See the pride of the Senior Service with return of Navy Days
Excitement and momentum is building ahead of the three-day navy spectacular which gets underway next week.
The event will give the public a chance to get up close and personal with some of the service's ships and people including the new Type 45 destroyers - HMS Daring and HMS Dauntless.
Navy Days has a fine tradition, putting on a spectacle in Portsmouth since 1927.
The event now alternates between the naval bases of Plymouth and Portsmouth and comes two years after 2008's Meet Your Navy event attracted 40,000 people.
Portsmouth Naval Base Commander, Commodore Rob Thompson, said: 'Navy Days is an opportunity to show what the navy does and show the public that the quality of the service is second to none in terms of people and equipment.'
As well as the Type 45s, there will be the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Argus - an aviation training and casualty receiving ship with an onboard hospital, two Type 23 frigates, the minehunter HMS Cattistock and fisheries patrol vessel HMS Tyne.
Unfortunately, due to operational reasons, French ship FS Cormoran has had to pull out of the line-up.
But HMS Cumberland has joined the growing list of top attractions at Portsmouth Navy Days, from July 30 to August 1.
The Type 22 frigate is just one of four left in service and all are normally based in Plymouth.
She returned home from anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia in December 2009 and has since taken part in the major Exercise Joint Warrior off the coast of Scotland.
Captain Paul Lemkes, Deputy Naval Base Commander, said: 'We are delighted that HMS Cumberland is able to join us for Navy Days.
'It will provide a rare opportunity for people, particularly those in the local area, to visit a Type 22 frigate and explore her capabilities.'
Harbour displays include the Royal Navy Black Cats helicopter display team, a Royal Marines fast roping demonstration and the RN Historic Flight.
Arena shows include dramatic field gun displays and the Royal Marines Band, Portsmouth.
Visitors are encouraged to use the Portsmouth Park & Ride Service at Lakeside North Harbour in Portsmouth.
It will be operating for all three days and the first bus will depart Lakeside North Harbour at 9am and the last bus will depart from The Hard at 7pm.
The cost is 2.50 per car and up to seven passengers.
PROGRAMME OF EVENTS
Produced and published by The News, the Navy Days programme is a comprehensive guide to what you can see and do over the event's packed three days.
The 44-page programme, priced at 2, includes a map, fascinating articles and a helpful day by day guide to the attractions. It can be bought now from News offices and most retailers that sell the paper, apart from Tesco and Waitrose.
It can also be bought from the shop at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and the Tourist Information Centre outside the Dockyard from now up until and including Navy Days from July 30 to August 1.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Portsmouth
Saturday 04 February 2012
Today
Light snow
Temperature: 2 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North
