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Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Portsea

Companionship carePortsmouth

Days out in Portsmouth for an older parent

Eight places in Portsmouth that make a good day out for an older parent, from Portsmouth Historic Dockyard to Portsdown Hill. For each one: what its own access information confirms, what it costs, how long to allow, and the carers nearby who drive and could take them.

Researched by PrimeCarers from each place’s own website and access information  ·  Updated September 2026

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Photo: The wub, CC BY-SA 4.0

Eight days out across five towns

The best places to take an older parent in Portsmouth

Five of them are free to visit or to walk around. The access information for one describes a step-free route, and four confirm an accessible toilet. Where a place does not publish its access, we say so.

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Portsea

Photo: The wub, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Museum · Portsea

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard holds HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar, the Victorian warship HMS Warrior and the Mary Rose Museum, which displays the Tudor warship and thousands of objects found with her. The Royal Navy museum galleries and harbour tours are included in the same ticket.

The Royal Navy Museum galleries and the Mary Rose Museum are fully accessible by wheelchair with lifts and toilets, and HMS Victory has one accessible deck with a virtual tour of the rest.

Time to allow
A full day
Cost
Paid entry

What their access information confirms

  • Partly step-free
  • Accessible toilet
  • Wheelchairs to borrow
  • Café

Their websiteAccess information

Carers who drive, based near Portsea

Spinnaker Tower, Gunwharf

Photo: Rob Faulkner from Leeds, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Day out · Gunwharf

Spinnaker Tower

The Spinnaker Tower is a 170-metre viewing tower on Portsmouth Harbour, with a glass floor on its main deck and views up to 23 miles over the Solent and the Isle of Wight. There is a café at the base.

A lift reaches the View Deck at 100 metres, there are accessible toilets and parking near the entrance, but only one wheelchair user can be in the tower at a time, so ring ahead.

Time to allow
An hour or two
Cost
Paid entry

What their access information confirms

  • Accessible toilet
  • Blue Badge parking
  • Café

Their websiteAccess information

Carers who drive, based near Gunwharf

Gunwharf Quays, Gunwharf

Photo: Tigerbww, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Day out · Gunwharf

Gunwharf Quays

Gunwharf Quays is a waterfront shopping and dining centre on the old naval yard beside Portsmouth Harbour, with outlet shops, restaurants and cafés looking over the water. It sits at the foot of the Spinnaker Tower and close to the ferries.

Manual and electric wheelchairs and mobility scooters can be borrowed or hired, the car park has Blue Badge spaces and lifts, and there are adapted toilets on the waterfront.

Time to allow
Half a day
Cost
Free

What their access information confirms

  • Step-free route
  • Accessible toilet
  • Wheelchairs to borrow
  • Blue Badge parking
  • Café

Their websiteAccess information

Carers who drive, based near Gunwharf

The D-Day Story, Southsea

Photo: Wintonian, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Museum · Southsea

The D-Day Story

The D-Day Story on Southsea seafront tells the story of the 1944 Normandy landings through personal accounts, film and the 83-metre Overlord Embroidery. Outside is LCT 7074, the last surviving tank landing ship from D-Day.

Blue Badge holders park free in the car park next door, which has a Changing Places toilet, there is an accessible toilet in the museum, and a carer goes in free.

Time to allow
Half a day
Cost
Paid entry, carers free

What their access information confirms

  • Partly step-free
  • Accessible toilet
  • Blue Badge parking
  • Café

Their websiteAccess information

Carers who drive, based near Southsea

Southsea Seafront and Millennium Promenade, Southsea

Photo: ITookSomePhotos, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Coast · Southsea

Southsea Seafront and Millennium Promenade

Southsea seafront runs for miles along the Solent, with shingle beaches, Southsea Common, Canoe Lake and historic forts. The Millennium Promenade links the Historic Dockyard with Southsea Castle, with views of passing ships and the Isle of Wight.

The promenade gives a long, open route with plenty of places to stop, and the carer can choose a short stretch near a car park and café.

Time to allow
An hour or two
Cost
Free

Access

Their website does not set out its access in detail, so ring ahead about parking, paths and toilets.

Their website

Carers who drive, based near Southsea

Southsea Rock Garden, Southsea

Photo: Steve Daniels, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Garden · Southsea

Southsea Rock Garden

Southsea Rock Garden is a sheltered 1920s garden on the seafront, landscaped by hand with shrubs, alpines, borders, two ponds and a fountain. It is a quiet spot away from the open common.

Being small and sheltered, it suits a short sit among the plants, and it sits right on the seafront so it combines easily with a drive along the front.

Time to allow
An hour or two
Cost
Free

Access

Their website does not set out its access in detail, so ring ahead about parking, paths and toilets.

Their website

Carers who drive, based near Southsea

Victoria Park, Landport

Photo: Glyn Baker, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Park · Landport

Victoria Park

Victoria Park, opened in 1878, is a formal Victorian park in the centre of Portsmouth near the Guildhall, with an original fountain and nine naval memorials. It is a quiet green space close to the city centre shops.

It is small and central, so a short loop with a sit by the fountain can be combined with shopping or lunch in the city centre.

Time to allow
An hour or two
Cost
Free

Access

Their website does not set out its access in detail, so ring ahead about parking, paths and toilets.

Their website

Carers who drive, based near Landport

Portsdown Hill, Cosham

Photo: Tim Sheerman-Chase, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Nature reserve · Cosham

Portsdown Hill

Portsdown Hill is a chalk ridge on the northern edge of Portsmouth, much of it protected for its wildflower grassland. From the top there are wide views over the city, the harbour and the Solent to the Isle of Wight.

