W've just come back from a weekend of touring some really old bits of southern England - I took Anthony to see Stonehenge, the Roman baths at Bath, and the 3000 yr old white 'chalk horse' on a hillside at Uffington, on the edge of Oxfordshire.
He was suitably impressed, as well he might be... but what really floated his boat (sorry!!) was our random detour to the historical ships at the Naval dockyards down in Portsmouth.
We started with the HMS Victory - Nelson's ship during the battle of Trafalgar - which is still a commissioned and staffed military vessel! (Although she is in dry dock...) She seems huge - til you think of her three decks stacked with 800 crew, all sweating and stewing together from months at a time. No wonder men had to be press-ganged to serve...
No pix allowed on board this naval veteran, but our guide gives a riveting account of Victory's most famous battle, from the moment Horatio signalled his fleet: "England expects every man to do his duty", to the twin catastrophes marked by tiny brass plaques.
Here Nelson Fell.
Here Nelson Died.
What we wanted to see most of all though, was a lady only lately raised from her watery grave. The Mary Rose - Henry VIIIs flagship, named for his younger sister, which sank in 1500-something, is held in near darkness, her timbers sprayed for weeks on end with a waxy substance that will preserve them and enable folk to enjoy her in years to come. Eery.
Better yet, in salvaging her, she's been made to disgorge her treasures, now on display just yards from the a museum that displays the stuff found on board - everything from boots, games and clothing to 160lb longbows - some of which can still fire arrows! Not bad after centuries underwater.
It was only after we'd left that Anthony realised that he hadn't actually taken any photos of the bows... or the arrows.
Guess we'll have to go back then...
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