Mary Rose Museum Portsmouth

[RMLLEL]

We are docking at Portland Shipyard on Celebrity Apex and are wondering if it is a far drive to Mary Rose Museum at the Portsmouth Dockyard?  Is it near Weymouth?  Is it possible to take the Portland free shuttle to Weymouth and then taxi or walk to the Mary Rose Museum?  

Thank you.

[gumshoe958]

Weymouth and Portsmouth are about 80 miles apart - around a 2 hour drive or 2.5 hours by train.

[RMLLEL]

Thank you.  I wasn't sure how far it was. 

 

[mintypixie]

I would not say it was do-able especially if you are not used to driving a manual on rural English roads. If you are stopping in Southampton, it is much easier to get to.

[Bob++]

Just to add that the Mary Rose is inside the Royal Dockyard which has amazing exhibitions of British maritime history. Not least, Nelson's flagship HMS Victory.

 

Given all that, it really needs at least a whole day to make a visit worthwhile.

[Harters]

I'd agree that driving to/from Portsmouth would take a sizeable chunk out of the day. Whilst motorway is involved for part of the route, there are slow roads for the remainder.

 

We spent a week last autumn using Weymouth as a base. It's a small traditional British seaside town which has a nice promenade, very walkable town centre. And a couple of very decent fish & chips places - I can partularly recommend Bennets,  at the, erm , mouth of the River Wey. Of some historical interest, it was also a departure port for American troops for the D-Day landings. And Portland itself has an interesting museum which, oddly, mainly focuses on the American, rather than British contribution, to the invasion.

 

If you do  go to Weymouth, it might be worth you also doing the short train ride into Dorchester, which is the county town. Interesting in itself and particularly so  for the Roman town house excavation.