Children in Year 8N travelled to Portsmouth to see two of Britain’s finest warships.
First stop was the Mary Rose, HenryVIII’s beloved Flagship, which sank in 1545 in the Solent. One of the guides treated us to an informative talk about the weapons used in the Tudor period and everyone had a chance to try on various pieces of armour in the impressive i9nteractive display.
The Mary Rose itself gave us an insight into how Tudor warships were built and it was amazing to see how well preserved she is after resting for 500 years on the sea bed.
Our tour around HMS Victory demonstrated the tough life a nineteenth-century sailor had to lead: whether dodging the cat o’ nine tails, the splinters from cannon shot or the weevils in the biscuits.
Each deck we visited held little historical snippets and on the forecastle we saw the exact spot where Horatio Nelson was shot and wounded.
Later, below decks, we came face-to-face with the barrel of brandy in which Nelson’ body was pickled for the journey home.
It was a fascinating day out and it was great to be able to experience such important pieces of History, almost on our doorstep.