It Is Raining And You Have One Day Ashore

Reorder, Do Not Cancel

Most English rain arrives in bands lasting one to three hours rather than a full day, so the practical response is to move the indoor items into the wet window and keep the outdoor items for the gaps. A private car makes this possible because the plan is not printed on a coach schedule. We check the hourly forecast on the morning of the call and reshape the day before you disembark. The other advantage is shelter between stops: you are never standing in the rain waiting for a coach, and wet coats go in the boot rather than on your lap. In practice a rearranged wet day often produces better photographs, because the crowds drop and the light on stone buildings improves.

The Indoor List

Ranked by how well they fill a wet day. Bath: the Roman Baths, the Abbey, the Assembly Rooms and covered shopping, plus a Georgian tea room, easily four hours indoors. Winchester: the cathedral, the Great Hall and the covered market at 20 minutes from the port. Salisbury: cathedral, chapter house and Magna Carta. Portsmouth: the Historic Dockyard is largely indoors and Gunwharf Quays outlet shopping is covered. Southampton itself: the SeaCity Museum tells the Titanic story through the crew who came from this city, and the Tudor House museum is nearby. Windsor Castle State Apartments are indoors but the approach and queue are not, so it is a poor choice in heavy rain.