Portsmouth Museums Naval Military History Arthur Conan Doyle Charles Dickens

Portsmouth City Museum - Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The story of Portsmouth's history is detailed at the City Museum, just inland from the historic waterfront. There are recreated period rooms including a seventeenth century bedchamber, an 1871 dockyard worker's kitchen, a Victorian parlour, a 1930s kitchen and a 1950s living room. There is also a Portsmouth at Play exhibition which looks at Southsea's development into an archetypical family seaside resort. Artefacts include working historic amusement arcade machines, a Verrechia's ice cream booth as well as archive film of seaside holidays, Southsea through the 1930s to the 1960s.

Housed within Portsmouth City Museum is the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection. A permanent exhibition looks at the creation of Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle's life through a huge array of memorabilia collected by the world's leading expert on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Richard Lancelyn Green. He bequeathed his collection, that he started at the age of five, to the city of Portsmouth. It comprises of 16,000 items including books, documents and objects connected to Holmes and the life of the author brings both their stories to life. An audio message from the exhibition's patron, Stephen Fry, introduces the exhibition and particular items from the collection are highlighted on a monthly basis.

Conan Doyle lived in Portsmouth from 1882 and became a regular figure in the town's events including local sports teams and the Portsmouth Literary and Scientific Society. Although he left in 1890 he continued his association with Portsmouth by donating money to set up the football club and the spiritualist church. He also bought a property in the town and continued to visit periodically.

The Museum also hosts a range of changing exhibitions including art works in the Fine Arts and Decorative Gallery art as well as local art in the Portsmouth Picture Galley. Admission is free and there is some free parking for the museum too. The museum is open daily except 24-26 December. Apr-Sept 10am-5.30pm. Oct-Mar 10am-5pm. Portsmouth City Museum, Museum Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO1 2LJ. Tel: 023 9282 7261. Fax: 023 9287 5276. Minicom: 023 9287 6550. Email: info@portsmouthcitymuseums.co.uk

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Natural History Museum Portsmouth Wildlife

Portsmouth's Natural History Museum looks at the wide range of wildlife that has survived in a range of habitats from its beginnings when it was low lying saltmarsh. Nowadays the extent of the habitats has been lost to some extent but a wide range of wildlife has hung on along riverbanks and even in the urban environment, whereas remnants of marshes, woods and grasslands harbour their own particular wildlife. The museum shows you what wildlife you can find and where. The Museum also has an Aquarium and Butterfly House which, from May-September, is filled with an array of butterfly species. The temperatures of the Butterfly House means it's possible for exotic butterfly species to breed and thrive here. In winter you can search out caterpillars and pupae amongst the leaves.

The Museum also traces the progress of HMS Endurance, the Royal Navy's only ice patrol ship. Every autumn it sets sail from Portsmouth to carry out a range of scientific work on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the British Antarctic Survey and the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office to find out more about the changes in the global environment and how that is likely to impact upon us.

Portsmouth Harbour is an internationally important wildlife site providing vast areas and food for flocks of Brent geese that migrate to Portsmouth from the Arctic and a range of other waders and wildfowl including wigeon, grey plover, black-tailed godwit and dunlin. Check out the link right for wildlife sites that you can visit in and around Portsmouth.

Open daily Apr-Oct 10am-5.30pm. November - March 10am-4pm. Closed 24-26 December. Natural History Museum, Cumberland House, Eastern Parade, Southsea.

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Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

The biggest attraction in Portsmouth is the Historic Dockyard complex. Based on the Royal Navy Dockyard are a collection of museums and interactive attractions. These include the Mary Rose - the only sixteenth century warship on display in the world, HMS Victory and HMS Warrior.

HMS Victory, built in the mid 1700s, was famously led by Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson. It was onboard HMS Victory that Nelson's momentous victory at the Battle of Trafalgar was planned. It was on board the Victory that Nelson famously met his end when a stray bullet hit him while he walking on deck with his captain Thomas Hardy. HMS Warrior, originally built in 1860, has been fully restored and is a fantastic sight moored in the harbour. In its day it was the most armoured ship in the fleet with its iron hull and with its steam engine was the fastest warship in the world.

