Day Trip to Portsmouth, U.K.

I recommend a day trip to Portsmouth from London.  Portsmouth is the historic base for the Royal Navy and a key embarkation point for the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944.  You take a Southwest train from Waterloo station to Portsmouth Harbor Station.  After arriving, I suggest a guided tour of HMS Victory, the flagship for Lord Nelson at the Napoleonic period engagement at Trafalgar in 1805.  He was shot by a French Navy sharpshooter and died during the battle.  You can learn a great deal about the life of British sailors during this period of time.

Another stop is the new museum holding the remnants of the Mary Rose, a Tudor period warship.  The ship was raised from the sea bed, preserved, and placed on display.

The last stop is the D-Day museum located a short distance from the above sites.  A cab is recommended for travelers to save time and energy.   In the museum is a detailed embroidery of events and personalities in operation "Overlord".  A young artist was retained to draw the necessary pictures illustrating the invasion.  The staff and students of the Royal School of Needlework (located at Hampton Court Palace) hand embroidered the various picture panels.

Portsmouth D-Day Museum