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My hometown is Portsmouth, UK... I wonder how well known it is? Would love to know if you have heard of it before or not (I am sure my UK friends have š ). It is home to the Royal Navy since forever.
Portsmouth is the UKās only island city surrounded entirely by water and the most densely populated in England outside of London.
We have many historic ships in the dockyard including the HMS Victory which was Admiral Lord Nelsons flagship at the Battle of Trafalger in 1805. The ship is open to visitors and there is a plaque where he was shot (and subsequently died). His body was preserved on board in a barrel of brandy. When the ship arrived back home in Portsmouth and the barrel was taken it was discovered that the sailors had drilled a hole in the bottom of the barrel and drunk all the brandy out of it. Brandy is sometimes called 'Nelson's Blood' as a result. š
As far as notably famous warships, we also have the salvaged wreckage of the HMS Mary Rose, one of the most expensive and complex maritime salvage in history. It was King Henry VIII's flagship one of the largest in the British fleet and participated in several major battles over its 30 year career. The first to have large cannons that would fire through gun ports and the first purpose built sailing warship. It was sank just outside my house in 1545. King Henry watched the ship sink from his castle in Southsea.
In more recent Portsmouth history they built a big tower here supposed to be called the Millenium Tower to celebrate the year 2000 but it was delayed several years and opened in 2005 as the Spinnaker Tower (as it looks like a spinnaker sail on a boat).
I now live in a town on the border of Portsmouth & Southampton which are neighbours. Southampton is probably most famous for being the port that the RMS Titanic sailed from on its disastrous maiden voyage to New York. It is still home to the cruise industry (of which I am a big fan!).