Portsmouth historic dockyard

[Zapx]

Thinking of taking my kids here, they are nearly 6, 3.5 and 1.5. Am I mad? I can’t quite work out whether it would be fun or horrendous! Thank you!

It’s brilliant - when my girls were little we used to drive down for the day from London and had a yearly pass - loads to do and really fun imo.

We’ve been a few times and I’d only say that going on the HMS Warrior ship is great but there are very steep ladders and multiple levels and you’ll need to carry your youngest and possibly even the 3yo, depending on how adept they are at navigating steep ladders (at the very least you’ll need to be next to them and holding them). No buggies allowed on the ships I seem to remember.

I think they're a little young.

I'd also encourage you to do the big three in order of age, do start with Mary Rose.

I've not been to Portsmouth but we've been to Chatham historic dockyard (they've got to be similar?) First took DS when he was 4, he absolutely loves it, but he does love a museum. The have an RNLI 200 years exhibition at the moment and we've been twice already. If we'd known about it when he was a bit younger we would've taken him sooner . We live by the sea and he is fascinated by boats and his dream job is to be a 'life boat man'. He also loves the submarine you can have a guided tour of (not sure if they have that at Portsmouth)

The 1.5 year old might be a bit young but it's not that they won't get anything out of it. A good family day out is good for everyone

A boat tour is included so if wondering around the ships is a bit of a disaster then at least you can go on that! I took my 6 year old and she loved it but she has a keen interest in boats. Mary Rose is fascinating but the displays are quite wordy and a little overwhelming for my daughter. She wasn’t a fan of the real skeletons on display but could have looked at the wreck for hours!

The Victory is under scaffolding so may have easier routes around the ship, as the stairs on the decks are really really steep! It’s great day out and we always fit in a trip round the outlet stores and dinner overlooking the harbour!!

I would wait a couple of years as it's not easy carrying the little one

It's fabulous but I think better when your DC are a bit older.

It's brilliant, but I'd also recommend waiting a few years

It depends a bit on the characters of your DCs - bit stilI think it might be a bit ambitious with those ages (even with 2 adults).

We live quite close and took DD to the historic dockyard when she was 3ish...just had a wander round but definitely felt she was too little to appreciate the ships really, and it's super expensive (better value to have annual pass if you can make use of it).

Now we have an energetic 2 year old as well but I don't think we will go in any of the ships for another year or so...Nice to have a wander round though.

I'd recommend Southsea with canoe Lake, aquarium, natural history museum, ramparts, pier and promenade as a better day out for very small children.

I took a 7 year old and a just turned 4 year old a few years ago and they absolutely loved it. Dc1 is still planning on joining the Sea Cadets when he's old enough and then the Navy off the back of going.

I absolutely love it, and so did my 7 year old. We used our tickets 3 times over the year and covered all the ships and exhibits.

I'd leave it a few years too. It's expensive, there's a lot of it and it's good for older kids too, it's not one of those things you have to do when they're little.

It's great, but it's a LOT of walking and you can't take a buggy through much of it. The older child might be happy enough and benefit from it, but the younger two are probably a bit of a handful for that kind of day out - loads of steep ships steps, cubbies etc.

Thanks so much everyone! Sounds like a couple of years wait would be wise 😊 much appreciated!