Historic Dockyard Picture Credit: UPSU

On 2nd of December, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard presented a Victorian Festival of Christmas. For £10, you could go anywhere you liked, including a walk around the war ships HMS Victory & HMS Warrior

Despite the torrential rain and gale force winds, it was a well turned-out, entertaining day. Everyone was in high spirits, including the poor people who were dressed in Victorian attire parading around the site! (Although they may have been warmer than we were!) It really got everyone into the festive mood with mulled wine and roasted chestnuts on offer, amongst many other stalls set up. There were comedy shows, street fights, traditional Scottish bagpipe players, a steam train and various stage acts.

Since I had not visited the Dockyard before, it was much more enjoyable than I imagined. My initial impression was that it was not of any interest to me. I did not think walking around a ship would be a lot of fun but I was very wrong.

It was fascinating to experience a piece of history and I gained a real insight into what life was like on a war ship. It was also educational as I discovered about how the sailors lived, what happened if anyone was injured and what happened during an attack - it was pretty gruesome stuff!

At this time of year we can all get caught up in deadlines and Christmas shopping so it was nice to do something different and fun and to go somewhere I would not normally go. It also gave me the chance to learn more about Portsmouth and its history.

The day ended with a parade of all the people involved, whose passion didn't waver despite the abominable weather. This was followed by Christmas carols in the Boathouse. It was a magical end to a fantastic day and I'll be looking forward to the festival next year. I thoroughly recommend that you check it out next year too!