What's on: The Mary Rose unveils autumn fun

She’s 500 years old and casts light on a fascinating era of history.

Now The Mary Rose is preparing to cement her place as Portsmouth’s leading visitor attraction, after unveiling an autumn schedule that is expected to keep the crowds coming.

King Henry VIII’s famous warship is gearing up for a busy autumn season, as unpredictable seasonal weather, school holidays and families seeking a fun day out with an educational edge, combine to draw crowds to the award-winning attraction.

What’s on

Many visitors are expected to make a special visit to The Mary Rose to catch a chance to take part in a unique LEGO® brick challenge.

Over recent months, visitors have been helping to create a LEGO brick mosaic of Portsmouth as it was in July 1545.

The mosaic will eventually span 12m wide – one of the largest mosaics of its kind in the UK – and will recreate the colourful Cowdray engraving that shows Tudor Portsmouth on the day the Mary Rose sank.

Anyone can take part in the challenge during their visit to the attraction – plus there’s the chance to make your own LEGO brick mini-model to take home.

Meanwhile the attraction’s other half-term event, “Totally Tudor: Men of War”, offers engaging craft events and fun talks and demonstrations, all geared towards inspiring curious young minds.

Visitors of all ages can enjoy specialist talks by experts on subjects from the weapons of the Mary Rose to the journey of Hatch, the ship’s dog. Younger visitors can make their own heraldic shields and archers’ wrist guards, and on the weekend of 27 and 28 October they can even see archery in action with the Purbrook Bowmen!

Further ahead, The Mary Rose is gearing up for a busy festive season, with three weekends this December set aside for special Tudor-themed Christmas events.

Visitors will have the chance to meet characters from Henry’s court, learn to dance like a Tudor lord and lady, and discover Tudor music and food.

Lots to see

As well as these extra events, The Mary Rose is packed with interactive exhibitions and fascinating information about the ship and life during the Tudor period.

Around 19,000 objects have been retrieved from the vessel, including incredibly well-preserved items like bowls, rosary beads, carpenters’ tools and even equipment used by the ship’s surgeon.

And, of course, there’s the chance to see the hull of the famous vessel up close, brought to life through amazing audio-visual projections.

Plan a visit

The Mary Rose is listed as TripAdvisor’s top Portsmouth visitor attraction, with around 360,000 visitors a year.

This autumn, visitors can take advantage of The Mary Rose discount ticket offer – there’s 20 per cent off the cost of tickets when booked online.

There are also special family ticket prices, student and concession discounts to ensure visitors get the best value.

To book tickets and find out more about The Mary Rose, click here.