We first checked out, arranging to leave our bags for collection later, and then went for breakfast at the hotel, just for a change.

Breakfast room

We chose the “continental breakfast” which entitled us to any cold items (cereal, yogurt, cakes, etc) plus coffee or tea.

Breakfast
Photo by Tigger

Portsmouth Museum

After breakfast we walked to Portsmouth Museum which we had planned to visit at some point. It was open and there were no Covid-19 formalities other than that we follow the designated path through the exhibits.

Sherlock Holmes exhibits

Unsurprisingly, given that Arthur Conan Doyle lived and practised medicine for some years in Portsmouth, a large amount of space was dedicated to him and his works.

Dodo (sculpture)

The museum has preserved animals and parts of animals. This fine dodo is a sculpture of that bird by Karen Fawcett. This was my favourite exhibit as I would have liked to have seen a live dodo.

Arctic Fox

This is the preserved form of an arctic fox. There were other similar exhibits but I chose these two as the most presentable.

Ancient four-poster bed

Dock worker’s home

This is a reproduction of the home of a dock worker in mid-Victorian times.

Watching TV

This room setting imagines how father and son might have watched television in a typical interior of the 1950s.

Organ of St Mary’s Workhouse

This organ belonged to St Mary’s Workhouse (built 1846). Those forced to enter the institution because of poverty and unemployment would have had to attend obligatory Sunday chapel services and sing along with the organ.

Funfair automaton

The notice on this exhibit invited us to insert 20p in the slot. I did so, all agog… but nothing happened 😦

Artworks ate exhibited too

The museum is also an art gallery with a wide range of works on view. Photography, without flash, is allowed generally in the museum but may be prohibited for certain art collections. Oh yes, and admission is free.

Hayling Ferry

We took a bus to Hayling Ferry which is right at the end of a narrow spit of land. Hayling Island is a short distance offshore, forming the entrance to Langstone Harbour.

Langstone Harbour and Hayling Island

It is a very pleasant spot on a sunny day. There are boats to watch as they go sailing by. People also bathe here.

Beach and sea

It was very quiet today, though whether it is always so, I do not know.

One more view

There was a marina and a cafe restaurant called Marina Bar where we went for lunch.

Veggie All Day Breakfast
Photo by Tigger

There wasn’t a huge selection for non-meat eaters so we chose the vegetarian all-day breakfast. (The specks on the egg, in case you are wondering, are black pepper which we always carry with us.)

Goodbye, hotel

We then returned to the hotel for the last time, to collect our bags. Then we took the bus (again for the last time) to the Hard and the railway station.

I took two quick photos for auld lang syn and then we went into the station.

We had a little while to wait for our train which arrived on time at 16:11 (or 11 minutes past 4 in old money).

We encountered the same lack of luggage storage space as we had on the journey here. We snagged 4 seats at a table. Covid-19 co-operates with us in this because no one would occupy the other two seats, anyway.

As I write these last few words, we are aboard the train which is hurrying us at a good pace towards Victoria Station, London, and home.

Is Portsmouth a good place to visit? Yes, I would say so. The historic naval town is worth exploring for its own sake but it also acts as a centre for trips further afield. We carry some very happy memories home with us.