Chapter 1 - The Joys of Travel

It's been a long time coming with lots of planning but we are finally in the UK. We left Nashville on Wednesday, August 10, 2022 at 8:40 pm on British Airways. Our good friends, Sue and Gil Chilton, took us to the airport in Nashville. Just prior to going through security, Bruce discovered he did not have his phone or glasses! Sue and Gil saved the day, however. They drove back to our house, found the missing items, and delivered them back to the airport! Not a very auspicious beginning.

We arrived safe and sound at London Heathrow on Thursday, August 11, 2022 at 10:40 am - right on time. Easy flight but we didn’t get a lot of sleep on the journey. Leaving Heathrow, we boarded the tube that connected to the train at Waterloo Station taking us to Portsmouth Harbour Station. Sounds simple but it meant a lot of navigation of different stations with lots of stairs all while handling our luggage. And, we didn't leave the heat behind! In the mid-80s to 90s here. Needless to say we were hot, tired, and hungry when we arrived at our booked hotel. Unfortunately, we then discovered that our hotel, The Royal Maritime, was NOT air conditioned. Thanks to the generosity and help of the hotel staff, however, they found us another room in an air conditioned hotel (Holiday Inn Express). Whew!

The hotel was just off a lovely walkable area called The Gunwharf Quays right on the harbour. We had a delicious dinner at the Loch Fyne Seafood Grill including Colchester oysters. Afterwards, we crashed for the night.

Friday, August 12th we toured the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. We saw The Mary Rose which is a ship from the era of Henry VIII that sank during the Battle of the Solent just off of Portsmouth. It was underwater almost 500 years but was discovered around 1971 and raised in 1982. The museum and exhibit was great - we even met Henry VIII!

We also toured the HMS Victory which was built in 1765. It was Nelson's flag ship at the Battle of Trafalger in 1805 (all history lessons are from Bruce). Nelson was shot and died on

board during the battle.

Lastly, we did a brief tour of the HMS Warrior, the largest warship in the world in 1860 during Queen Victoria's era.

We spend the afternoon navigating travel obstacles. We finally got a UK SIM card and got it working in one phone. This was just in time as we've had to adjust a few plans as a result of the railway strikes. Our original plan was to leave Portsmouth on Saturday, August 13th and travel via train to Canterbury. Unfortunately, no trains are running from London to Canterbury on the 13th - it's a strike day. Our hotel here in Portsmouth is completely booked and there apparently are no other hotel rooms in Portsmouth. All bus routes are also fully booked.

Well, intrepid travelers that we are, we worked it out. Once we got the SIM card in and working, we called the hotel in Canterbury and let them know we would arrive on Sunday instead of Saturday. We booked a train from Portsmouth to London on the 13th, a hotel for one night in London, and a train from London to Canterbury on Sunday, August 14th.

Photos: 1 and 2 - Leaving for the airport; 3 - Bust of Lord Nelson Portsmouth Harbour; 4 - Henry VIII; 5 - Sarah entering the HMS Victory; 6 and 7 At the helm of the HMS Victory; 8 - site on HMS Victory where Nelson died; 9 - Portsmouth Harbour; 10 and 11 - HMS Warrior; 12 - Gunwharf Quays; 13 - Gosport Ferry (saw lots of families heading for the beaches); 14 - Southwestern train Portsmouth Harbour