Stavanger,Norway 30th June 2025 on P&O Iona

On Monday 30th June 2025 I woke up early walked up on deck to see the sunrise as we sailed towards Stavanger,Norway on P&O Iona.

I walked to the bow of the ship where the Crows Nest bar is, hoping to see Stavanger in the distance, seems its still too early.

The Crow's Nest Bar on Iona.

I sit back down at the Aft of the ship and grab a coffee from the Horizons Buffet and watch the sunrise.

I return to the cabin for a bit more sleep before we had breakfast at Horizons and eventually we were sailing into Stavanger. Once docked we prepared for our first trip off the ship. 

We had a good view or Stavanger from Iona, whilst at anchor.

Stavanger is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighbouring Sandnes) and the administrative centre of Rogaland county. The municipality is the fourth most populous in Norway. Located on the Stavanger Peninsula in southwest Norway, Stavanger counts its official founding year as 1125, the year the Stavanger Cathedral was completed. Stavanger's core is to a large degree 18th- and 19th-century wooden houses that are protected and considered part of the city's cultural heritage. This has caused the town centre and inner city to retain a small-town character with an unusually high ratio of detached houses, and has contributed significantly to spreading the city's population growth to outlying parts of Greater Stavanger.

The city's population rapidly grew in the late 20th century due to its oil industry. Stavanger is known today as the Oil Capital of Norway. Norwegian energy company Equinor, the largest company in the Nordic region, has its headquarters in Stavanger. Multiple educational institutions for higher education are located in Stavanger. The largest of these is the University of Stavanger.

Domestic and international military installations are located in Stavanger, including the NATO Joint Warfare Centre. Other international establishments, and especially local branches of foreign oil and gas companies, contribute further to a significant foreign population in the city. The city has a strong international profile and 22.1% of the population has an immigrant background. In 2020, it was rated as the most liveable city for European expatriates in Norway as well as 5th in Europe by ECA International. Stavanger has, since the early 2000s, consistently had an unemployment rate significantly lower than the European average. In August 2022, the unemployment rate was 1.6%. The city also appears on various lists of most expensive cities in the world, and it has even been ranked as the world's most expensive city by certain indices.

The climate of the city is very mild by Nordic standards due to a strong maritime influence. As a result, winter usually remains above freezing whereas heat waves are rare and seldom long. Rainfall is common, although less so than in areas further north on the coastline.

We eventually found out we needed to be on deck 3 to disembark and the deck 3 is only accessible from the lifts on midship.

Right next to the ship we walk pass the Tourist Information centre and a Stavanger Mural on its side wall.

An impressive artwork by Gonzo247, Stavanger and Houston being sister cities with an oil industry link, this artwork was unveiled by the US Ambassador to the US and the  Mayor of Stavanger in 2018. 

We stop to get a photo of Iona in Stavanger Cruise port.

The Port of Stavanger is one of Norway’s largest cruise ports, welcoming many hundreds of thousands of visitors during the season.

The Stavanger region offers its visitors a unique blend of spectacular nature and international cultural experiences. Stavanger town centre is small and compact with an excellent range of specialist shops, well-known chain stores, friendly cafes and essential services such as chemists, cash machines and tourist information. Everything at your fingertips the moment you disembark in Stavanger.

One of many Trolls that Norway is known for.

Norwegian trolls are mythical creatures deeply embedded in Scandinavian folklore, often depicted as large, strong, and sometimes mischievous beings living in the wilderness. They are frequently associated with mountains, forests, and other secluded natural locations, with stories suggesting they can turn to stone when exposed to sunlight.

Just around the port is where a lot of people from Iona are boarding boats for trips or R.I.B rides.

We reach the Sjøfartsmonumentet monument at the end of the port.

The monumental sculpture from 1968 is located in Stavanger harbour.

The sculpture is a tribute to seafarers, and can be seen as three hull shaped elements extending from a single point, accompanied by elements from standing rigging and sails.

It is colloquially referred to as "the shrimp".

