Today we went to Portsmouth for the day to meet our friend Jeff, who lives in West Sussex. Halfway to Portsmouth, Seth declared that Noah still had his slippers on, so first thing we had to do was find a store to buy Noah some shoes. What a plonker! We had not been to Portsmouth before (although Jeff had) and went there specifically to go in the Spinnaker Tower. It is heading in to it's 11th year of standing on the coast. We entered the tower and had to go through security, then went in the lift to the first viewing deck, which is entirely enclosed. The first viewing deck is 100 metres above the harbour and has a glass floor in the middle which you can walk on - as long as you take your shoes off first. All three boys went on to the glass floor, although Noah was the most scared! There is a competition on at school to see who can read in the most unusual place, hence the book in hand!
We then went up to the second viewing deck which is just 5 metres higher than the first, and has a cafe. Jeff waited here whilst the rest of us went up to the third viewing deck, which is 110 metres high. The third deck is open air, but is obviously well sealed to make sure there are no potential jumpers! The tower felt more sturdy up on the outside deck than it did on the 1st and 2nd. On those two floors you could feel the tower move - well, Jeff and I could, Adam said he couldn't feel it move. The lady on the deck said the tower was designed to move so that made me feel better! You can see for up to 23 miles from the tower, and can also see the Isle Of Wight.
After we left the tower, we went for lunch, then went on a harbour tour ride on a boat. The boat ride around Portsmouth Harbour was interesting, and the kids enjoyed seeing all the naval boats. We got overtaken by a huge French ferry, and saw a naval boat which was waiting to be scrapped after it developed a hole. We saw the refilling boat which made sure all the boats had fuel to run, and learnt that they were re-building part of the docks as they have two air ships coming to the harbour, but the docks aren't big enough to handle the size of them.
It was a fun day, and lovely to see Jeff.
 |
| Lockie wore my scarf - he struggles with the weather here (although it was freezing on the coast today) |
 |
| The Spinnaker Tower |
 |
| The boys inspecting their Spinnaker Tower hand stamps |
 |
| We didn't meet the mascot! |
 |
| The lady let the boys push the elevator buttons |
 |
| Noah did go all the way on, he took a bit of persuading! |
 |
| Seth - 100 metres up |
 |
| No fear for Lockie either! |
 |
| Jeff :) |
 |
| Watching the ferries come in |
 |
| Top floor - Isle Of Wight in the distance on the horizon |
 |
| Ready for boat action |
 |
| We didn't stay outside for long - the wind was biting |
 |
| Noah stayed inside |
 |
| The work on the docks |
 |
| The poor boat destined for the scrap yard |
