Our first day of included tours - Part 1 at the Portsmouth D-Day Museum

Our first full day in the hotel had us hit the ground running with a full day of included touring. Or running as best as you can with a cane, jet lag, time zone changes, and sore bodies in the windy chill that comes with visiting London in November. It's always a good idea to double check your tour times as they can often change from when you've booked them. Today's tour plans, called the Golden Lion Pub, Gunwharf Quays & the D-Day Museum, was listed as starting at 8AM and lasting 12 hours when we booked the included tour. According to the paper schedule we were given upon check-in, our Bus #1 tour time was 7:15AM to 5:45PM for a total of 10 and a half hours. The remaining buses were staggered with tour times starting at 7:30AM, 8:15AM, and 8:30AM with corresponding later return times. Viking did provide "included" access to the hotel buffet breakfast, held in the Park Corner Brasserie restaurant on site, arranging with the hotel to open breakfast 30 minutes early for us. Tour Director Dee did warn us that after those 30 minutes, everyone else staying at the hotel was allowed to come for breakfast (at their own cost) so it was best to show up early to avoid the line. Thankfully, Dee also saw the line getting long with just Viking people and started calling for Bus #1 people to skip the line.

After breakfast we boarded the bus and were on our way. Our Quiet Vox was needed for every tour even on the land portions but for the most part we were close enough when stopped to hear the guide's commentary directly. Our first stop of the day after a two hour drive was to the D-Day Museum in Portsmouth, England. The individual adult ticket rate costs £17.55 and £14.00 for Seniors aged 60+. Veterans of World War II get in for free while current serving members and other veterans get a reduced ticket price of £14.00. Our admission was included by Viking.

Our guide led us first onto the LCT (Landing Craft Tank) 7074 displayed outside the museum. It is the last surviving Landing Craft Tank used during D-Day to transport men and supplies across the English Channel. After the LCT 7074 was retired, it was turned into a nightclub but eventually fell into disrepair and sank. The National Museum of the Royal Navy worked to restore the vessel. 

The tank is under an overhang but still exposed to the wind and cold. There are steps leading up to the vessel on one side and an inclined ramp on the other.

The "head" onboard was a very primitive setup to do one's business just off the deck before getting back to the real business at hand.

The museum's official website describes how you can tour all over the LCT seeing officer's quarters, a galley, and then climb the ladder to the bridge. The path to walk on the deck portion is mostly flat with raised edges and rivets to walk carefully around. The website mentions that while there is no handicapped access to the upper parts of the tank, there is a video available to be watched. We were led up the ramp at the bow, given commentary as we walked along the open deck, and given the chance to see a few displays and signs on this open section. After hearing the entire history of this vessel standing out in the freezing wind, our group started walking toward the doors thinking we would be next heading inside to view the rest. The guide stopped us and insisted that those were just offices and we'd actually be heading into the museum itself next.

The main portion of the D-Day Museum inside is dedicated to the Overlord Embroidery display. The Overlord Embroidery was a project commissioned in 1968 by Lord Dulverton. The embroidery design was created by a young British artist named Sandra Lawrence. Sandra's colored paintings that match the size of the embroidery panels now hang in the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Lights in this area are kept low to preserve the historic work and flash photography is prohibited. The panels are numbered with an optional numbered audio guide and an explanation to read below each glass enclosed panel.

Our guide talked throughout the entire time leading us through the 34 panels explaining the progression of the story and how much work was put in to make sure that all of the details down to the buttons on the uniforms were correct. 

Once back out of the Overlord Embroidery section, you can pick up a bottle of Landfall Ale in the gift shop for £3.50. This beer, described as a classic ruby malty ale with happy overtones, was named after the nightclub that the LCT was turned into after the war. Purchases of the beer, also found in many other gift shops and venues in the area, go toward the upkeep and preservation of the tanker.

With our remaining free time, we toured the rest of the museum. There is also a cafe area to purchase drinks, food, or just take a minute to sit and rest. Some of the group chose to walk down by the waterfront. 

Most of the exhibits were only for viewing and reading but a few featured interactive options like rolling the dice to learn what role you might have had during the war.

While I didn't purchase any of the beer, I did make a contribution at the giftshop by purchasing this magnet showcasing the history of Betty White's jacket. Like many of the children in the area, she would ask the passing soldiers for badges or buttons off their uniforms as they marched through the town of Gosport. Betty's mother sewed the 89 badges and buttons she had collected onto a jacket. The jacket can be seen on display in the D-Day Museum.

Next up - our stops at Gunwharf Quays and the Golden Lion Pub.