We walk around and along Skagenkaien and pass the pretty buildings here.

Skagenkaien is a street in Stavanger that runs along the eastern side of Vågen from Torget in the south to Øvre Holmegate in the north. The name Skagen comes from Old Norse skagi which means cape, and Skagenkaien gets its name from the city's oldest street, Skagen, which is located just behind.

In the evening and at night, Skagenkaien is perhaps the city's liveliest street with its many nightclubs, pubs, bars, restaurants and nightlife. There are also several hotels, shops and offices in the old 19th century sea houses .

Skagenkaien looking north towards Tollboden in yellow and Victoria Hotel in red.

The festival city has become a concept, and most events in connection with MaiJazz , the Humor Festival , World Tour Sand Volleyball , the Troubadour Festival and not least the Gladmat Festival take place in or near Skagenkaien, in the middle of Stavanger's most prominent tourist area.

The innermost part of the pier along Skagenkaien is a guest harbour for small boats in Stavanger, while further out, tourist boats go to the Lysefjord for sightseeing and guided boat trips from Skagenkaien to Flor and Fjære . The Blue Promenade runs along Vågen, also along Skagenkaien.

Skagenkaien is known for its beautiful waterfront houses. Today, there are around 60 waterfront houses left of the original 250 houses. Skagenkaien 16 is a waterfront house from 1770 , centrally and charmingly located along Skagenkaien with a view of Vågen and the house is known for the restaurant Sjøhuset Skagen .

In the summer, the entire Skagenkaien is closed to traffic and transformed into a busy pedestrian street, with outdoor seating and stalls in connection with the many festivals in the city.

We walk up Øvre Holmegate and pass the pretty shops and buildings and pass the SHIT Skate Shop.

Øvre Holmegate or Fargegata is a street in the centre of Stavanger . The wooden houses here are colored in turquoise, pink and various varieties of green. The buildings in Øvre Holmegate in the centre of Stavanger, located between Kirkegata and Østervåg , are part of the project Kul Kultur.

The street may have originated as far back as the Middle Ages , and is drawn on Ulrik Fredrik Aagaard's map from 1727.

For many years, Holmen was a kind of Achilles heel of urban development. The area north of Breigata was dead and grey; mostly reserved for pubs and shops that could not afford the rent elsewhere in the city centre. Now Holmen is vital and alive, while there is still room for the small shops that cannot afford six-figure monthly rent. The colour idea became a project within the Partnership for the City Centre in Stavanger. And it was the colour-loving immigrant Tom Kjørsvik who came up with the idea.

Houses at the intersection of Østervåg and Øvre Holmegate. The houses in Øvre Holmegate are particularly colourful. 

For four and a half years he worked to colour Øvre Holmegate, in a way no street has been painted in this country. When Kjørsvik contacted the visual artist Craig Flannagan in 2005 to create a concrete plan, a successful colour scheme was approved by the Stavanger municipality and the respective owners.

The area's renaissance began in the autumn of the same year when Kjørsvik wanted to do something unique with Øvre Holmegate. The street is bathed in life, and is highlighted by Ingrid Hart as one of the main reasons for the increasing turnover in Stavanger city centre. As of 22 September 2005, the street was officially closed to car traffic.

On the corner of Kirkegata and Øvre Holmegate were the premises of the Farmers' Union from 1911 to 1996. On the first floor was the Matstova, on the second the main hall, and on the third the little hall and office. It was a gathering place for young people who came to the city, especially from Ryfylke. On Sunday evenings there was an open dance, and many found life partners here. Stavanger Kredittbank started here in 1865, but went bankrupt in 1889. The premises were taken over by the Postal Service in 1891, which remained there until 1911, with the telegraph office on the second floor. Since May 2000, the house has been run by "Gaffel & Karaffel".

The next houses burned down in the late 1970s, and stood as a gaping fire site until 2008. Today, there is a mixture of homes and shops in these houses. In the first house, Christian Bjelland had his offices for several years, after they moved from the Berner building in Skagen.

