In the first week of July, eight of us planned to embark on a four day trip to Portsmouth. Unfortunately, Mike-G’s wife was unwell with Covid and they were unable to make the trip. I am pleased to say that she has since made a full recovery.
We left Kent on Tuesday morning, heading to our destination of Gosport, which is the other side of the water to Portsmouth. As the travel time from Kent to Hampshire was only three hours, we decided to stop for lunch at Loomies Cafe; a very popular refreshment stop for bikers.
On Wednesday, it was all about visiting the historic Dockyard to view the HMS Victory, the Mary Rose museum and HMS Warrior. These amazing ships took up most of our day so we will no doubt return as you cannot possibly see everything in one day.
On Thursday, the men went out for a Jolly Boy’s Outing, while the girls took a bus ride into town for a bit of retail therapy. First stop for the bikers was Hurst Castle, an artillery fort established by Henry VIII on the Hurst Spit. Leaving their bikes on the mainland, they ventured onto a small ferry running from Keyhaven to the Castle – much to the amusement of some day trippers.
After the boat trip, they set off for a tour round the New Forest and set the SatNav to take a ‘twisty route’. However, it was not the scenic route they hoped for as they ended up in the centre of Winchester in the middle of rush hour! The weary bikers eventually arrived back at the hotel some 2.5 hours later and head to the bar after a quick wash and brush up.
On Friday, we assembled together to return to Portsmouth to discover more of the town. This included a trip up the Spinnaker Tower, a 170 metre high landmark observation tower overlooking the harbour and beyond.
As usual, the time passed too quickly and on Saturday we all returned to Kent. Everyone enjoyed the sunny weather and leisurely pace of our trip. And of course, the good food, riding and company.
With regards
Pauline Ayliffe
