HMS Caroline

Are you and your partner ever on two completely different pages? Matthew and I had one day over the Twelfth holidays when we were both off, so we wanted to get away and do something.  However, we had two completely different days planned I had in mind a nice nature walk with pretty views and a picnic, Matthew on the other hand had a war ship in mind. To be honest, I wasn't thrilled. You see my history teacher taught us the answers to exams and rarely any actual content, so I'm no history buff like Matthew is, but I went along with it. We headed to Belfast to see HMS Caroline. 

HMS Caroline is the only remaining ship from the war of Jutland and it is docked close to home, in Belfast. For a long time it sat rotting away and was apparently going to be sent to scrap. Thankfully though, after a lot of hard graft and labour, it has been fully restored to its former glory. 

You can pre-book tickets here.  The price is pretty much the same for all of these types of excursions. Before boarding you will receive a map and a very easy to use audio set as the tour is self guided, allowing you to go at your own pace. 

On board you can see a dramatic film showing the drama from the battle (this may be a little loud for young children), visit the various rooms that have been exceptionally recreated, try your hand at using a first World War signal lamp and other means of communication, and grab a bite to eat at the Mess Cafe just to name a few things.

The ship has a lift making it accessible for wheelchair users and those with prams. For those of you with children, HMS Caroline is designed to appeal to a variety of audiences and it certainly caters for children with an activity room with crafts and balloon modelling and a treasure hunt throughout the ship.  it took me a very long time to catch on that the cuddly toys were not left behind by children.

The detail on the ship is absolutely phenomenal!  The fake food, the noises in the kitchens, the hand written letters, the original toilets.  It really felt as though you were on board ready to leave the harbour.  Below are some pictures I took throughout the day, but I don't want to spoil it for you encase you go yourself, so there's only a few.   

Although I was kinda dreading this day out, I actually really enjoyed myself.  I walked around the ship totally in awe, to think that men went into a horrid battle on this thing.  There were probably men who died on board.  I found myself trying to imagine what it would have been like - totally unimaginable.  I thought about the memories, the friendships, the heartaches, the parties, the laughs and the tears that would have taken place right where I was standing and it got me quite emotional.  I would definitely recommend visiting HMS Caroline, to honour her and give her the respect and thanks that she deserves.  She survived a war for crying out loud!

K xx

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*Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post.  All opinions expressed in this post are my own.