Portsmouth definitely took us by surprise.  We arrived there mid-week, there are no festivals, no major events, no shortage of hotels and yet we can not find one.  We did overlook one small item. Portsmouth is a major ferry port, with numerous departures from this port town to France, Spain and Ireland.  The hotels are full as tomorrow's early departures force the passengers to arrive early.  We have two choices. a 500 pound room or a 100 pound room.  Neither are super attractive.  One is a super small room in a pretend  5 star hotel (1000 cdn) or a super small room in a sketchy neighbourhood with a nice view of the beach and our car.  Which could prove important.... we would be able to watch the locals breaking into our car as we enjoy the view of the English channel.  Since we have nothing worth stealing, we chose the latter.  As it turns out, it was a good choice.  The room was clean and quiet and centrally located close to the main drag.  We found a nice restaurant to go to....rib night, food fixes everything.  The experience of winging accommodation is now complete and not to be repeated.  New plan is to follow the old plan, book ahead.

Portsmouth, was like most of the previous seaside towns we have visited.  Not that interesting to be frank.  We toured the hot spots early in the morning and made our way east along the coast. The harbour is a "must" to wander around.  Portsmouth has the world's oldest dry dock still in use. It is also the home to some very important naval ships.  The HMS Victory and the HMS Warrior seen below. The HMS Victory was Lord Nelson's flagship vessel, sporting an impressive 104 guns, this 1765 warship was a key power in the Battle of Trafalgar.  The ship was dry docked in 1922 and used as a museum.  We couldn't visit as it wasn't open during our stay in Portsmouth.  We did get this nice shot to the HMS Warrior.  Built in 1861, it was the first armor plated warship.   It only lasted 10 years as the navy moved to non sail warships.  Today it is a museum.

The spinnaker tower, marks the reclaimed area of the city.  What was a naval yard is now shops, restaurants and upscale condos.  We left the city as the workday began, driving along the M27 west toward Chichester.  It is notable how different the seaside cities in the UK are to those found in North America.  Our seafronts are generally, high dollar modern locations, here in the UK they seem to try hard to hang on 19th century style.    The Brits fill these towns on most summer weekends, happy in the memories that were created by visits with families in the past.  Pleased to pass the traditions on to their children.  Since we don't have the family history to relate to these places, our impressions are based on what we see, which is just not nearly as impressive as the medieval towns we have visited.  Which brings us to our next stop... Chichester.  We are happy again.  This is the kind of England we like.  Narrow streets, lots of old architecture.  I would go on but I think you get the idea.   We spend a few hours wandering around town.  It was market day to boot.  So armed with our newly learned market protocol, we waited in line (still hard to get used to that) to get some fresh fruits, cheese and bread for snacks later.

 This is called a butter cross.  Built in 1501 as a covered market.  It marks the center of town.

 The statue of Saint Richard of Chichester guards the cathedral.

 Shopping on the main drag, no cars please!  A little further down the road, we stopped at the town of Arundel.  While small, it has many heritage buildings and a fantastic castle that towers over the village.  A nice spot to stop for a picnic lunch, which is just what we did.

 After our late lunch it was off to Bristol for the night.  Tomorrow we visit Bristol, Lewes and the site of the Battle of Hastings.  It should prove to be an interesting day.

Be well.

Cheerio