Portsmouth Naval Odyssey: Legends, Landmarks, and Legacy

Explore Portsmouth at your own pace

Under the vaulted shadows of Portsmouth Cathedral and amid the ghostly creak of ancient timbers, Portsmouth's secrets call out from every cobbled street. This self-guided audio tour plunges deep into the heart of the city, unlocking tales and tucked-away corners that even locals overlook.

Why did a hidden feud aboard HMS Warrior nearly spark disaster? Which forbidden relic still lingers in the halls beside the Mary Rose? And who vanished without a trace after dark in Old Portsmouth one bitter winter night?

Move through layers of history as cathedral bells echo over salt-laced air and ships loom from swirling mists. Discover power struggles, whispered scandals, triumphant returns, and mysteries lost to the tide. Each step redraws your map of this storied city.

Photo: Johannes Heel, Unsplash

Tour details

• Duration: 1 hour 33 minutes, entirely at your own pace
• Distance: around 4.3 km (2.7 miles)
• Stops: 14 landmarks, including HMS M33, HMS Victory, National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth
• Audio: up to 35 minutes of narration
• Starts at: HMS M33

Map data by Mapbox and OpenStreetMap contributors

How it works

• Book here and a redemption code arrives by email within minutes.
• Download the free AudaTours app on your phone and enter the code.
• Download the tour once and the whole thing works offline.
• Walk to the first stop and press play. The audio for each landmark starts automatically as you approach it, so your phone can stay in your pocket.

There is no fixed date and no start time. The date you pick at checkout does not matter, and the tour stays on your phone permanently, so you can use it whenever you next visit and walk it again as often as you like.

What is included

• Professionally narrated audio that plays automatically at each stop
• An interactive map showing the walking route between landmarks
• Full offline access once downloaded, so you need no data or signal
• Freedom to start, pause and resume whenever you like
• Lifetime access - your code never expires

Where you will stop

• HMS M33
• HMS Victory
• National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth
• St Ann's Church, HMNB Portsmouth
• Royal Naval Academy
• Mary Rose
• HMS Warrior
• Gunwharf Quays
• Spinnaker Tower
• HMS Vernon
• East Side Plaza Portsmouth
• Portsmouth Cathedral
• Domus Dei
• Clarence Pier

Image: AudaTours

What is AudaTours?

AudaTours turns a walk through a city into a story. Our guides bring landmarks to life with the history, the scandals and the detail you would never get from a plaque.

• Immersive: real stories about the places in front of you, not a dry commentary
• Offline: download once and use it with no data, anywhere
• At your own pace: start, pause and resume whenever you want
• Accurate: every story is built from verified historical sources and checked before release

Good to know

• This is a self-guided audio tour on your own phone. There is no in-person guide.
• It does not include entry to any building or site along the route.
• The landmarks on the tour are not affiliated with AudaTours.
• You need a smartphone with Android 7.0 or later, or iOS 16 or later.
• Bring headphones and start with a charged phone.

Who it suits

Solo travellers, couples, families and small groups who would rather explore on their own schedule than follow a guide and a fixed departure time. It suits a first visit, and it suits anyone who has already seen the famous sights and wants to know what actually happened in them.

Image credits

Photos: User:Cimosteve (Wikimedia Commons, public domain); Johannes Heel, Andy Watkins (Unsplash).