Portsmouth – Towns of Two Halves

Portsmouth

What to see
You’ll find accounts of Portsmouth’s tourist attractions in Towns of Two Halves (and of 91 other places: order the book now for £8 from info@townsof2halves.co.uk). For additional information plus shopping, eating out etc there’s Visit Portsmouth or Team Locals.
Links to Portsmouth attractions include:

● Blue Reef Aquarium
● Charles Dickens Birthplace Museum
● Historic Dockyard
● HMS Victory
● HMS Warrior
● Mary Rose Museum
● National Museum of the Royal Navy
● Portsmouth Museum
● Royal Marines Museum
● Southsea Model Village
● The Spinnaker

‘Bags of ballast freighted the barriers, presumably in case the banners gave them aerodynamic qualities. The bags looked like unattended packages waiting for a controlled explosion’

‘When the press-gang dragged its net around a district, were short people at greater risk of being pressed into involuntary naval service than their lanky fellows?’

Towns of Two Halves extracts:
● “I wasn’t entirely sure how much a taxi to Portsmouth might cost. A tidy sum, I imagined, but nobody wants to look like a cheapskate. I wheedled my way out of a three-figure commitment by pointing out that a car from north London would probably not outstrip a train, and that there would always be another day.”
● “Here [HMS Warrior] (and even more so on the Victory) the miserly headroom below decks will catch your eye and possibly your forehead.”
● “The day prompted reflections on empire building. Superior technology confers an obvious advantage, even at the most basic level – Pizarro and his 13 companions conquered the Inca thanks in no small measure to their mastery of horses and gunpowder.”
These are taken from the Portsmouth chapter of Towns of Two Halves, published in 2018. To buy a copy, email info@townsof2halves.co.uk.