We picked up our car yesterday (Tuesday) and managed to find our way out of London just missing the congestion zone. Warren drove while I navigated with the iPad.
We stopped at Lullingstone – site of a Roman villa which was built in AD 100. The exterior of the building gave away nothing of what lay within.
The remains of a large villa including a beautiful mosaic floor and many artefacts were well presented.
A short film, stories about the finds and the history of the dig made this a memorable stop. Thanks for the tip Suzanne.
Next stop was Battle Abbey and the actual site of the 1066 Battle of Hastings between Harold and William the Conqueror. No prizes for guessing who won but to stand on the top of the hill and hear how the battle unfolded was good. You can walk around the battleground although half the path was closed when we were there.
It is a small area when you consider about 7000 died here in a day. The pope instructed William to build an Abbey on the site in memory of the many dead. There is now a Grammar School here which has the Abbott’s house as part of its buildings.
Today we visited the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. First off was a harbour cruise to view the many Navy ships in port. Just as many decommissioned ships are here awaiting there fate. The old aircraft carrier Ark Royal leaves this month to be scrapped in Turkey. This site is constantly updating their displays and the next to open on 31 May is the new Mary Rose display. This ship in Henry VIII’s fleet was sunk in 1545 and raised in 1982. We saw it on our last visit in 1986 when they were spraying the hull with chilled water to conserve it. Most of the starboard side of the ship, including sailors trunks with implements and clothes was preserved in mud in the bottom of the harbour. In 1994 they changed to a polyethylene glycol which is a water soluble wax. Last week the PEG sprays were turned off and the ship will take 4 years to dry out and be fully preserved. More on this later!
HMS Victory, Nelson’s flag ship for the Battle of Trafalgar (1805) and the site of his death is also on display. It is still a commissioned ship of the Royal Navy with a full crew but has been restored to as it was at the Trafalgar. You can wander the ship through the many decks that get less headroom the further down you get.
The nearby museum has an interesting multimedia display depicting the battle.
Weather today has been overcast with light showers and increasing wind. We head to the South West coast tomorrow and winds of 65 mph are expected!