The Trafalgar Sail
An original sail from the 1805 battle, pierced by around ninety cannon shots and displayed in a darkened room as the largest surviving relic of the fight.
One sail fills an entire wall, riddled with around ninety holes from cannon shot: the largest original object to survive the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, kept in a dim, cool room to protect the canvas. The Trafalgar Sail is the single best reason to walk through the door, and gathered around it are Nelson's personal belongings and the story of the day he lost his life and won the battle. The museum is spread over three buildings inside Portsmouth Historic Dockyard: two Georgian stone storehouses (No. 11 from 1763 and No. 10 from 1776) and the Victory Gallery, purpose-built in 1938. The oldest wing covers the age of sail, 'HMS Hear My Story' hands the microphone to ordinary sailors through recordings, letters and small keepsakes, and the twentieth- and twenty-first-century galleries bring the navy up to the present day. Outside on the quay sits HMS M.33, a small survivor of the 1915 Gallipoli campaign in zigzag dazzle paint, which you can board on the same ticket, though she keeps shorter hours than the museum and access is by stairs. Be warned: this is a museum of text panels, charts and paintings far more than of hands-on experiences, and it leans heavily on Nelson. Children tend to flag after half an hour and ask for the ships, so treat it as one stop on a dockyard circuit rather than a destination in itself: HMS Victory is a few steps away, and the Nelson gallery is what makes climbing aboard her mean something. The galleries are all on one level with no steps, so pushchairs and wheelchairs are no trouble, and the whole thing is under a roof, which makes it the natural refuge when a south-coast downpour arrives. There is no separate museum ticket. A one-attraction day ticket costs £36 for an adult, and for only £15 more the Ultimate Experience annual pass (£51 adult, £36 child, £120 for two adults and up to three children) opens every attraction in the dockyard for a year. Doors open at 10:00; last entry to the dockyard is 16:30 from April to October and 16:00 in winter, so a late December afternoon will leave you with almost nothing to see. Portsmouth Harbour station is a five-minute walk, which beats hunting for parking on a crowded summer day.
An original sail from the 1805 battle, pierced by around ninety cannon shots and displayed in a darkened room as the largest surviving relic of the fight.
The admiral's personal effects and the story of his final hours, the prologue that gives boarding HMS Victory next door its meaning.
A small Gallipoli survivor from 1915 in zigzag dazzle paint, moored on the quay outside and boardable on the same ticket.
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, HM Naval Base, PO1 3NH
Not on its own. It is text panels, paintings and small objects, heavily built around Nelson, and children lose interest after half an hour. The best order is an hour in the Nelson gallery and the Trafalgar Sail first, then HMS Victory next door, which is the same story told in oak and cannon. With a £51 Ultimate annual pass the museum is effectively a free add-on, and a good roof when it rains.
Technically yes, but it is a poor buy: for £15 more the Ultimate annual pass opens Victory, Warrior, the Mary Rose and the submarines for a full year. A family of two adults and up to three children pays £120, which is less than separate day tickets would cost.