HMS Belfast
If you see a photograph of Tower Bridge in London, this old Second World War boat is usually in the scene. I had a personal reason for visiting this museum ship, My grandfather served on her, and was injured when she struck a mine in 1939. This boat took part in some important actions, such as the Artic convoys, the sinking of the Scharnhorst, D Day and the Korean war. The only downside to the visit was that the tickets were quite expensive. But the visit was much better than I expected. Warships have lots of ladders to climb between the different levels, and surprisingly in this nannying "elf and safety" world, the visit involves climbing a lot of steep ladders, including 103 steps down to the engine room.
I managed to piece together a bit of my grandfathers wartime service. I knew he served on ill fated HMS Hood. One of the guides told me he was most probably transferred to the Hood along with 300 other members of crew after she struck the mine and needed extensive repairs. He was transferred to a ship in the Mediterranean, before the Hood was sunk by the Bismark in 1941 with just 3 out of the 1418 crew surviving.
You really need at least two or three hours to visit the ship, to see all the various sections of the ship, and take advantage of the audio visual explanations.
Here are some pictures. The Z14-30 was the only lens I needed for the interior shots
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