The corner building facing Valberggata was a hotel for many years, and before that it was a photography studio for Hanchen Jacobsen.

In the opposite quarter was the Stavanger lithographic institute.

At the end of the road we turn right onto Østervåg.

Østervåg Street is today a lively shopping street.

In the 18th century, Østervåg Street was counted from where Skolebekken flowed into the sea just off Søregata, to the intersection with Øvre Holmegate. Østervåg Street started at the intersection with Klubbgata and ended at Nedre Holmegate .

The street gets its name from the cliff outside.

Turning onto Sølvbergatta we pass the sculpture of Cornelius Cruys.

Cornelius Cruys (born Niels Olufsen; 14 June 1655 – 14 June 1727) was a Norwegian-born naval officer who served in the Dutch States Navy and Imperial Russian Navy. He was the first commander of the Russian Baltic Fleet.

We stop at McDonalds on Søregata for some drinks before we walk on.

We visit a few souvenir shops and one with a Christmas Shop.

Back near the port we reach Stavanger Catherdral. There is a entrance fee and we decide not to enter.

Stavanger Cathedral is Norway's oldest cathedral and the seat of the Bishop of Stavanger who leads the Diocese of Stavanger in the Church of Norway. It is located in the centre of the city of Stavanger which lies in the southwestern part of the large Stavanger Municipality in central Rogaland county, Norway. The church is situated in the centre of the city, in the borough of Storhaug between Breiavatnet in the south, the square with Vågen in the north west, the cathedral square in the north, and Kongsgård in the southwest.

It is one of the two churches for the Domkirken og St. Petri parish which is part of the Stavanger domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Stavanger. The grey, stone church was built in a long church style around the year 1125 using designs by an unknown architect. The church seats about 800 people.

We walk pass the Cathderal and down Kirkegata and pass Gut Og Ponni (Boy on The Horse) Statue.

Boy and pony to Stavanger Municipality from Hetland Sparebank at the bank's 75th anniversary on January 2, 1976.

We walk on through this pretty city.

The first traces of settlement in the Stavanger region come from the days when the ice retreated after the last ice age c. 10,000 years ago. A number of historians have argued convincingly that North-Jæren was an economic and military centre as far back as the 9th and 10th centuries with the consolidation of the nation at the Battle of Hafrsfjord around 872. Stavanger grew into a centre of church administration and an important south-west coast market town around 1100–1300.

We reach Valberget Utsiktspunkt (Valberg Tower) on Valberget.

View across the port to Iona.

We pay the entrance fee for us to climb the steps of the tower to get views across Stavanger.

Valberget is a small hill in the centre of Stavanger . On Valberget there are a few houses, a large tower ( Valbergtårnet ), paved roads and a small park (Valbergsparken).

The name originally means "Falkberget", after the Old Norse word "valr" for falcon. The pronunciation was originally "Valbergje". Linguistically, it was previously said that people who lived at Valberget lived in Valberget. Those who lived on the lower side of Valberget towards the sea lived "under Valberget".

The eastern part of Valberget was part of the king's estate in Stavanger in the Middle Ages.

Valberget is first mentioned in writing in the fiscal year 1602-1603. At that time, Claus Reinildsen lived at Valberget. He paid ground rent to the king, who then owned the land.

In 1656, a house for the executioner was built at the city's expense on Valberget.

Before today's tower, there were also older watchtowers. In 1658-1659, a watchtower with a clock was erected on Valberget. In 1716, the watchtower functioned both as a watchtower against enemy ships during the Great Northern War and against fire. In 1736, it was decided that it was the citizens' responsibility to repair the tower. In 1770 the tower was made of timber and "breder". The tower was not high, but extended far, especially to the east and south. There were also a number of houses on Valberget. A watchman kept watch in the tower every night.

In 1830, a proposal was made for the city to build a new watchtower. In 1837, the tower with clock was valued at 320 riksdaler.

