  As sparkling as this lovely chandelier.

Sunday turned up sunny and relatively warm so we headed out to do some sightseeing in the old part of Portsmouth.

1450 - and in really good shape.

A very well behaved espalier tree.

If you're dead, you're okay here.

Portsmouth is, surprisingly, an island city and it's history has been significantly impacted by it's proximity to the sea, London and France.  It's been a major naval city for centuries hosting the fleets, amongst others,  involved in the French Invasion of 1545, the embarkation point for the D Day landings during WWII, and the whole of the fleet headed for the Falklands.  HMS Bounty set sail for Tahiti under the command of Captain Bligh from Portsmouth in 1787.

The city's history can be traced back to Roman times and in the late 3rd century AD the Romans built a fort in Portchester which remains the most perfectly preserved fort north of the Alps. In the 5th century the fort was used as a Saxon stronghold against Viking raids and in the 12th century a castle was built in within the walls.  Historically a busy spot but quite peaceful now.

It always makes me smile to see really old graffiti - human nature hasn't really changed, has it? Just the materials and contemporary artists can only hope that their artworks exist anywhere near as long as this.

This post box was probably erected during the reign of George V, so between 1910 and 1936.

All too soon it was time to head home for lunch and then the 14.40 to Winchester wasn't waiting for anyone.  The HMS's Victory, Warrior and Alliance will have to wait for another visit.

What a lovely weekend it was - thanks Colin and Lee.