To get maximum value out of the Naval Museum ticket I spent today at the Submarine Museum then Explosion - the Museum of Naval Ordinance, both on the Gosport side of the river.
It was all a lot quieter and less frantic than the main Dockyard museums, but interesting. The highlight of the Sub museum is the guided "tour" of HMS Alliance. It's not really a tour as you just walk from end to end, but then that's about how much space there is. I found it very interesting but really can't conceive how people spent so much time in such a cramped space.
That said, Holland 1 (the Navy's first sub) and X24, a WW II Midget Sub are much smaller still. The former was, at one time, largely cosmetically restored but when the repairs deteriorated it was returned to "as found" condition. You can get inside, and again there's very little space (I had to collapse the walking pole!)
Having had a good look round, including the displays of artefacts which most people seemed to ignore, and had a coffee and piece of cake, I drove back in land a bit to "Explosion". I was somewhat put off this due to the name, I find museums that have become "experiences" often aren't very good. To be fair this one is. There are a lot of items that would go bang ranging from early canons and mortars through naval guns to nuclear and conventional missiles. Some of the modern presentation works ok, but the AV display that's the centrepiece of this wasn't working.
I think neither museum would necessarily justify the entry fee on its own (it's about £15 for a single attraction compared to the £38 for everything for a year), but as part of the overall museum experience they are worth visiting.
I called in to Wickham, the nearest town to the caravan site, on the way back. Another nice little place for a wander, and there was a temptation to head back for dinner but I've overdone the walking a bit and it's nearly 3 miles each way. I can't be bothered to drive so I wish I'd brought the ebike.
Tomorrow I leave this site to go further inland towards Essex. The next one is no facilities so I'll have to see how I get on, not that it should be a problem but having site toilets, washing up areas, etc. does make life in a small campervan that bit easier.
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