The tower that stands today was built in the years 1850-1852 as a lookout tower for the city's watchmen, and is 26.66 metres high. The year 1850 is written above the door, and 1852 on the weather vane . It is built of granite from one of the islands in Boknafjorden .

During the war, the Germans had a guard post in the Valberg Tower. The entire Skagen Quay was undermined and could be blown up from the Valberg Tower.

We leave the tower and head back to the port and down the hill.

We walk back the way we came and just before the cruise port and Iona we take a side road and walk up to Gamle (the old town).

Gamle Stavanger is a historic area of the city of Stavanger which is located in Stavanger Municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The area consists largely of restored wooden buildings which were built in the 18th century and at the beginning of the 19th century.

In the aftermath of World War II, a new city plan was created for Stavanger. It included razing most of the old wooden buildings in the city centre and replacing them with new modern structures in concrete. One single voice spoke up against this plan, and today it is recognized that Gamle Stavanger owes its existence to Einar Hedén (1916-2001), then City Architect of Stavanger. In 1956 the municipal council of Stavanger Municipality voted to conserve part of the old city centre.

The area selected for conservation was the one considered the least desirable, consisting of small rundown wooden buildings located on the western side of Vågen, the inner harbour area of Stavanger. This area has a selection of preserved wood houses dating from both the 19th and 20th century. Some of the houses are owned by the municipality, but most are privately owned. Over the years the area has changed from seedy to trendy, and today is considered a choice location for the urban-minded with a sense of history. Gamle Stavanger has grown such that it now covers more than 250 buildings most of which are small, white wooden cottages. The area also includes the Norwegian Canning Museum which displays a typical factory from the 1920s.

Stavanger Municipality has received several awards for the preservation of Gamle Stavanger. During the Council of Europe's 1975 European Architectural Year, Gamle Stavanger, together with the historic fishing village of Nusfjord in Nordland and the former mining town of Røros in Sør-Trøndelag, were identified as examples of how conservation of old buildings may well coincide with use, and how rehabilitation can be done without loss of character.

Stavanger fulfilled an urban role prior to its status as city (1125), from around the time the Stavanger bishopric was established in the 1120s. Bishop Reinald, who may have come from Winchester, England, is said to have started construction of Stavanger Cathedral (Stavanger domkirke) around 1100. It was finished around 1125, and the city of Stavanger counts 1125 as its year of foundation.

With the Protestant Reformation in 1536, Stavanger's role as a religious centre declined, and the establishment of Kristiansand in the early 17th century led to the relocation of the bishopric. However, rich herring fisheries in the 19th century gave the city new life.

The city's history is a continuous alternation between economic booms and recessions. For long periods of time its most important industries have been shipping, shipbuilding, the fish canning industry and associated subcontractors.

In 1969, a new boom started as oil was first discovered in the North Sea.After much discussion, Stavanger was chosen to be the on-shore center for the oil industry on the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, and a period of hectic growth followed.

On 1 January 2020, the neighbouring municipalities of Finnøy and Rennesøy merged with Stavanger to form a new, larger municipality

One of the most important events in Stavanger's city history was the gift letter that King Magnus Erlingsson gave to Stavanger Bishop Eirik Ivarsson in the second half of the 1100s. Exactly when the king made this gift letter, and under what circumstances it happened, is unknown. It may have been in 1163–1164, in connection with the King Magnus's coronation, but could also have been around 1181–1184, in connection with the support Stavanger Bishop Erik gave King Magnus at the end of the king's fight against the late King Sverre.

It is undoubtedly correct to characterize Stavanger as a church city throughout the Middle Ages, up to the Reformation. The Reformation, however, dealt a hard blow to the Church in specific and Stavanger in general. The cathedral, the bishop and canons of the monastery had been large landowners. Recession of the city began with the loss of people in rural areas, as a result of which the revenues of the cathedral and the bishop fell dramatically due to reduced rental income. In 1537 the bishop's and the monastery's estate and property was confiscated by the king. Kongsberg was plundered by Christoffer Trondsen in 1539, at which time St. Swithun's casket disappeared and Bishop Hoskuld Hoskuldsson may have been executed.

