Old Portsmouth Shoreline Photowalk

Here in Portsmouth we’ve got more than our fair share of history and gorgeous views so it only seems right and proper that I share some of them, perhaps of use if you’re planning on visiting Portsmouth, or perhaps to entice you to give this city a chance.

The photos in this post were taken in June 2016 and they’ll serve to give you an idea as to some of the sights you can see and a little of the history along the stretch of shoreline between Old Portsmouth and Southsea. The photowalk starts with a stroll along Pembroke Road west towards High Street, running along the north side of some of the many common areas in this part of the city. You can expect to find people sunbathing and enjoying picnics and barbecues, or playing sports as below.

Portsmouth Cathedral is in High Street and it’s one of two cathedrals in the city, this being the Anglican one and therefore the one I didn’t go to while growing up on account of my Irish heritage. This is the far more attractive of the cathedrals in my opinion. I strongly prefer white stone to red brick, and the Romanesque architectural style easily indicates how much older this building is – twelfth century – than its Catholic counterpart closer to the city centre. The central tower was used as both a lighthouse for the nearby harbour entrance and as a lookout point, but while it survived fighting in the city during the Hundred Years War it was damaged enough in the English Civil War by Parliamentary forces that it required rebuilding during the reign of Charles II. Portsmouth Cathedral is dedicated to Thomas à Becket.

The Cathedral was closed for a while in the fifteenth century when the entire island of Portsmouth was excommunicated for fifty eight years (well into the Tudor period) following the murder in 1450 of the Bishop of Chichester by sailors in a dispute over payment. This was recorded at the time:

You can read more about that incident and the penance that was required before the city’s excommunicated state was lifted here: The Excommunication of Portsmouth, 1450-1508.

Continuing the walk southwards only a few dozen more metres brings you to the seafront and the defensive fortifications of the Round Tower and the Hot Walls. The Hot Walls host a large number of local artists and are well worth a visit for that reason alone, but ascending the steps to their top gives you great views out over the Solent towards Gosport and the Isle of Wight.

The Hot Walls were part of the city’s defences constructed in the seventeenth century and rebuilt in the nineteenth, but other than their use these days as a hub for local artistry they’re also mostly known in the city for enclosing a small section of beach – shingle and pebbles, like all the beaches along Portsmouth’s coastline – with plenty of radiating heat from the stone barrier, and with excellent views for spotting the various types of vessels coming into and out of the harbour. You can expect to see yachts and fishing vessels, car and passenger ferries to the Isle of Wight, France, or Spain, naval vessels (including our aircraft carriers) coming out of the dockyard, and an increasing number of cruise ships too. Obviously, we’re very excited by that lattermost point.

The Hot Walls run between the fifteenth century fortifications of the Round Tower to the west and the Square Tower to the east. Like many towers at harbour entrances, the Round Tower used to incorporate a chain that could be pulled across the entrance to stop ships getting in. These days the Square Tower hosts markets and functions such as weddings, and very close friends of ours held baby-naming ceremonies for their children there.

If you were to walk westwards along the Hot Walls you’d find yourself in the Spice Island part of Old Portsmouth, also known as Portsmouth Point (from where it’s believed the shortened form on naval maps “Po’m. P.” led to the city’s nickname of Pompey). If you’re after a drink then there are some lovely pubs that way with some lovely views too, but this photowalk heads eastwards in the direction of Southsea.

Mention the word “pier” to someone from Portsmouth and they’d most likely think of South Parade Pier or possibly the not-very-pier-like Clarence Pier, but there’s another, shorter one jutting out in front of the Square Tower called Victoria Pier which is used for fishing from, and by locals who like to jump in and swim (despite frequent warnings not to do so, naturally).

The last stretch of this Old Portsmouth photowalk takes place on the seaward side of a moat in front of an earthen rampart above brick and stone. This is the Long Curtain, part of the sixteenth century defences which also includes the King’s Bastion. In the image below you can see that looking inland there are three towers visible: on the left is the Spinnaker Tower at Gunwharf Quays; to its right is the tower atop Portsmouth Cathedral; the rightmost tower belongs to the Royal Garrison Church, and it was from there that the Bishop of Chichester was dragged prior to his murder and the city’s subsequent excommunication. During the Second World War German bombers hit the Garrison Church with incendiary bombs so much of it remains roofless to this day.

A final part of these defences is the Spur Redoubt, a triangular section detached from the main fortifications and on the seafront. It’s to the right of the photo below, but of more interest is the bridge across the moat which provides the means to move between the redoubt and the bastion through the brick-lined sally port. It was through that entrance that Admiral Lord Nelson passed in 1805 on his final departure from England.

This photowalk concludes at the Spur Redoubt looking eastwards towards part of the Clarence Pier amusements with a hovercraft heading across to the Isle of Wight. This remains our most favourite way to get from our island to that island, although we don’t go there anywhere near as much as we probably should, so if the history and the views of this part of Portsmouth haven’t made you want to visit then why not add the possibility of a trip across water on a cushion of air to your considerations?

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