Our three day break starts at Salisbury Cathedral. We arrived at lunchtime so we found the cafe with a wonderful view of the cathedral from our table.
We had plenty of time to look around before my tower tour started at 1.45 pm.
Alison was going to look at the Magna Carta while I found the tour guide who would take us up the tower. There are 332 steps up five separate spiral staircases, two of which are specially built wooden stairs. It is 224 feet to the top. Fortunately our guide stopped at each level for both a rest and an explanation of what we were seeing. The first stop was a balcony overlooking the nave.
It was from here that we walk right across the nave in the roof space.
At the other end, the next stairs took us up to inside the tower itself, and the 14th Century cast iron supports.
Up a wooden staircase to where the bells are situated.
One more flight and we arrived below the spire with it's ancient timber scaffolding still intact.
It was here we were able to step onto the balcony outside with great views over Salisbury.
Despite being advertised as 105 minutes, our tour took well over two hours. Fortunately for Alison, there was a choir rehearsing for the Choral Evensong.
Back to the cafe for a drink before we left, a wander around Salisbury and it was off to Portsmouth and the Holiday Inn.
It's a ten minute walk to Gunwharf Quays where we found a Bella Italia for dinner. The harbour looked great in the evening sunshine.
The next morning we arrived quite early at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. We had booked for the Mary Rose, but before that we looked around HMS Victory.
We last saw the Mary Rose many years ago when it was situated in a temporary building and was being sprayed to save the timbers. Now it is in a superb purpose built exhibition space. There are three levels of viewing areas as you move through the museum.
The lighting is dim, and even dark when ghosts appear in the remains of the old ship. We thought this was wonderful.
The exhibition rooms at the end of each level contain so many artefacts found in the wreck divided into the different occupations of those on board.
We were ready for some refreshment after leaving the museum and found a cafe on our way out of the dockyard. Then a wander around Gunwharf Quays and a sit on a bench overlooking the harbour before going up Spinnaker Tower. I have to say the the views from the top are worth every penny of the entrance price, especially on a beautiful sunny day.
We even had tea and cake in the cafe on the middle of the three viewing levels. We made our way back to the hotel along the sea front before heading out to the Brewhouse and Kitchen for dinner. https://www.brewhouseandkitchen.com/venue/portsmouth/
We had planned our last day to start with a visit to Fishbourne Roman Palace and Gardens, just into West Sussex. This first century archaeological site (chosen by Alison for a must see) was far more impressive than I had imagined. Again situated in a purpose built enclosure.
There were lots of mosaic floors, as they were laid 2,000 years ago.
I enjoyed being outside in the gardens.
And seeing the remains of a wall to another wing of the palace.
After tea and cake )again) it was off to Chichester and the Cathedral.
The spire was surrounded in scaffolding as part of a long project to repair the roof. But inside was worth the visit.
As for Chichester itself, despite being a Roman settlement, there is not too much to see. The Chichester Market Cross and that is about it.
A wander around the town and it was time to head home. An action packed three days, notable for the unbroken sunshine. We were lucky once again.
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