The Old Norse form of the name was Stafangr. The origin of the name has been discussed for decades, and the most used interpretation is that it originally was the name of the inlet now called Vågen, which was the original site of the city, on the east shore of the bay.

The first element of the name is stafr meaning 'staff' or 'branch'. This could refer to the form of the inlet, but also to the form of the mountain Valberget (Staven meaning 'the staff,' is a common name of high and steep mountains in Norway). The last element is angr meaning 'inlet, bay'. Facing the North Sea, Stavanger has always been economically dependent on its access to the sea.

This old town is very pretty and very busy with a cruise ship in port, people living here must get fed up with the crowd!

We head back on board Iona for lunch and then we jump into the Infinity Pool on deck 17.

Great views down to Stavanger from Iona's infinity pool.

Next its time for the hot tub and Pina Colada's!

Later that night we try one of the main dining rooms on Iona, food is very good.

We walk into the skydome and a show is on. I must say it is very weird and strange!

A great day, tomorrow we are due to dock in Olden,Norway.

P&O Norwegian Fjords Cruise on Iona (Sea Day) 29th June 2025

Up early, into the Buffet for breakfast. Then relaxing on the ship. We has another good look around Iona and the shops.

Mel and George head over to bingo whilst I have a dip in the Infinity Pool.

MS Iona is an Excellence-class cruise ship in service for P&O Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Built by German shipbuilder Meyer Werft in Papenburg, she was delivered in October 2020 at a cost of £730 million. At 184,089 GT Iona became the largest cruise ship commissioned for P&O and the British market upon delivery until sister ship Arvia (measuring 185,581 GT) was delivered in 2022. Iona was floated out on 18 February 2020 and delivered eight months later on 9 October amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which delayed her debut by more than a year until 7 August 2021, when she sailed her maiden voyage from Southampton.

Iona has 17 different eateries, including eight restaurants designated as 'select dining', and 12 different bars. She also has 16 whirlpools and 4 swimming pools, one of which is housed under SkyDome, an entertainment venue topped by a 105-ton, 340-pane, 970-square-metre glass dome with a retractable stage for shows. The ship's centre also includes a three-deck atrium flanked by triple-deck glass panels projecting outwards.

Iona has 19 total decks, a length of 344.5 metres (1,130 ft), and a beam of 42 metres (138 ft). Maximum power is rated at 61.7 megawatts (82,700 hp). Total propulsion power is rated at 37 megawatts (50,000 hp). Together, the power system gives the vessel a service speed of 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph). Iona will have a passenger capacity of 5,206 guests and 1,762 crew. Powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), Iona is designed to not emit sulphur dioxide emissions and soot particles.

Iona was originally scheduled to perform her maiden voyage on 14 May 2020. The nine-night round-trip voyage from Southampton was to sail to the Norwegian fjords, calling in Stavanger, Olden, Hellesylt, Geiranger, and Bergen. The ship was scheduled to be christened on 4 July 2020 in Southampton before inaugurating a week-long celebration on the ship. However, on 23 April 2020, P&O announced that the pandemic forced the suspension of its operations and postponed the ship's debut and inaugural festivities. A year later, Iona was christened by Dame Irene Hays on 16 May 2021 in Southampton at a ceremony led by Gary Barlow and Jo Whiley.

Iona was originally scheduled to sail cruises to the Norwegian fjords from Southampton for her maiden season. In March 2021, P&O announced that the ship's maiden voyage would be 7 August 2021 along the Inner Hebrides before operating week-long voyages through September. Due to the United Kingdom's pandemic travel restrictions, all voyages during the inaugural season were exclusive to UK residents. Iona later spent her maiden winter months in the Canary Islands and Northern Europe before transitioning to the Norwegian fjords during the following summer and subsequent summers.

The Skydome

After Lunch, George decided to join me in the Infinity Pool while Mel went for a nap.

