Old Ships and The Point

Continuing from the HMS Vanguard photos from earlier this week, this one shot from above shows the scale of the ship and her guns, which are as big as the pubs! The second photo is of HMS Victorious passing out in the 50s, with the old power station in the background. Hard to believe such a huge, dominating landmark like that is now just a memory.

Click on the images to see larger versions. Photos are taken from the wonderful Portsmouth From The Air book by Anthony Triggs.

Old Portsmouth

I found this photo of Old Portsmouth shot form The Spinnaker last night. I don’t think I’ve seen it shot from this angle before. It almost looks like another town at first glance. Some great details. Cricket in full swing, all the catchers traps on the roof of the fish market, enjoying a beer at The A Bar, Lawn Bowls, all on a cracking sunny day. Click on the image for full size.

Photo – eNil

Oops, Soaked

These two got drenched down in Old Portsmouth on Saturday morning…

Inside the Round Tower

The Round Tower in Old Portsmouth is an often visited landmark but few people get a look at what lies inside those walls. On Friday a few lucky members of The Solent Camera Club (on one of it’s Friday evening meets) were able to explore it’s cavernous interior including the brick arches, rusted cannons and stalactites.

Photos kindly supplied by Duncan Allan.

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Square Tower Tours

The Square Tower in Old Portsmouth is one of the oldest parts of Portsmouth’s fortifications (built in 1494) and will have it’s second public open day of the summer on Wednesday 17th. Entry is free and the old doors are open from 4pm to 7pm. The next open day will be Wednesday 15th July.

For more information see www.portsmouthmuseums.co.uk.

Vintage Old Portsmouth Photograph

We’ve not had a vintage photograph for quite a while on Strong Island, and this one is a winner. This photo of the Round Tower in Old Portsmouth was taken in 1958 by Mark Kauffman for LIFE Magazine. Click this LINK for a larger version.

Thanks to Jubru for sending this over.

Old Portsmouth Treasure Hunts

If you know your history and your way around old Portsmouth it’ll sure be a help if you take part in the Old Portsmouth Treasure Hunt on Sunday 3rd. You can enter individually or as a team and everyone at the end of the hunt will be put into a grand draw to win tickets to local attractions. The hunt starts at 2.30pm at the Square Tower, Old Portsmouth and is free to enter but places need to be pre-booked. Phone the Visitor Information Centre on (023) 9229 4282. If you can’t make this one don’t worry as there will be another on the 24th May!

The 2nd Strong Island Ale – Dry Dock No. 1

As you may know each year we run a home brew competition in February where the winning brew has the opportunity to be brewed by Irving & Co Brewing Co. and sold around the city in the summer. Last year’s brew, the Strong Island Hopper Ale, was hugely successful being one of Inving’s best selling ales and selling out so quickly it went through a second brew run. This year’s winning ale is Dry Dock No. 1, originally brewed by Lee Immins, went on sale in some of Portsmouth and Southsea’s pubs over the weekend.

We spoke to The Hole in The Wall in Southsea who said the new ale went down a storm with it being their best seller on Sunday and with almost two barrels empty by the end of the Bank Holiday weekend. Those guys at the Hole in The Wall and their regular ale drinkers know their stuff so for us this was amazing early news with the ale.

To officially launch Dry Dock No. 1 we are having a launch party with the lovely souls at The Belle Isle on Thursday evening. The ale will be on full flow, come down and try a pint or two. As well as being on sale all around the city the ale will also be available in Chichester’s Belle Isle too, so you can drink it away from home for the first time too.

The Isle Of Wight Randonnee 2012 – Team Strong Island

Just over a year ago, a group of Strong Islanders were sat on the Isle of Wight ferry on our way to the yearly Randonnee cycling event; 60 miles around the island spread across 5 checkpoints. Whilst on the crossing we couldn’t help but admire various enthusiasts and their custom team jerseys. Fast forward a year and it is my great pleasure to unveil the Strong Island cycling jersey. Made as a one off for the event, the jersey is our way of representing this city and all the values that come with it. Thanks to the combined designing efforts of Chris Ballingall and Tristan Savage, we were able to produce this clean, retro looking jersey that 11 of Southsea’s finest could wear to conquer the island’s endless hills. Well done chaps.