WW2 Tank blows up Bungalow at Fort Nelson

[geoff501]

Probably von Poop, he likes tanks...

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Hampshire | WWII gun 'blows up' fort bungalow

[von Poop]

Nice.
I wish it was... I know Fort nelson well, and that Sexton.
Very good news that the Fort's being tarted up, fine collection there that deserves a tidier presentation. Wonder if it'll stay free.

Heritage Lottery Fund gives £2 million to redevelop Fort Nelson | Royal Armouries
Capital Projects | Royal Armouries

The main projects included in the refurbishment comprise:

A new, 355sq m, free visitor centre and facilities for Fort Nelson and Portsdown Hill outside the walls of the Fort, containing an information and welcome centre, larger shop and new café for use by visitors and passing traffic, cyclists and walkers.
A dramatic new 450 sq m entrance gallery – the Orienteur – displaying the most dramatic and iconic cannon in the collection including Saddam Hussein’s infamous Supergun.
A state-of-the-art education centre and facilities, including a new ‘classroom of the future’ and dedicated entrance.
Re-siting the main visitor entrance so that visitors cross a dramatic original drawbridge to enter the fort and provision of a lift between both levels of the Fort to greatly enhance access for all.
New parking facilities next to the site, providing easy access for the first time to the famous Nelson Monument.

£3.5 million's quite a spend, supergun display looks promising.

[Drew5233]

That was staged right? That never REALLY fired ?

I noticed this on another link too...I wish I had a spare £750,000 - You could have some wild parties there !

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Napoleonic sea fort goes on sale

[von Poop]

I once attended a party on that very Palmerston folly in the Solent- it is indeed a fine location.
Looks like it's already sold for c.£1,000,000:
Spitbank Sold Ahead Of Auction - Isle of Wight News: Island Pulse:
Kind of a shame it never seems to have quite taken off as a tourist spot.

I remember No Man's Land fort being flogged a few times over the years?, same location/style, but rather more luxurious accommodation. Think they threw in a Lynx or some other military Helicopter when it was first done up:
BBC NEWS | UK | England | West Midlands | 'Bargain' sale of £14m Victorian seafort

[Drew5233]

I do believe a must have sailed past them on quite a few occasions when my father kept sending me of on seamanship training things (Hoping I'd join the RN) onboard a captured French frigate called the Foudroyant? Sleeping in hamocks is not comfortable !

[von Poop]

Foudroyant! I managed to avoid that mouldering hulk, though many friends did not.
Wonder if she's still with us?

Looking on the web it seems she's been restored and renamed:
HMS Foudroyant and HMS Trincomalee | Online Information Bank | Research Collections | Royal Naval Museum at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

HMS Trincomalee 1817 - The Classic British Frigate

Hmmm, getting a bit off track here - I'll have to dig out some photos of Fort Nelson.

[Drew5233]

Here she is:


Memories of sleeping in hamocks on the mess deck, scrubbing the decks, eating crap that was 200 years old off a wooden square plate (3 square meals a day) and daily sailing across to IOW and back. I remember they were still looking at raising the Mary Rose back then too.

And my dad wonders why I never joined the RN

[urqh]

Spent many an idle moment fishing off the company yacht pretending to be a sailor round there...this is bugging me now...either this country is smaller than what I thought or all the members of ww2 talk are all probably in the same places without realising it.... im the guy with the walking stick if anyone ever sees me...

[James Daly]

I'm half a mile from Fort Nelson, I can see it from my bedroom window

About time it had some work done on it, its a great site with some fascinating collections. Hopefully the new visitor centre will improve the whole visitor experience and give more room for displays. The current car-park is pretty poor too, you have to cross a main road to get to the museum.