retiredmartin

11th January 2023.

Having ticked the Dolphin, I now had to walk in pouring rain to the Gosport ferry, visit a dull sounding brewery tap, take the ferry back, walk in the rain back to Old Portsmouth to visit the Sally Port, then drag my sodden self to Southampton for the football.

Sounds an ordeal, but it really wasn’t.

I tell you this (and I told you the same last year) Old Portsmouth is absolutely wonderful.

I nearly popped in the Pembroke (back in the Guide) but they didn’t seem to have the expected Bass,

and instead I took an aimless wander around the Point,

which reminded me a bit of the Dickensian streets around Limehouse.

If the Sally Port had been unexpectedly open I’d have popped in, but it seemed to have set its opening hours for when the antiques store was shut.

I guess if anyone visits Portsmouth it’s for the historic boatyard or as a stepping stone to the Isle of Wight, but really, the fortifications around the harbour are as vital as anything on the south coast.

And I had it, rather spookily, all to myself.

Unlike the Gunwharf Quays shopping centre next to the Spinnaker, which was heaving.

I think I may have been the only tourist visiting Gosport, too.