Day 5 – HMS Victory and Arundel Castle
This morning we had an early wakeup call at 7.15 but it was well worth it for the trip we were about to take. After an hour journey we reached our destination of Portsmouth. We entered the dockyard gates and were greeted by the site of the harbour. Then, we went on a boat trip that took us around the harbour and lasted about an hour. On the tour we saw different war ships and learned some history of the ships that were docked. The tour was a great way of getting a different view of the harbour. Now we were ready to go to the next activity planned for the day.
We walked through the dockyard and passed a naval museum and gift shops along the way. We finally reached the HMS Victory and we were ready to start our tour on board the ship. The ship was really big and had a lot of floors. The height of the ceiling was very low and we had to crouch when we walked. The HMS Victory was a ship that was captained by a man named Thomas Hardy. Nelson was in command of the British fleet and was sent to fight Napoleon and his navy. We saw where Nelson fell when he was shot by a sniper and his entire ship. In the ship we saw where the men of the navy lived including beds and where they ate. Overall the tour of Portsmouth was interesting and exciting because of the history we learned.
Written by: Jai (Woodward), Cassady (HRA), Francisco (Davy), Valeria (Hiram Bingham), Isabella (St George’s Quilmes), and Silvestre (CPB)
When we arrived at Arundel we waited by the ruins of an ancient fortress watching the flow of the nearby river. After waiting around 15 minutes we started walking to Arundel Castle. We entered through a gate in the wall and took a short walk to see the beautiful gardens Arundel has to offer. There was many different sections of the gardens and various flowers. Visitors took many photos for the photo contest going on. There was a crown upheld by the pressured water, many different displays, and sculptures. We were overwhelmed by the sight of everything being so pretty and symmetrical. The sights and sounds of the gardens were soothing and relaxing.
After the outstanding walk through the gardens we went uphill to the castle. There was a moat surrounding the castle, but there was no water in it because there was chalk underneath. The view of the castle was astonishing. When we went inside, we immediately went through many steps to get to the Keep. The steps were up a steep and narrow spiral staircase. The Keep was a circular open tower that had holes in the walls for archers to shoot through. In the middle was a dungeon that had barrels full of meat for the soldiers. The view was amazing because we could see other parts of the castle from there.
We then had the opportunity to see the rooms of the castle which each room beheld a lot of history. There were many pictures of the people and there were mannequins that mimicked the real life of people living in Arundel Castle. In some rooms, high class people such as dukes and duchesses were living there a long time ago. When we finished the tour of the castle, we entered a gift shop where multiple people bought souvenirs to remind themselves of the amazing time they had at Arundel castle. After we left the castle we realized how amazing of an experience it was, and we would recommend it to anyone even remotely close to Arundel.
Written by: Micaela (Hiram Bingham), Silvana (St George’s Lima), Mauricio (St George’s Lima), Jeronimo (St George’s Quilmes), Fabiana (CPB), Emily (HRA), and Ashton (HRA)
