Gosport
©
Gosport

Gosport

Harbour town opposite Portsmouth, defined by naval museums, submarine history, and the short Gosport ferry

Gosport sits across the harbour from Portsmouth and shares its naval heritage without the crowds. The town is home to the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, where you can tour HMS Alliance, a World War II-era submarine preserved in remarkable detail. Explosion, the Museum of Naval Firepower, occupies a former armaments depot on the Gosport waterfront.

The Gosport ferry across to Portsmouth is one of the best short boat rides in England — a few minutes across the harbour mouth with views of the Historic Dockyard, HMS Victory, and the Spinnaker Tower. Fort Blockhouse and the Haslar sea wall make for a good waterfront walk. The Royal Hospital Haslar, an enormous Georgian naval hospital that closed only in 2009, is one of the most impressive institutional buildings in Hampshire.

Guide

Getting There

Gosport has no railway station — the line closed in 1953 and the old station building survives only as a listed structure. The practical options are bus, car, or ferry from Portsmouth.

From Portsmouth, take the passenger ferry from the Hard Interchange pontoon (next to Portsmouth Harbour railway station) — it runs every few minutes and takes five minutes. This is the most pleasant way to arrive.

By bus, the X4 and 1 services run from Portsmouth, Fareham, and Southampton. From London by car, take the M27 westbound and exit for Gosport via the A32; the journey is about 90 minutes from central London. Parking is available near the ferry terminal and the museums.

Guide

Things to Do

Gosport's main draw is its naval heritage, and it delivers some of the most hands-on maritime history in England. The two main museums — the Royal Navy Submarine Museum and Explosion — are both world-class, and the ferry ride across to Portsmouth is a worthy attraction in its own right.

Guide

When to Go

Gosport is a year-round destination for its museums, which are indoors and unaffected by the weather. The ferry to Portsmouth runs in all conditions. The Haslar sea wall and harbour walks are best in spring and summer when the light on the water is at its finest and the seagrass is visible at low tide.

Summer brings more visitors to Portsmouth and the Historic Dockyard across the harbour, but Gosport itself stays relatively uncrowded. The Naval Firepower Museum at Priddy's Hard is less well-known than the Portsmouth attractions and rarely has queues. July and August have the most sailing activity on the Solent if that adds to the appeal.

The Submarine Museum is popular with families and is worth booking in advance for guided tours of HMS Alliance during school holidays.