Carisbrooke Castle A Good Half-Day

Carisbrooke Castle, Geoff W Sutton 2017

Carisbrooke Castle, like many UK castles, has a long history and was rebuilt more than once. The history includes a place where Charles I was a prisoner. Other Royals were here as well. Much of the history can be learnt at the Museum, a separate entity on the castle grounds.

King Charles I Bedroom at Carisbrooke Castle

Hornbook- Child Reader 400+ years old

There's also a chapel honouring veterans and King Charles I.

And you will find demonstrations of a donkey powered treadmill used to raise water from a well. See the video for a brief clip of the donkey at work. A few donkeys are onsite.

The walls are in good enough condition to walk around the castle, including the Norman keep.

My video from the castle walls.

An extended video shot in 4K 

There are toilets, refreshments, and picnic facilities.

There is a fee for admission. Admission is free to English Heritage members.

See the website for details including other events.

I used public transportation- a bus stops nearby.

Yarmouth Castle, Isle of Wight

Canon atop Yarmouth Castle, Geoff W. Sutton, 2017

Yarmouth castle is small compared to many others in the UK but if you are in the area, I think it is worth a short visit. There was no charge when I visited in 2017.

Storyboards provide information about the history of the castle and the contents of the rooms.

There are a few rooms where castle life is illustrated with furniture, foods, tools, and so forth.

There is a great view of the waterfront on top of the castle. And there are picnic tables there as well.

There are no toilets onsite but there are facilities nearby in the Ferry Terminal. The ferries are visible from the top of the castle.

Royal Navy Museum Portsmouth

In addition to a special exhibit featuring Lord Nelson, the museum includes a history of the Royal Navy.


Storyboards, audio-visual presentations, and artefacts tell the story. Many individual stories reveal elements of Navy life. Special exhibits draw attention to the role of women in the Royal Navy.









The museum is located in the Historic Dockyards at Portsmouth.

Boathouse 4 Shipbuilding Historic Dockyard Portsmouth UK

Boathouse 4 allows visitors to see ship building and repair on a variety of boats.

There's a variety of wooden boats on display and interactive activities

Food is available at the Midships Cookhouse.

Boathouse 4 is close to the Visitor's Centre.

At the time of this post, there was no entry fee.

Jutland Battle 1916 Portsmouth UK

Jutland Exhibit, Historic Dockyard

The National Museum of the Royal Navy presents the Battle of Jutland covering a 36-hour period (website).

The battle involved 250 ships and 100,000 men. The audio-video presentations, storyboards, and artefacts present the historical context, timeline, and personal stories to make the events come alive.

The Battle began in the afternoon of 31 May, 2016 off the coast of Denmark's North Sea.

Following the battle, both the Germans and the British claimed victory; however, the larger British fleet remianed in control of the High Seas.

As of this writing in 2017, the exposition is scheduled for a limited time- until 2019.

Allow about 1-2 hours to walk through the presentation.

The odd-shaped presentation screens and position of the speakers can interfere with a straightforward telling of the story. To get more out of the presentation, it might be helpful to read a summary of the battle.

I am glad I saw the presentation but it is not the best exhibit at the Historic Dockyard.

See More of My World War I Travels

Guide to World War I in France

Guide to World War I in Belgium

Connections

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FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton

TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton

LinkedIN Geoffrey Sutton  PhD

Publications (many free downloads)

     

  Academia   Geoff W Sutton   (PhD)

     

  ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton   (PhD)

Harbour Tour Historic Dockyard Portsmouth UK

 A tour of the harbour is included with a multi-attraction ticket to the Historic Dockyard. I recommend taking the tour early on to get an overview of the area and introductory information about this busy port.

In addition to the ships, which are amongst the attractions, there are various Royal Navy and other ships in the harbour. I'll include a few examples from my April 2017 visit.

HMS Westminster

HMS Diligence

Whitonia

Powerful & Helen

Victoria

102 and 81

Also, here is a brief video clip from the tour.

Historic Dockyard Portsmouth, England

Visitor Centre 2017

I  consider the Historic Dockyard at Portsmouth to be an outstanding experience and good value. You will need a few days to enjoy the many attractions.

Because there are so many attractions, I recommend viewing the website and planning a visit. I also suggest the harbour tour early on to get an overview with commentary. Sit on the starboard side for most of the commentary.

Here's a brief videoclip of the harbour tour.

Because there are so many things to see, I will review them separately. A few highlights in 2017 included HMS Warrior,  HMS Victory,  Mary Rose, and  HMS Alliance.

Other museums and experiences are worth a visit so plan on a few days.

EXPLOSION! Museum

Royal Navy Submarine Museum

HMS 33- survivor of Gallipoli

Video of boating in front of Action Stations, which is Boathouse 6.

Tips and Suggestions

The multiple attractions ticket purchased online is the best value. I got mine on the morning of the first day. Show the confirmation email to collect the ticket and keep it handy to show at each attraction. There is a shorter line for returning visitors.

Toilets are in building 7 and elsewhere but not in the Visitors Centre.

There are several restaurants or cafes in the different attractions as well as places for a picnic.

The gift shops offer both educational and other souvenirs-- some made outside the UK.

The dockyards are family friendly with many activities for children. I saw a number of care providers/ parents and children interacting. Some locations even had board games.

A few activities might scare young children e.g. blood, amputations,  explosions.

Photos are permitted in most places but flash is often not permitted.

Some attractions require bending over to enter or negotiate small spaces e.g., in Submarines.

See the Historic Dockyard website for details.