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Victory Gate marks the grand historic entrance to the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard鈥攁 site where over 500 years of naval heritage come to life. Dating from the early 18th century, this Grade II listed gateway stands on the foundations of earlier quay structures and was formally rebuilt in 1902 using elements from its predecessor, blending red brick, stone piers, and golden 鈥榖all-on-cushion鈥� finials.

A visit to Victory Gate is more than a photo opportunity鈥攊t鈥檚 the threshold to a world of maritime marvels. Just beyond lies the HMS Victory, the legendary flagship of Admiral Nelson, along with HMS Warrior, the Mary Rose Museum, and other fascinating naval exhibits. Though the gate itself no longer functions as a security checkpoint, it remains a powerful symbol of Portsmouth鈥檚 naval identity and invites you to start your journey through centuries of seafaring valor.

The HMS Warrior was the biggest, fastest, and most powerful warship of her kind when she was launched in 1860. She was years ahead of the American Merrimack and Monitor, way rapid and more seaworthy. The Warrior was Britain's first iron-hulled, armored warship, offering protection from explosive shells. She was a worldwide game-changer.

Intimidating as she was, she never fired an angry shot. Invincible she may have been, her active duty career was short. Soon she was absolete and quickly outclassed by newer ships, faster with thicker armor and heavier guns. In 1871, the Warrior was downgraded to reserve status. In 1924 she was up for sale as scrap.

The Warrior wasn't scrapped but converted into a floating oil tank at Pembroke Dock. The oil depot closed in 1978, and the ship underwent restoration by the Maritime Trust. In 1987 the Warrior returned to Portsmouth Harbour. Saved from the knackers, she is now a proud ship museum and a naval monument.

A complete conservation and restoration program, costing upward of 4.2 million pounds, was completed in 2019. The Warrior is now represented as she was in her Round-Britain Tour of 1863.

Action Stations is a dynamic high-energy attraction, designed to immerse visitors in the exhilarating world of Royal Navy and Royal Marines operations. This indoor adventure mixes physical challenges, cutting-edge simulators, and family-friendly entertainment.

You can scale one of the tallest indoor climbing walls in the UK or take on the high-energy Ocean Warrior assault course. Younger children can enjoy the fun of the Sky Tykes rope course, while older kids and adults push their limits on Commando-style obstacle challenges designed to mimic real-life training scenarios.

Beyond physical feats, Action Stations also offers tech-savvy attractions such as flight simulators, periscope views of naval vessels, and interactive navigation exhibits that offer insight into modern naval tactics and technology. For laser tag fans, Laser Quest adds an extra dimension of competitive fun.

The Mast Pond is a fascinating glimpse into 17th-century naval engineering and maritime preservation. Dug in 1665 by dockyard labourers and Dutch prisoners of war, this saltwater basin was used to soak timber鈥攅specially long masts鈥攆or ships, helping prevent splitting and rot before installation on Royal Navy vessels. Today, it remains not only a Scheduled Monument and Grade I listed structure, but also a scenic focal point amid the Historic Dockyard landscape.

Set alongside historic boathouses and bordered by water-level buildings, the Mast Pond is linked to Portsmouth Harbour via an underground tunnel beneath the road. While the original lock-gate system has been replaced with modern hydraulic gates in 2000, it continues to regulate water levels, preserving both monument and function. Its age and setting make it the oldest surviving water-based structure in the Dockyard complex.

Today, the Mast Pond serves a new purpose: it houses a flotilla of restored historic boats maintained by the Portsmouth Dockyard Historical Trust. Visitors can admire vessels such as WWI rowing launches, pinnaces, and powerboats moored here, offering a vivid, living link between the Dockyard鈥檚 working past and its cultural heritage.

The Dockyard Apprentice & Nauticalia Shop offers a fascinating combination of living maritime heritage and shopping delight. Originally built in 1807 as a mast house, was carefully restored in the 1990s and now serves a triple purpose: it hosts a restaurant, an interactive exhibition about civilian dockyard life, and the Nauticalia shop full of seafaring treasures.