The views can be enjoyed from the roadside parking along the ridge, so this works as a short drive-and-look outing without a long walk.

Time to allow
An hour or two
Cost
Free

Access

Their website does not set out its access in detail, so ring ahead about parking, paths and toilets.

Their website

Carers who drive, based near Cosham

Regular groups and events in Portsmouth

Something to go back to every week or every year, from our research into what older people enjoy doing in Portsmouth.

  • Gardening · SouthseaSouthsea Green community gardenA volunteer run community garden in Southsea with open sessions where people help with planting, watering and tidying. A carer can go along too, so an older gardener can do as much or as little sowing and potting as they feel up to.Details
  • Music · PortsmouthPortsmouth Choral UnionA long established city choir that rehearses regularly and performs choral works locally, and it also runs come and sing days. A carer can provide transport to rehearsals or simply take someone to a concert if singing is no longer practical.Details
  • Reading · PortsmouthPortsmouth Libraries reading groupsThe city library service runs reading groups that meet regularly and supply sets of books to members. A carer can collect the monthly title, read aloud at home if eyesight is poor and provide transport to the meeting.Details
  • Sports · PortsmouthMountbatten Walking Football ClubA walking football club listed with the Walking Football Association, playing the slower no running version of the game for older players. A carer can drive someone to sessions, carry kit and wait nearby, which makes regular attendance realistic.Details
  • Volunteering · PortsmouthVolunteering at Portsmouth Historic DockyardThe dockyard advertises volunteer roles across its ships and museums, including visitor welcome and guiding work that suits people with local knowledge. A carer can help with the application, then provide transport and company on shift days.Details
  • Volunteering · PortsmouthPortsmouth Historic Quarter volunteeringA volunteering listing for the organisation that looks after historic buildings and sites in Old Portsmouth, with roles including visitor stewarding. A carer can go through the available roles and choose something with short, seated duties.Details

Hobbies and carers who share them in Portsmouth

At a glance

The eight places side by side

What each place’s own access information confirms. “Ask” means it does not say, not that it is missing.

PlaceTimeCostStep-freeToiletCafé
Portsmouth Historic DockyardPortseaa full dayPaid entryPartlyYesYes
Spinnaker TowerGunwharfan hour or twoPaid entryAskYesYes
Gunwharf QuaysGunwharfhalf a dayFreeYesYesYes
The D-Day StorySouthseahalf a dayPaid entryPartlyYesYes
Southsea Seafront and Millennium PromenadeSouthseaan hour or twoFreeAskAskAsk
Southsea Rock GardenSouthseaan hour or twoFreeAskAskAsk
Victoria ParkLandportan hour or twoFreeAskAskAsk
Portsdown HillCoshaman hour or twoFreeAskAskAsk

Where the places are in Portsmouth

The county’s boundary, numbered as on this page, with the main towns for reference.

Southsea12345678
  1. 1Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Portsea
  2. 2Spinnaker Tower, Gunwharf
  3. 3Gunwharf Quays, Gunwharf
  4. 4The D-Day Story, Southsea
  5. 5Southsea Seafront and Millennium Promenade, Southsea
  6. 6Southsea Rock Garden, Southsea
  7. 7Victoria Park, Landport
  8. 8Portsdown Hill, Cosham

What it costs

What a day out with a carer costs in Portsmouth

Carers in Portsmouth charge £19 to £21 an hour through PrimeCarers, typically £19, with our fee included. A four-hour outing is about £76 for the carer’s time. Entry, food and parking are extra, and travel costs are only payable if you agree them with the carer in advance, in writing. The cost of home care in Portsmouth has the full figures.

Photographs on this page are from Wikimedia Commons, credited under each one.

Questions

Questions families ask about days out in Portsmouth

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in Portsea, Spinnaker Tower in Gunwharf, Gunwharf Quays in Gunwharf, The D-Day Story in Southsea, Southsea Seafront and Millennium Promenade in Southsea, Southsea Rock Garden in Southsea, Victoria Park in Landport and Portsdown Hill in Cosham. Each has its own section on this page with what its access information confirms, the cost and how long to allow.

The access information for Gunwharf Quays describes a step-free route. Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Spinnaker Tower, Gunwharf Quays and The D-Day Story have an accessible toilet. Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and Gunwharf Quays lend wheelchairs. Access changes, so ring ahead about anything your parent depends on.

Gunwharf Quays, Southsea Seafront and Millennium Promenade, Southsea Rock Garden, Victoria Park and Portsdown Hill. Parking is often charged even where entry is free.

Yes. A companion carer can drive your parent there, walk at their pace, help with the toilet and meals, and bring them home. 25 of the carers with a rate near Portsmouth drive. Visits are booked by the hour, typically £19 an hour here with our fee included. Companionship care in Portsmouth shows who is available.

Often. Many attractions let a carer or companion in free, or at a reduced price, with a disabled visitor, and some ask for proof such as a letter or a benefit award. It varies, so check each place’s access or prices page before you go.

Where the nearest carers live

From the profiles of the carers based within about 45 minutes of Portsmouth

Where the nearest carers live. A carer close to home can manage a longer day out.

Companionship care in the counties around Portsmouth

Days out in the areas around Portsmouth

Find a carer who could take them out in Portsmouth

See carers near Portsmouth who drive, with their photos, interests, rates and reviews. Talking to them is free and nothing is booked until you say so.

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