Portsmouth Historic Dockyard: Here's how city residents can get cheap entry to The Mary Rose, HMS Victory and more

Residents with Portsmouth and Southampton postcodes can now receive a saving of up to £30 on an Ultimate Explorer family ticket to the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

The leading visitors attraction includes famous historic ships such as the Mary Rose, HMS Victory and the Royal Navy Submarine Museum.

Visitors can access the Royal Navy Submarine Museum and Explosion Museum of Naval Firepower in Gosport via a water bus, meaning you can access 12 attractions for one ticket.

The Historic Dockyard, which welcomes 850,000 visitors per year, is now a part of the new Live Local, Explore Local residents' scheme.

The scheme, which hopes to encourage residents to explore their hometowns, launched on November 15 this year.

There have been many new additions to the dockyard in the last 18 months which include the launch of a new £1m gallery named HMS Victory: The Nation’s Flagship.

Visitors can explore and walk underneath the 256-year-old flagship and get a view of the ship that has only ever been seen by Admiral Nelson and a handful of shipwrights.

This summer saw the launch of 1545 When Their World Ended at the Mary Rose which has captured the drama of the final minutes of Henry VIII’s world famous warship, which was dramatically raised from the Solent nearly 40 years ago.

1545 allows visitors to witness the battle of the Solent as they relive the final breath-taking moments on board the Mary Rose.

The Night Hunters: The Royal Navy’s Costal Forces at War has also recently opened in the Explosion Museum and retells the high-octane story of a lesser-known navy division of largely young men who undertook deadly operations to defend the English Channel and the North Sea.

Local residents will need to provide proof of their address in order to receive the discount at the Historic Dockyard visitor centre or at Gosport’s Royal Navy Submarine Museum or Explosion Museum of Naval Firepower.

They will be able to get £15 off Individual Explorer tickets and up to £30 off an Ultimate Explorer family ticket (up to two adults and three children) with valid proof of address.

This discount offer will be available until March 31, 2022 and tickets are not available online.

In a joint statement, Dominic Jones of The Mary Rose Museum and Matthew Sheldon of the National Museum of the Royal Navy said: ‘We are encouraging all local residents to become ambassadors for what’s on their doorstep.

‘Many of our local community still work and volunteer in our amazing museums, ships and attractions and given it’s been a tough 18 months it has been brilliant to see the support of so many visitors coming through our gates.

‘However, we are about to face a tough winter period and really do need as many people to visit and support our incredible attractions with this fantastic offer.’

The Ultimate Explorer ticket includes entry to all 11 attractions at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and Gosport for 12 months.

For more details, and terms and conditions, visit the Historic Dockyard website.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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