Mainland Excursions

Vice Admiral Nelson’s Flagship, which was central to the successful outcome of the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Today the Victory is the Flagship of the Commander in Chief Naval Home Command, manned by officers and ratings of the Royal Navy, making her the oldest commissioned warship in the world. Pupils see the cabins of Captain Hardy and Vice Admiral Nelson, the gun decks where the seamen lived, worked, fought and died, and the cockpit where Nelson himself passed away. Experience the history and reputation of the most famous warship the world has ever seen.

One of the first purpose-built sailing warships, Henry VIII’s Mary Rose was built at Portsmouth in 1509-10. On July 19th, 1545 the ill-fated ship sailed out of Portsmouth Harbour to battle with a French invasion fleet. Before she could open fire, she keeled over and sank. When divers discovered the site in the 1960’s, they found a time capsule of Tudor life at sea. The starboard side of the ship and her contents had been preserved by the Solent silts. The Mary Rose Trust was formed in 1979 to carry out the excavation, recovery and display of both artefacts and hull. Pupils can view the hull as if it were a giant cutaway model. Nearby, an exhibition displays historical ‘treasures’ of the ship - the everyday objects she carried in July 1545.

Launched on 29th December 1860, HMS Warrior was the world’s first iron-hulled, iron-clad battleship. Nearly 400 feet long, her hull is armoured with no less than 4.5 inches of wrought iron backed by 18 inches of teak. Following a period of service in the Reserve Squadron and also the Coastguard Service, HMS Warrior was removed from the active list in 1883. She was converted to a power plant for the Royal Naval Torpedo Training School, Portsmouth in 1904 and then in 1929 she was towed to South Wales for her new role - that of a fuelling hulk.

By 1967 serious attempts to rescue Warrior from the breaker’s yard were under way and in 1979 she was towed to Hartlepool where she took 8 years and £9 million to be restored to the magnificent condition she was in during her first commission back in 1861.

The most comprehensive museum of its kind in the world, it illustrates submarine development and underwater warfare from the earliest days to the present nuclear age. Besides the many pictures, artefacts, Jolly Roger flags and wartime trophies, there are models of every kind of British submarine from 1901 onwards and a working explanation of nuclear power.

Pupils are given a guided tour of HMS Submarine ‘ Alliance’. She was designed for wartime service in the Far East but the war ended before she could see action. She was modernised and streamlined in 1960, continuing to serve until 1973. All compartments are open to pupils who are also given a ten minute audio-visual briefing before going on board.

Educational staff bring to life the fascinating underwater world and it’s amazing inhabitants as pupils experience close encounters with creatures of the deep. An endless range of subjects can be studied at the Blue Reef Aquarium, from the more conventional science, mathematics and environmental studies, through to art, design and even history.

The centre concentrates on life beneath the waves and along the Solent shoreline and it’s numerous spectacular exhibits include Britain’s largest display of native sharks and Europe’s deepest display tank, complete with 5cm thick double-layer glass to withstand the force of 160,000 litres of water. The centre has Europe’s largest unsupported glass viewing panels and the first all-acrylic underwater tunnels. Man-sized acrylic underwater domes, frameless joints, viewing ‘bubbles’ and sloping panels are just some of the centre’s innovations, providing the most dramatic, uninterrupted views of ocean life.

The re-creation of the mysterious underwater world and life along the shore-line cannot fail to stimulate and excite. Whether it’s the spine-chilling experience of coming nose-to-nose with a shark, the fascination of feeding a graceful stingray or the discovery of rockpool life at the closest of quarters, pupils will be inspired to find out more. Someone will always be close at hand to answer their questions and enhance their knowledge of the intriguing marine world.

The Blue Reef Aquarium endeavours to turn exploration into discovery, interest into enthusiasm and questions into answers.