Step inside the Dockyard Apprentice Exhibition, where immersive displays and life-like mannequins bring to life the world of early 20th-century shipwrights and apprentices. Get hands-on with authentic tools, learn traditional knottyard skills, and trace Portsmouth鈥檚 crucial role in the making of Dreadnought-class battleships.

Adjacent lies Nauticalia, a purser鈥檚 store turned boutique specialising in maritime-themed gifts, from brass binnacles and ship鈥檚 bells to diving-helmet replicas and stylish nautical d茅cor. Many items are handcrafted or reproduce 19th-century originals, reflecting Britain鈥檚 proud shipbuilding legacy.

The Semaphore Tower served as the terminus of Britain鈥檚 early line-of-sight naval communications. Built around 1831鈥�33 atop the former Rigging House and Sail Loft, it was a crucial part of the Admiralty鈥檚 semaphore network, relaying messages from London to the fleet鈥攖ypically in mere minutes鈥攂efore giving way to more modern electric telegraph systems by 1847.

Constructed in stately red brick with an elegant octagonal top lantern, the tower incorporated the relocated Lion Gate arch from the old Portsea town wall in 1929, seamlessly merging dockyard architecture with Georgian grandeur and military history. Despite suffering a major fire in 1913, it was rebuilt and today functions as the offices of the Naval Base Commander and Queen鈥檚 Harbour Master.

Though not open for interior visits, its grandeur is best appreciated from the outside鈥攅specially from the boardwalk at Spice Island or the promenade near Gunwharf Quays. There, you can admire the sandstone lantern, flagstaff, and commanding views over the harbour.

The National Museum of the Royal Navy is a treasure trove for anyone captivated by Britain鈥檚 maritime heritage. Located within the original HM Naval Base storehouses dating back to the 18th century and featuring the modern Victory Gallery, the museum offers visitors a richly layered journey through naval history. Its history stretches back to 1911 as the Royal Naval Museum, evolving into today鈥檚 national museum with a renaming in 2010 to reflect its broader mission.

Visitors can explore six carefully curated galleries. Among them, the Nelson Gallery illuminates the life and enduring legacy of Admiral Lord Nelson through personal artifacts and compelling narratives. The Hear My Story gallery offers a human perspective鈥攕haring firsthand accounts from sailors and naval personnel over the past century. Meanwhile, Worlds Beneath the Waves immerses you in naval exploration, from the HMS Challenger scientific mission to modern deep-sea advancements.

A highlight for many is the opportunity to board iconic vessels tethered at the Dockyard. Step aboard HMS Victory, Nelson鈥檚 flagship at Trafalgar and the world's oldest commissioned warship, and explore its decks and restored Victory Gallery. Just steps away, HMS Warrior, the first iron-hulled warship, and HMS M33, one of only three surviving Royal Navy WWI monitor ships, bring different eras of naval engineering vividly to life.

HMS M33 is a remarkable slice of naval history鈥攊n fact, it鈥檚 one of only three surviving Royal Navy warships from World War I and the only Allied ship that took part in the Gallipoli Campaign still preserved today. Built in just a few months in 1915, this 580-ton monitor was designed for coastal bombardment, able to navigate shallow waters and bring its two 6-inch guns to bear close to enemy shores.

It earned a reputation as the 鈥淟ucky Ship鈥�, returning unscathed from the Dardanelles and seeing action again in the Russian Civil War. Now on display at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in a dry dock beside HMS Victory, HMS M33 has been conscientiously restored to its World War I configuration, complete with its iconic dazzle camouflage.

Visitors can explore the cramped decks, officer cabins, galley, mess, and even descend into the lower magazines to see original stores and untouched internal spaces. Audio-visual exhibits and immersive displays bring the ship鈥檚 storied past vividly to life.

