Portchester Castle and Bosham

Portchester Castle has been descibed as "a Medieval Castle within a Roman Fort". It was originally built by the Romans as one of the "Forts of the Saxon Shore" in the late 3rd century to defend against Saxon pirates. The first picture shows the castle as viewed from our Portsmouth Harbour tour (it became an important port due to its location at the head of the harbour) and the second shows Helen and part of the Roman Walls (which are still almost completely intact). Portchester was developed as a castle in the 13th century, with a keep and an Inner Bailey (courtyard) in one corner, and used as a prison in the 17th and 19rh centuries, during the Anglo Dutch war and the Spanish Succession, respectively. The rest of the enclosure now has a small, local church and lots of open space within the walls.

We travel on to Chichester in West Sussex via Bosham, a beautiful coastal village on an inlet which forms part of the Chichester Harbour area. We see the Holy Trinity Church and walk round the small harbour - stunning.Read more