Lively Lady

Lively Lady, the historic boat that Sir Alec Rose sailed single-handedly around the world, will be on display at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard this July. It's a proper piece of local history coming back to the city, and it's part of the P100 celebrations marking Portsmouth's centenary.

For those who don't know the story, Sir Alec Rose was a Southsea gardener who took the boat on a solo circumnavigation, and he's described as a 20th-century Portsmouth icon. Seeing the boat in the flesh gives you a real sense of what that voyage actually looked like, rather than just reading about it in a book. It's a family-friendly thing, and if you're into historic sailing, it's right up your street.

The boat will be moored as a living exhibit in Boathouse No 4 in the Heritage Quarter, so you can get close to it and see the details for yourself. There will be volunteers and followers on hand to show you around the boat and answer any questions you have, which is the best part — you can ask about the actual sailing and the life on board rather than just reading a plaque on the wall.

It's open across two weekends: Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 July, then again on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 July, from 10:00 to 16:30 each day. Entry is free, so you can just drop in whenever suits you best.