Portsmouth Historic Dockyard Webcam – Harbour from Warrior

The Portsmouth Historic Dockyard Webcam is mounted on the mizzen mast of HMS Warrior, the Victorian ironclad afloat at the dockyard, and it looks out over Portsmouth Harbour rather than at the museum ships around it. The camera works through a tour of preset views, typically repeating every nine minutes or so: the passenger ferry pontoons below the railway station, the red-brick waterfront and yacht masts of Gosport, the old houses at the tip of Old Portsmouth, and the narrow harbour entrance with the Solent and the hills of the Isle of Wight behind it. Between those wide shots the lens drops to Warrior’s own deck and to a grey launch tied up at the pontoon below. A small caption names each view, beside a compass showing which way the camera points.

About Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is the part of HM Naval Base Portsmouth that is open to the public, run by Royal Navy Museums, an umbrella body for five charities. Portsmouth itself sits mostly on Portsea Island, which makes it the only island city in the United Kingdom. Its historic ships include HMS Victory, Nelson’s flagship at Trafalgar, kept in dry dock since 1922; the Tudor warship Mary Rose, raised in 1982 and shown in her own museum since May 2013; HMS M33, a First World War monitor opened to visitors on 7 August 2015; and Warrior, the ship carrying this camera.

Warrior was launched on 29 December 1860 at the Thames Ironworks yard at Blackwall in London and commissioned on 1 August 1861. She and her sister ship Black Prince were Britain’s answer to France’s wooden-hulled ironclad Gloire of 1859, and they were the first armour-plated warships built with iron hulls. Her armour belt was 114 millimeters (4.5 inches) of wrought iron backed by 457 millimeters (18 inches) of teak. She is 128 meters (420 feet) long and could make about 14 knots (26 km/h / 16 mph) under steam.

Her front-line career ran from 1861 to 1883 without a shot fired at an enemy. Renamed Vernon III in 1904, she spent 1929 to 1979 as a floating fuel hulk at Llanion Cove near Pembroke Dock, refuelling around 5,000 ships, and in 1942 became Oil Fuel Hulk C77. After restoration in Hartlepool from 1979, she arrived in Portsmouth on 16 June 1987 and opened as a museum ship on 27 July that year. Her restored rigging is the reason ropes and shrouds cross so many of the camera’s views.

Weather and Climate in Portsmouth

Southsea, at the southern end of Portsea Island, has some of the mildest winters in the United Kingdom and more sunshine than the country around it. At the Southsea station, January averages a high of 9.6 C (49 F) and a low of 5.1 C (41 F), and April warms to 13.4 C (56 F) by day. Much of the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard Webcam’s tour points south toward the Solent, so in winter the low midday sun can lay a bright glare across the harbour entrance.

July is the warmest month, with average highs of 21.8 C (71 F) and lows of 15.0 C (59 F), and October still reaches 15.8 C (60 F) by day. Rainfall totals about 647 millimeters (25.5 inches) a year, with roughly 1,919 hours of sunshine. On a fine weekend dozens of yachts can be counted in the Solent behind the harbour entrance. The stream also shows a live AccuWeather temperature reading in its top corner.

Things to Do Near Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

Inside the dockyard, Warrior herself is open to visitors as a museum ship, HMS Victory stands in her dry dock a short walk inland, and the Mary Rose Museum shows the Tudor warship salvaged in 1982. HMS M33 is the First World War monitor opened to visitors in 2015, and Boathouse 4 houses the International Boatbuilding Training College.

Outside the dockyard gates, the Spinnaker Tower rises 170 meters (560 feet) over Gunwharf Quays, where construction began in 2003. In Old Portsmouth, the Round Tower was built in 1418 to defend the harbour entrance, and the Square Tower was raised in 1494 under Henry VII. The Gosport Ferry crosses the harbour from the Portsmouth side in about four minutes, and from Southsea the world’s only regular hovercraft service runs across the Solent to Ryde on the Isle of Wight.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

More cameras around the Solent and along the south coast of England:

• Port of Southampton Webcam
• Isle of Wight Webcam
• Dartmouth Harbour Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Portsmouth Historic Dockyard located?

The dockyard is on Portsea Island in Portsmouth, on the south coast of England, inside HM Naval Base Portsmouth on the eastern shore of Portsmouth Harbour. Gosport lies directly across the harbour, a four-minute ferry ride away, and the Isle of Wight is across the Solent to the south.

What can you see on the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard Webcam?

The camera tours a set of preset views from HMS Warrior’s mizzen mast: the ferry pontoons and fast catamarans below Portsmouth Harbour railway station, the Gosport shore with its marinas and red-brick buildings, the houses and pubs at the tip of Old Portsmouth, the harbour entrance with the Solent and the Isle of Wight beyond, and close views down onto Warrior’s own deck and the quay beside her.

Can you see HMS Victory on the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard Webcam?

No. HMS Victory sits in dry dock among the dockyard buildings and is not part of the tour. The views point mostly south and west over the harbour, toward Gosport, the ferries and the harbour entrance, rather than north to the naval base’s warship berths, although naval ships can appear when they pass through the harbour entrance.

Which ferries can you see from the HMS Warrior webcam?

The Portsmouth Ferries view looks down on the pontoons where passenger boats load, including the Gosport Ferry, which crosses the harbour in about four minutes. Large car ferries also appear in the harbour entrance view. Longer routes use Portsmouth International Port, the second busiest ferry port in the United Kingdom after Dover, with around three million passengers a year.

Is HMS Warrior still floating?

Yes. Warrior is afloat at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, where she has been berthed since arriving from her restoration in Hartlepool on 16 June 1987. She opened to the public as a museum ship on 27 July 1987.

Did HMS Warrior ever see action?

No. Warrior served in commission from 1861 to 1883 without ever firing on an enemy. When new she was faster, better armoured and harder to hit than any rival warship.

Is the HMS Warrior webcam on at night?

Yes. Royal Navy Museums streams the camera 24 hours a day, so the player stays live overnight, though the harbour entrance, Gosport and the Isle of Wight show far more detail in daylight.

What is the weather like in Portsmouth?

Portsmouth has a mild maritime climate, with January highs around 9.6 C (49 F), July highs around 21.8 C (71 F) and about 647 millimeters (25.5 inches) of rain a year.

Source: Royal Navy Museums