U3A Roseland and District

What we do

We arrange periodic short breaks to places of interest to our members and those from other U3As in our region and you can read a report of our previous visit to London and the Globe Theatre in October 2008 here.

Portsmouth via Montacute House, staying at the 4* Hilton Hotel April 1st to 4th 2009

Join us for an historical journey visiting Montacute House in Somerset, one of the finest Elizabethan mansions in England, then on to spend 3 nights at the 4* Hilton Hotel in Portsmouth, with the (optional) opportunity to explore 350 years of preserved naval heritage at the Historic Dockyard.

The cost will be £265 per person sharing a twin room (£45 single supplement) to include all travel, accommodation, breakfasts and dinners. Entry charges where applicable are not included.

We've provided an outline of some of the potential highlights, or click here to go straight to the proposed itinerary.

Montacute House

Montacute House is a magnificent 16th Century Elizabethan mansion, and one of the best preserved in Britain.
The interior is as impressive as the exterior and has many Renaissance features including decorated ceilings, ornate fireplaces, wood panelling and heraldic glass. It was built for Sir Edward Phelips, one of the early prosecutors in the Gunpowder Plot.

There is a fine collection of 17th and 18th century furniture and the house is noted for its tapestries.
Outside is a formal garden with old roses and mixed borders and a landscaped park.

Location of the 1995 adaptation of "Sense and Sensibility".

Portsmouth Hilton Hotel

Located only 10 minutes drive from the Historic Dockyard and the city centre, this modern 4* hotel is ideal for exploration and relaxation, with well equipped comfortable rooms, an excellent restaurant, heated indoor pool, jacuzzi, sauna, gym and onsite beauty salon.

The Mary Rose

The Mary Rose was built at Portsmouth between 1509 and 1511. Named for Henry VIII's favourite sister, Mary Tudor, later queen of France, the ship was part of a large build-up of naval force by the new king in the years between 1510 and 1515. Warships, and the cannon they carried, were the ultimate status symbol of the 16th century, and an opportunity to show off the wealth and power of the king abroad.

In addition Henry was well aware that his right to the throne was open to challenge, and that sea-borne invasions, such as the one his father had staged from France, in order to claim the English throne only three decades earlier, were easy for his enemies to organise. To meet the danger he built up his fleet, fortified the obvious landing places, and wiped out those with any claim to the succession.

Mary Rose was the second most powerful ship in the fleet and a favourite of the king until she capsized and sank in the Solent on 19th July 1545. The wreck was eventually raised in 1982 and preserved at her current site in the Historic Dockyard.

HMS Victory

HMS Victory is a first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built between 1759 and 1765 at Chatham Dockyard.

She is the only surviving warship that fought in the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars. She is also the oldest warship in the world still in commission, as the flagship of the Commander in Chief, Naval Home Command.

Her greatest claim to fame is as Admiral Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar when she was already 40 years old. The place where Nelson fell after being shot on 21st October 1805 is marked by a plaque on the deck.

HMS Warrior

As you arrive at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, the stunning sleek, black lines of Britain's first iron-hulled, armoured battleship, takes your breath away.

The pride of Queen Victoria, Warrior revolutionised warship construction, not only in Britain, but across the world. Powered by steam and sail, she was the most powerful and fastest warship of her day, reaching 17.5 knots in trials. Her construction incorporated many radical innovations, including a citadel - an armoured box housing her guns, which themselves were rifled breech loaders instead of the smooth bore muzzle loaders still in common use.

She was built in 1860 at Blackwall on the River Thames by the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company because none of the naval yards had the technical capability needed for her construction. Her guns were never fired in anger and she was eventually relegated to the role of a floating jetty in Pembroke Dock. However, in view of her historical importance to modern naval development, in 1987 after years of painstaking restoration, she was moved to her permanent home in the Historic Dockyard.

Arundel Castle

There has been a castle on this site since the late 11th century when it was in the ownership of Roger de Montgomery, then Earl of Arundel.

The oldest part of the present stone castle was built for King Henry ll and in 1155, he confirmed William d'Albini ll as Earl of Arundel. Apart from occasional reversions to the Crown, the castle has descended directly from 1138 to the present day, carried by female heiresses from the d'Albinis to the Fitzalans to the Howards, who in the form of the Dukes of Norfolk, continue to hold it as their seat.

It is set in 40 acres of sweeping grounds and gardens and houses many priceless treasures in stunning room settings.

Itinerary