Aboard HMS M33 you鈥檒l step into the shoes of the 72 officers and men who served in its tight confines鈥攎any of whom came from varied civilian backgrounds like clerks, laborers, or butchers. Learn how the vessel supported landings at Suvla Bay, served in the Mediterranean and the Aegean, and later supported Allied forces on the River Dvina in northern Russia. Despite facing enemy fire multiple times, the ship remarkably suffered zero casualties鈥攗nderscoring its legendary status.

Six ships were called HMS Victory. The first was a 42-gun vessel, demolished in 1609; the second was another 42-gunner, broken up in 1691; the third was a 100-gun first-rate, burned in 1721; the fourth was also a 100-gun first-rate, wrecked in 1744; the fifth was an 8-gun schooner in Canada and burned in 1768.

The sixth is Admiral Lord Nelson's HMS Victory, a first-rate 104-gun ship of the line. She was Nelson's flagship in the climactic Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Nelson died on her quarterdeck while under fire from the French 74-gun Redoutable. Trafalgar was the last sea battle of Victory's career. She was relegated to 2nd rank in 1807.

HMS Victory saw service as a troopship until 1811. From 1813 to 1817, she was used as a prison. In the 19th century, Victory was periodically under threat of being broken up. By 1921 the vessel has collapsed. Shipping magnate Sir James Caird, a principal donor of the National Maritime Museum, underwrote the public Save the Victory campaign.

The Victory was moved to the No. 2 Dock at Portsmouth, the oldest dry dock still in use. No. 2 Dock became her permanent home. The restoration was interrupted by World War II. There was some damage from a 500-pound bomb during the Blitz, but the country and Victory carried on.

Preventive maintenance for the 18th-century Victory will always go on. It was decided to restore the ship to her Battle of Trafalgar condition in 1920, but this was not achieved until 2005, just in time for Trafalgar 200 celebrations.

HMS Victory is part of the National Historic Fleet and is also the flagship of the First Sea Lord since 2012. She is the oldest commissioned ship in the world. As a museum ship, she attracts more than 350,000 visitors annually.

Visitors can descend to the bottom of the dry dock. A view from the bottom of a 3,600-ton warship is a first. The Victory gallery is refitted. The film, interactive exhibits, and battle artifacts tell the ship's story. And there is the 200-year-old ten-foot-tall figurehead.

While King Henry VIII was watching from the ramparts of Southsea Castle during the Battle of the Solent in 1545, his favorite warship, the Mary Rose, sank. The French were attempting to invade. Their galleys had run circles around the becalmed British warships. On the afternoon of July 19th, 1545, the wind picked up, and Mary Rose attacked.

She was the first ship to use gun ports on her sides. She salvoed once and heeled over to present her other side to the enemy. The gun ports on her lower lee side were not closed. Water poured in. In a few minutes, she sank. The French withdrew, but the Mary Rose was done after 34 years of service. After 437 years, Mary Rose rose again.

The raising of the Mary Rose was the work of the Mary Rose Trust Company. It was one of the most complex marine salvages in history. The surviving section of the ship was recovered along with thousands of Tudor-era artifacts such as weapons, sailing gear, stores, and personal items of the crew. The Mary Rose Museum became her new home.

In July 1981, it was proposed to place the salvaged ship next to the flagship of Horatio Nelson, HMS Victory. The Maritime Preservation Society asked to house the wreck in Southsea Castle. In the 1980s, the ship was maintained in a covered dry dock and treated with polyethylene glycol to assist drying.

The Mary Rose Museum was designed by architectural companies Wilkinson Eyre and Perkins & Will. The museum was built over the wreck in the dry dock. In 2016 the ship was dry enough to be seen without a protective barrier. About two million people have visited the Mary Rose as of 2018. The exhibition space reunites more than 19,000 artifacts with the ship.

Visitors descend on sloping walkways from the main deck to the decks below. The exhibition closure part comes with an ascent in a glass elevator to a view from aloft of the entire ship.