For centuries Portsmouth has been Britain 's principal naval port, due largely to its natural and easily protected harbour. Henry VII made it a Royal Dockyard, and it has flourished ever since. Today commercial ships, ferries, fishing boats, and pleasure craft, all vie for space alongside the battle grey ships of the Royal Navy. In the historic dockyard you can visit Nelson's flagship HMS Victory, which helped beat of the Spanish Armada, and the remains of the Tudor warship ‘Mary Rose' which was lifted from the seabed in the 1980's. More modern history is represented at nearby Southsea Castle, which houses an impressive museum remembering the D-Day invasion during World War Two, much of which left from this coastline.

Portsmouth is also the place to get the ferry across to the Isle of Wight , with its quaint seaside towns fighting for space with the imposing cliffs. Queen Victoria 's summer home, Osbourne House, can be visited, and the island is also the unlikely but successful setting for a number of major music and nautical festivals.