Friday 18th July 2008

Day Five - Portsmouth, Arundel

After a day on campus we journied to the south coast and the city of Portsmouth.  The Historic Dockyards in Portsmouth are where HMS Victory is berthed.  Nelson's flagship is always an amazing sight and to think that it is the original ship that Nelson fought the Battle of Trafalgar on and tragically lost his life is breath-taking. The dockyard is full of naval activity when we arrive and we are lucky to be greeted by a military band.  As the dockyard is a working Royal Navy base there are always vessels in harbour.  Today is no exception and there is a ceremony taking place on RFA Largs Bay.  Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex and Commodore in Chief, is awarding the Queen's colour to the fleet as a whole, but the amphibious landing ship is one of the reasons it has been praised. During her first deployment, Largs Bay spent December to June in the Caribbean, striking at the transatlantic flow of class A drugs.  We get a glimpse of the ceremony as we board the Victory.  It is great to be able to see the old and the new as we stand on Victory and look out over some of the modern ships of the British Royal Navy.

Victory is fascinating and the cramped gun decks and the conditions that the sailors must have lived in is brought to life.  The ceilings are low and as you get lower in the ship daylight is hard to find!  The Orlop Deck where Nelson died and the surgeon carried out his rudimentary operations on screaming patients is scary!  It is a relief to get out into the sunshine of the dockyard once again.

We board our coaches for the journey to Arundel and its famous castle.  Arundel Castle was first built in the 11th century by Roger de Montgomery who had served William the Conqueror well.  It has had a interesting history and today is the home of the Duke of Norfolk.  The castle is filled with priceless works of art and furniture that all tell a tale.  The golden rosary beads that Mary Queen of Scots clutched on her day of execution in 1587 are on display. The castle is our first one on the ISCA tour and it is a magnificent place to begin.

In the grounds some of us make it up to the gardens and we are lucky to see the newly opened Collector Earl's Garden, a tribute to the 14th Earl of Arundel who died in 1646.  The garden is divided into formal courts with a centre canal and pond and the various gateways and pavillions are all made out of oak and based on designs drawn up by the 17th century designer Inigo Jones but never actually used.  Prince Charles opened the garden in May of this year.