Portsmouth Day Out 9th October 2019

Marian, Linda, June and Maddie decided to have a fun day out in Portsmouth, with most of us leaving Petersfield Station to meet others in Portsmouth Harbour. It seemed churlish to rush in to a walk without first having a coffee near to the Spinnaker Tower. Suitably refreshed, we headed along the Millenium Walkway marked with a chain link on the pavement. With lots of interesting views we eventually reached the funfair in Southsea, but sadly the Big Wheel wasn't working, so the nervous heaved a sigh of relief. Heading inland we found Portsmouth Cathedral for a quick visit and then wandered on to the John Pounds memorial. He was the originator of the Ragged Schools movement and was a shoemaker, altruist and teacher for the poor children of Portsmouth. Travelling back towards the harbour we walked down Lombard Street with its 17th and 18th Century houses buit within the walls of Old Portsmouth. Lunch was taken in the Old Customs House, on the edge of the relatively new Gunwharf Quays. Afternoon walking was relatively short with a wander through the Historic Dockyard before we eventually gathered together for refreshments near to HMS Warrior, launched in 1860 and at the time the ultimate weapon in warfare. A great day out and we probably walked about 6 miles