Things to do in Hampshire
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is a great day out and one of the best things to do in Hampshire. You are able to go on board the fully restored HMS Victory and HMS Warrior. The base also has a number maritime museums and a hands on exhibition called Action Stations which features the modern Navy. Included in the price is a tour of the harbour by boat to see the current warships moored here.
The historic dockyard has also opened a new purpose built Mary Rose museum. Many people will remember when the Mary Rose was raised from the sea bed. The Mary Rose then spent 31 years in a special preservation unit getting sprayed, firstly with water and then with a wax chemical called Polythene Glycol for 19 years. Visitors could watch this process from a special viewing gallery.
The new museum continues the process as it is effectively a huge drying chamber. The ship is the centre of the museum and is surrounded by artifacts recovered with the ship. The display has been enhanced with the addition of special displays that include some of the sailors who have being ‘brought back to life’ using facial reconstruction techniques.
With or without the museum, the Historic dockyard and the surrounding attractions in Portsmouth have always been a great places to visit for day trips. The new museum has added a little bit extra with the only 16th century warship on display anywhere in the world!
Royal Navy Submarine Museum
Royal Navy Submarine Museum – Gosport has HMS Alliance and Holland I on display. On HMS Alliance you are able to experience the cramped conditions on a submarine. Your tour guide will explain many things such as ‘hot bedding’ and help you to consider the nightmare situation of a depth charge attack and what happens inside the submarine.
The museum also has Holland I that was recovered from local waters and later restored. Holland I is the first Navy Submarine and has pride of place in this museum. This submarine is much smaller and is in amazing condition considering it lay at the bottom of the sea for many years.
The Museum of Naval firepower is next door to the submarine museum and has many examples of torpedoes and other deadly weapons.
Blue Reef Aquarium – Portsmouth
Blue Reef Aquarium Come face to face with poisonous frogs, cute otters, graceful rays and meet amazing puffer fish! At the aquarium’s heart is the giant ocean tank where an underwater tunnel offers incredible views of a recreated coral reef and shoals of brightly coloured fish.
Hayling Island
Hayling Island is a small island near Portsmouth and is very popular with families. The island has over 3 miles of beach with broad areas of grass adjacent to the beach and a large sand bar protecting it. The sandbar acts as a breakwater and creates a gentle safe swimming area for young children to swim.
Hayling island also has its own family amusement park, Funland. Funland has lots of rides including roller coasters, speed flips, wild river log rides, drop rides, kidz kingdom play area, artificial ice rink and a bowling alley.
Away from the park there are 2 golf courses, a light railway, skate park and a coastal path for cycling and walking. For a small island, it packs the activities in!
Beaulieu Abbey & Motor Museum
Beaulieu Abbey & National Motor Museum
As well as being a historic building set in The New Forest it is a fantastic motor museum. Highlights include Bond in motion, the world’s largest collection of original James Bond vehicles, Ron Weasley’s ‘Flying’ Ford Anglia from Harry Potter, and a number of cars featured on Top Gear.
The New Forest National Park
The New Forest National Park is Britain’s smallest National Park. The Park covers an area of approximately 150 square miles and was once a royal hunting ground for King William I and his noblemen, in the 12th century. Not surprisingly, New Forest leisure activities are geared towards enjoying the outdoor delights of the area. The most popular activities enjoyed by locals and visitors alike are cycling, walking and horse riding.
Marwell Zoo
Marwell Zoo is home to over 1,200 animals of 235 different species, and in 2007 was voted by Hampshire residents as the place they were most proud of. Visitors can enjoy the World of Lemurs, Encounter Village, Tropical World, Penguin World with underwater views of Humboldt Penguins and new enclosure for Fossa. The fossa is the largest carnivore in Madagascar. It has short, smooth, reddish-brown fur and cat-like in appearance.
Intech
Intech is a hands-on science & technology centre in Winchester. There are 100 interactive exhibits plus a state-of-the-art digital Astrium Planetarium theatre that demonstrate the science and technology of the world around us in an engaging and exciting way. It’s ‘hands-on’, not ‘hands-off’!
Go Ape – Moors Valley Country Park
Go Ape – Moors Valley Country Park – is a network of rope bridges, trapezes, tunnels and some new zip wires that stretches for roughly 1000 metres through the tree canopy. This is a fantastic experience where you will be trained in the use of harnesses, pulleys, carabineers and various safety methods by qualified instructors. You will then safely navigate through a tree top obstacle course to eventually finish on a brilliant zip-wire descent.
The centre can also get you off road to enjoy a different type of adventure traveling around the forest on a Segway (looks like a lawn mower you stand on). Standing upright you simply lean forward to move forward and back to slow and stop – great fun.
Paultons Park
Paultons Park is located in the village of Ower, near Romsey. The theme park has 60 rides and attractions, the latest addition to which was a Peppa Pig World based on the childrens television series. The theme park has a number of different activities suitable for families with children of all ages. There are: Birds and animals, Children’s rides, Thrill rides, Family rides, gardens and a lake.
Boat and Train trips
The Water Cress Line – the railway runs 10 miles between the market towns of Alresford and Alton. The line is famous for its steep gradients and it was nicknamed ‘going over the Alps’ by locomotive crews during the days of steam, due the the sheer effort required by man and machine to crest the summit at Medstead and Four Marks, the highest station above sea level in Southern England.
Pleasure Steamers
Waverley and Balmoral Pleasure Steamers WAVERLEY is the last sea-going paddle steamer in the world. Magnificently restored with towering funnels, timber decks, gleaming varnish and brass. See and hear the mighty engines – they will provide a whiff of nostalgia for some but are sure to impress all! Enjoy a cruise aboard BALMORAL, beautifully maintained with restored period lounges and unrivalled access to the stunning scenery of some of the most picturesque parts of the UK’s coastline.
Spinnaker Tower
Spinnaker Tower – Portsmouth – At 170 metres above Portsmouth Harbour, the elegant Spinnaker Tower is taller than the London Eye, Blackpool Tower and Big Ben. It commands brilliant views over all around the area and in fact you can see as far as 23 miles.
Sports and Leisure
- Golf Courses
- Cycle Routes
- Walking Routes
- Planet Ice – Basingstoke
- Planet Ice – Gosport
- Portsmouth Indoor Tennis Centre