Annie and I arrived back aboard Antiope at the end of April, to a Netherlands that was still shivering. Spring, it seems, was a bit late arriving. Antiope, however, had been snug inside a shed all winter.
Antiope as we find her, snug in her shed.
The family run business has storage space for up to 200 boats
No sooner had we unpacked our bags when were invited to join friends over in England for the Coronation! Well, any excuse for a good party. We also thought it should also allow some time for the weather to warm up just a bit.
Eurostar trains run from here direct to London
We chose to travel direct from Amsterdam to London by Eurostar. So easy! We have come to prefer train travel to short flights around Europe as we are not in a hurry and find it far less stressful. With friends and with Pimms in hand, we watched the pomp, parades and the stunning concert in a riverside setting, followed by the obligatory British street party.
Bunting and Balloons, essential additions!
There was even a craft beer for the occasion.
Once the dust had settled, we took a couple of days out to visit the Historic Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth. This visit had been on my bucket list for a long time and was worth every hour. In fact, I could have happily spent several more days there. A must see was the restored 'Mary Rose'.
The Spinnaker tower overlooks Portsmouth harbour
and the historic dockyard.
A model of the 'Mary Rose'
The 'Mary Rose' was Henry V111's flagship and already a naval campaign veteran when she capsized in 1545 in a very local battle with the French navy, in full view of the king who was watching from a castle on the foreshore. It is thought that a tight jibe turn, open gun ports on her lee side and a sudden gust of wind sealed her fate.
Re-discovered in 1971, salvaged and now preserved in a disused navy dry dock, she has revealed a time capsule of Tudor shipboard life.
This largely intact part of the ship lay forgotten for 500 years under a layer of silt.
A salvaged cannon bearing the King's crest looking almost new,
its original wooden carriage rotted away.
Alongside, in another dry dock, is Victory which was Lord Nelson's flagship in yet another battle with the French at Trafalgar in 1805
300 years younger, Victory is in better shape than the Mary Rose and survived the battle. However, Admiral Nelson was not so lucky, felled by a French musket ball just when the English fleet was winning the fight.
The Victory is undergoing a 12 year refit, her masts out
and much of her massive oak planking being replced.
On deck, a plaque marks the spot where Nelson fell
was put away during battle
Below decks, the term 'A Square Meal'
comes from the mess plates served to the sailors.
Advance another 200 years and moored up only a cannon shot away is the latest addition to the King's navy, the massive HMS Queen Elizabeth, just short of 300m long and weighing in at 65,000 tonnes.
HMS Queen Elizabeth. (France beware)
Meanwhile in our urban London garden !
