Portsmouth

The majority of the city of Portsmouth lies on Portsea Island, though it is separated from the mainland only by a roughly 30-m wide stretch of seawater, so is perhaps more accurately thought of as a peninsula. Historically, Portsmouth has long been an important naval port and builds on its rich heritage with memorials, museums, trails and the fascinating Historic Dockyard. It has 4 mi (6.4 km) of seafront, including pebbled beaches. It is a university city, home to the University of Portsmouth, and has a large multicultural student population.

Portsmouth has a population of 200,000 people and is the most densely populated city in the UK, outside of certain parts of London. The entire Portsmouth Urban Area is home to more than 442,000 people.

Visitor information:

Visit Portsmouth website

Climate:

Portsmouth has a mild oceanic climate, it sees more sunshine than much of the UK. Typical summer daytime maximums average around 22 °C (72 °F) and at night around 15 °C (59 °F). The temperatures can still exceed 24 °C (75 °F) and not go below 17 °C (63 °F) at night on particularly hot days. Daylight hours range from 5AM-9:15PM in the summer months, to 8AM-4PM in the winter months.

By train:

1 Portsmouth & Southsea station has National Rail trains run frequently from London Waterloo and take between 1 hr 30 min and 1 hr 40 min via Haslemere. Or about 2 hr 10 min via Winchester (you may arrive earlier by taking a later train via Haslemere than going via Winchester). A cheap day single is about £33. Other major services include Brighton (1 hr 40 min), Cardiff (3 hr 10 min) via Bath and Bristol; and Southampton (1 hour). There are also direct trains from Gatwick Airport (1 hr 20 min). Alight at Portsmouth & Southsea station for Portsmouth City Centre shopping, Portsmouth Guildhall and a short walk to the seafront.

Alight at 2 Portsmouth Harbour station for the Historic Dockyard, Gunwharf Quays, the Spinnaker Tower and ferries to the Isle of Wight.

Alight at 3 Fratton station for Fratton Park football stadium.

4 Hilsea station is in the northeast of the city. It serves the local industrial estates and most visitors would have no reason to alight here unless they are visiting Portsmouth Rugby Club. Some trains do not stop at this station.

When departing by train those unfamiliar with the stations can easily miss them even when only a few feet away. Portsmouth Harbour is behind the bus station at The Hard. Portsmouth & Southsea is easily found at the bottom of Commercial Road if you look out for the railway bridge just south of the building. Fratton can be found to the east of the road bridge at the bottom of Fratton Road and north of the roundabout between Victoria Road North and Goldsmith Avenue. The less frequented Hilsea Station is underneath the road bridge at Norway Road and Cosham station is on the Cosham High Street.

By car:

Portsmouth is easily accessible by car via the M275 the M27 and A27. From London, take the A3 or M3 south. As Portsmouth is an island city, routes in and out are limited, and so congestion can be a problem, especially during rush hour. The large majority of residential roads have a 20 mph (~32 km/h) speed limit.