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Famous 19th century sailing ship, built in Dumbarton in 1869, which was the fastest ship of her time and is the world's only surviving tea-clipper. Carefully restored after a disastrous fire, Cutty Sark has been raised about 10 feet (3+ metres) so that you can walk right underneath her copper-bottomed hull. On deck and below are fascinating displays and accounts of the ship's history and life on board.

Managed by Royal Museums Greenwich, who are also responsible for the National Maritime Museum, Queen's House and Royal Observatory.

HMS M.33 was built as a Royal Navy monitor in 1915 and is one of just three surviving Royal Navy ships from the First World War. She served at Gallipoli and Salonika, and in 1919 was sent to northern Russia to support the anti-Bolshevik forces. In the 1920s, she was renamed 'Minerva' and given a mine-laying role and during the Second World War was a fuelling hulk renamed 'Hulk C23'. She has been restored and as of 2017 was moored next to HMS Victory in Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard as a visitor attraction.

The Mary Rose was a Tudor warship. She sank, inexplicably, under the very eyes of King Henry VIII as he watched a battle unfold between the English and French navies just outside Portsmouth Harbour on 19 July 1545. Only 35 out of the 500 people on board survived. For years, Mary Rose lay on her side, the exposed portion rotting away. In 1982, her remains were raised from the seabed - an astonishing achievement. The wreck was also like a Tudor time capsule, providing an insight into so many aspects of life 5 centuries ago. £39 million has been spent conserving and presenting Mary Rose and she is now stunningly displayed in a purpose-built exhibition building alongside the artefacts, and some of the human remains, found with her.

The illustration is from 'The Embarkation of Henry VIII at Dover' and shows vessels similar to the Mary Rose.

The National Maritime Museum is allegedly the world’s largest maritime museum with a collection that includes artwork, maps and charts, models, memorabilia and thousands of other objects - such as an impressive number of figureheads and items relating to Horatio Nelson and Captain Cook. The museum opened in 1937 and is part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site.

Portsmouth was for generations the most heavily defended town in England. The city, unsurprisingly, developed round its port and naval facilities. Whilst the original harbour and military base was located around Portchester, where the Romans built a fort, by the medieval period the major settlement was at the harbour mouth, the area now known as ‘old Portsmouth’. Here, and at various points eastward along the seafront, are the scattered remains of fortifications, some of which were in use from the 14th century as defence against French attacks, right through the Tudor period, when Henry VIII built Southsea Castle, to the Second World War. Also along the sea front are many memorials that give hints of Portsmouth’s maritime heritage. There is free access to many of these fortifications, possibly best starting off near Portsmouth’s Broad Street, where the 15th century Round and Square Towers are situated. Under parts of the walls, where ammunition was once stored, are cafes and pop-up galleries. There are fine views of the harbour and sea traffic from the walls here - and the Round Tower is the place for front-row views of major ships entering or leaving port.