Portsmouth

 We took the bus into Portsmouth, first time for us, we got off at canoe lake, a popular place near the beach, not too busy today, it will be full in the coming weeks.

The main pier, with a funfair at the end, our beaches are all shingle, there are loads of work happening to ensure the beach stays looking this good. Further along the seafront is closed for improvement works.

The very end of the pier was open, normally a spot for fishermen, it was empty and very scary walking over the grids, looking down at the sea, I walked around the edge, gripping the rails, probably will never do it again.

We walked from Southsea into old Portsmouth, stopping for a lovely fish and chip lunch. I adore this area, everything here is just so interesting, this is the narrow stretch of the water, often you see loads of people here when the big vessels come and go from the naval base. Gosport is across the water.

The working part of the shore, I have memories of walking here at 1am on a Midnight charity walk for a local hospice, many years ago, it's much nicer in the daylight and interesting.

Spinnaker tower from a different angle, we are across the water in Old Portsmouth. 

View from the lawns, Southsea has fantastic open spaces, we watched the gardens being weeded, people painting and other maintenance works, getting ready for the busy period. 

Always loads of vessels on the water, we saw Isle of Wright ferry, fast-cat and hovercraft, the huge continental ferry going in to dock, Gosport ferry making the short journey across the water.

We have not seen this before, decided not to got a on this time, maybe somewhere to bring Will.

We had a fantastic day, using our bus passes for the free journey, it was always our plan for a long walk, loads of chatting,  seeing how things has changed. We had lunch and later coffee and cake for our treats, at no point was it hard work, there are many steps in Old Portsmouth, but everywhere was enjoyed at a leisurely pace. 

The shopping centre, Gunwharf Quays is next to the bus station, we stopped for our coffee, popped into M&S outlet, purchased nothing, watched the Royal Marine band play and march around the shoppers. After 12,000 steps we were ready to catch the express bus home, no rain, the sky darkened a couple of times, but the weather gods were kind to us.

This is something we promise our selves we would do more of, with express busses to Portsmouth and Southampton, and the bus lanes through the cities, it's a nicer way to travel, and our bus passes make the journeys free. I hope to take hubby to the older parts of Southampton, along the walls there.