The site makes a fantastic family day out. You can buy a ticket that gives you access to all the attractions on the site or just buy entrance tickets to just the attractions you want to visit. Many of the ticket prices include unlimited entry to some of the attractions for up to a year from the date of purchase. There are also several watering holes and shops to keep you amused. If you want to see more of Portsmouth's busy harbour you can pick up harbour tours that take you past the Navy's current ships HMS Ark Royal, HMS Illustrious and HMS Invincible that are based here. Boat tours take around three quarters of an hour and

Check out the link right for comprehensive information on what there is to see and do at the Historic Dockyard as well as opening times and entrance fees. Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Visitor Centre, Victory Gate, HM Naval Base, Portsmouth PO1 3LJ. Tel: 023 9272 8060

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Southsea Castle

Southsea Castle was built in 1544 as one of the many fortifications commissioned by King Henry VIII along the south coast of England. It was hurriedly constructed as the threat of invasions from the French was a very real concern. It is believed the King designed the castle himself. Ironically when the French arrived at the Isle of Wight for an onslaught on Portsmouth in 1545 the Mary Rose was sunk as she sailed out from Portsmouth as part of the English fleet to engage the French - right in front of the castle while Henry VIII looked on!

It was an effective military base for 400 years with the exception of one attack during the English Civil War when the Parliamentarian forces captured the castle in 1627 when it was surrendered by a rather inebriated Royalist commander the only time in its history. It was nearly demolished after an explosion in 1759 ripped the castle apart and killed seventeen men, women and children, but in 1814 it was renovated to accommodate extra guns and a larger garrison.

You can visit the castle via a tunnel built to defend the moat. The castle has also been investigated for ghosts and paranormal activity and you can book onto ghost hunts and tours - check the link right.

Open daily April - September 10.00am - 5.30pm. Southsea Castle, Clarence Esplanade, Southsea Hants PO5 3PA.

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Portsmouth Military Museums: Royal Marines Museum

The Royal Marines Museum is based in Victorian buildings that were formerly the Officers' Mess of Eastney Barracks, built in the 1860s for the Royal Marine Artillery. You can find out all about the Royal Marines history from their beginnings in 1664 all the way up to the modern day where they've been involved in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Museum is open every day from 10am-5pm. Check the link right for directions and further information.

Royal Marines Museum Eastney Esplanade, Southsea, Portsmouth, PO4 9PX,

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The D-Day Museum

The D-Day Museum was originally opened in 1984 on the 40th anniversary of D-Day. The museum tells the story of Operation Overlord that brought victory to Britain and the allies during the Second World War. It was the largest amphibious assault in history launched at the Normandy coast on 6 June 1944 to gain a foothold in Nazi occupied France.

The Museum tells of the enormous amount of planning and subterfuge that were necessary in planning the assault to keep their actual plans from the enemy. Displays include photographs and film footage including recordings of those who survived the war and fought for the country. There are also reminiscences from local people who either were left at the Home Front or were involved in the D-Day celebrations.

The main feature of the exhibition is the Overlord Embroidery - a modern take on the Bayeux Tapestry - created as a tribute to those who fought or who made the ultimate heroic sacrifice during World War II. The embroidery was designed by artist Sandra Lawrence, is 83 metres long and took five years to complete. It depicts the progress of Operation Overlord from its origins in 1940 all the way through to its final conclusion and victory in Normandy in 1944.

The Museum is open daily (except 24-26 December). Apr-Sept10am-5.30pm. Oct-Mar 10am-5pm. D-Day Museum and Overlord Embroidery, Clarence Esplanade, Southsea PO5 3NT.

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Charles Dickens Birthplace Museum

The house where Charles Dickens was born has been restored to house a museum dedicated to the author. The rooms have been faithfully decorated to echo the Regency style that would have been popular at the time the Dickens family lived here - although it is likely to be much more ordered now than when a family of 10 was living here!

Around the house a range of Charles Dickens personal possessions, photographs of the author and cartoons of characters in his book are displayed including the original dresser the Dickens' would have used. The centrepiece of the museum is the chaise longue on which Charles Dickens died at Gads Hill Place in Higham, Kent.

The Museum is open on Charles Dickens' birthday, 7 February and from mid May-Sept 10am-5.30pm.

Charles Dickens Birthplace, 393 Old Commercial Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO1 4QL. Tel: 023 9282 7261. Fax: 023 9287 5276. Minicom: 023 9287 6550. Email: info@charlesdickensbirthplace.co.uk. Education Officer: Email: education@charlesdickensbirthplace.co.uk

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