Charles Dickens' Birthplace Portsmouth Day Tour from London

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Charles Dickens' Birthplace

Portsmouth is where one of the most famous figures of Victorian literature, Charles Dickens, was born. In the 19th century, this house in Regency was decorated with an idea of the Victorian Portsmouth. If you are a Charles Dickens lover, then, this house definitely must be seen. Look at the first home of Charles Dickens with numerous possessions and photographs, the ceramics, furniture, house artefacts, glass and decorations which have faithfully been recreated in the Regency style that Charles' parents favoured, although their properties have been dispersed for a long time. There are three furnished rooms: The lounge, the dining room and Charles' bedroom. The exhibition room features a snuff box, a tiny cup and a paper-knife and a small collection of memorabilia: The couch that he passed away on at his home in Kent, poignant memory of an author who was celebrated for his prodigious talent and his creative work.

Spinnaker Tower

There is no better way of viewing Britain’s lovely naval city than from 105 metres over the Portsmouth Harbour. The Spinnaker Tower reflects the maritime history of Portsmouth by its design and its name, a type of sail that balloons to the exterior. On the 18th of October, 2005, the Tower opened its doors to its visitors. The tower is 2 1⁄2 times higher than Nelson's Column at a height of 560 feet (170 m), which makes it one of the tallest structures accessible in Britain outside London. Around Portsmouth, the tower is visible and dominates the skyline of Portsmouth. The Tower can be also seen from Isle of Wight, the Manhood Peninsula and even Highdown Gardens in Worthing. At the top is a triple observation deck with a 360 ° view of the city of Portsmouth and the Harbours of Langstone and Portsmouth, as well as 23 mi (37 mi) of viewing range. The tower originally named the Millennium Tower in Portsmouth, was built in 2000 to welcome the Millennium. Construction did not begin until 2001 and was completed in mid-2005 because of the political, financial, contractual and construction problems and additional funding requests of Mowlem builders. The tower was renamed Spinnaker Tower due to the six-year delay in its completion and not as expected for the Millennium. As the landmark in South England, Spinnaker Tower is used in the titles series of the news programme BBC South Today. It is also available on ITV News. Today we will take you to this iconic tower of Portsmouth. For the thrill-seekers, virtual altitude experience is also another attraction as well as a real fearful experience of abseiling with an extra charge in Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth.

HMS Victory

Admiral Nelson's HMS Victory in Trafalgar.is the most well-known warship in the Royal Navy. The Victory is best known as the flagship of the First Sea Lord and the living museum of the Georgian Navy, for its role in the Battle of Trafalgar. A hand-held audio guide is used to carry the visitor's experience onboard the HMS Victory in the Historic Dockyard. Hear the sad story of Admiral Nelson with full pride, honour and success here in this spot.

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

Historic Dockyard is Portsmouth's number one historic and cultural heritage site full of hidden gems such as HMS Victory, HMS Warrior 1860, National Museum of the Royal Navy Portsmouth, Action Stations, HMS M.33, Boathouse 4, Royal Navy Submarine, Explosion Museum of Naval Firepower and many family sun & fun attractions such as Jolly Roger, Laser quest and the exhibition of the Horrible Histories Pirates await their visitors. We will explore all those marvels together. The history of Portsmouth's British Navy goes back 1,200 years to its beginning during the 860s under King Alfred the Great. The wide, nature-sized reservoir on the coastline is a river valley that is flooded and shielded from a deep, narrow entrance at the two sides of the dockyard. The Roman and Saxon bastions were designed to defend against the Vikings on the north side and to protect the trade. After the Norman Conquest in 1066, however, the port's first permanent fort was designed, Portchester Castle. Portsea Island was used as an army collector at Portsmouth Harbour, during the wars with France, and a small town on the south-western corner of the island was built in the late 12th century, to house workers and to support the soldiers. King Richard I granted in 1194 the Royal Charter for building a dockyard to this town called Portsmouth and in 1212 the King John guards with a wide wall. Our harbour tour includes some of the fortresses constructed over the centuries to protect Portsmouth, particularly the Round Tower at the harbour entrance and the Solent Forts, which during the Napoleonic Wars formed the core of a series of fortifications on the coast.