We then  found  a hot tub that was empty!

We had dinner and watched the sunset.

We watched Sky's the Limit show in the Headliners theatre. I thought it was okay, Mel and George wasn't so convinced.

Anyway to bed we are docking in Stavanger tomorrow, will be good to get ashore!

Southampton and P&O Iona Boarding 28th June 2025

On Saturday the 28th June 2025, we got up early and drove down to Southampton for our first ever Cruise on P&O Iona to the Norwegian Fjords.

We arrived at about 1115 hours and we drove straight to the Ocean Terminal and dropped the car off at CPS parking next to the terminal, then it was just a walk across the road and we dropped the cases off to be loaded onto the ship.

This allowed us time to look about Southampton before out boarding time.

We walked on into Southampton and we were walking up the High Street, when we we passed Holyrood Church.

Holyrood Church was one of the original five churches serving the old walled town of Southampton, England. Built in 1320, the church was destroyed by enemy bombing during the blitz in November 1940. In 1957 the shell of the church was dedicated as a memorial to the sailors of the Merchant Navy. It is a Grade II* listed building.

The first documentary evidence of the existence of Holyrood was in 1160 when Henry II granted the Chapels of St. Michael, Holyrood, St. Lawrence and All Saints' to the monks of St. Denys. The name of the church, "Holy Rood", indicates its Saxon origins; if the church had been founded after the Norman Conquest, it would have been named "St. Cross".

The original church was situated in the centre of the High Street, then known as "English Street", but in 1320, the church was pulled down and rebuilt on its present site on the eastern side of the road.

During the Middle Ages, the church was situated at the centre of the town and was the parish church for the south-eastern quarter. As such, it became a focal point for life in the town and was used as a place of worship by crusaders en route to the Holy Land, soldiers heading for Agincourt in 1415 and Philip II of Spain in 1554 on his way to marry Queen Mary at Winchester Cathedral.

Over the next 90 years, local residents would flock to hear the services and sermons, and it became the place in which to see the New Year in, with the church also becoming known as the "Church of the Sailors".

During the night of 30 November 1940, the centre of Southampton became the target for German bombers, when 800 high explosive bombs and 9,000 incendiaries were dropped on the town centre. In this attack, and that a week earlier, 214 people were killed and nearly 500 properties were totally destroyed. By the morning, Holyrood was a smoking ruin and St. Mary's church was gutted, although nearby St. Michael's survived unscathed. Southampton lost seven churches during the blitz, as well as the nearby Audit House, the Ordnance Survey offices and many shops, factories and homes. During the blitz, the beautiful 14th/early 15th century brass lectern was rescued from the ruins and is now fully restored in St. Michael's.

In 1957, the ruins of the church were restored and dedicated as a memorial to Merchant Navy seafarers and the ruins of the church were scheduled as an ancient monument.

By 2004, because of the exposure of internal features to the elements and problems with the structure, the church was in danger of collapsing. As a result, a grant of £670,000 was received from the Heritage Lottery Fund to repair the tower and the chancel, with a new lighting scheme being installed to make the former church a feature of Southampton's night skyline. The Merchant Navy Association contributed a further £5,000 to the repair fund "to enable (merchant seamen) to remember their colleagues and careers in an appropriate high quality setting".

We left Holyrood Church and walked through The Bargate pictured above further up on High Street.

The Bargate is a Grade I listed medieval gatehouse in the city centre of Southampton, England. Constructed in Norman times as part of the Southampton town walls, it was the main gateway to the city. The building is a scheduled monument, which has served as a temporary exhibition and event space for Southampton Solent University since 2012.

The Bargate was built c. 1180, constructed of stone and flint. Alterations were made to the building around 1290, when large drum towers were added to the north side, with arrow slit windows.

A two-storey extension was made to the south side towards the end of the 13th century, with four windows lighting the upstairs room. Work was also carried out to the interior of the upper room during the 13th century, when the stone fireplaces were installed. The embattled north front was added to the building around 1400. A survey of the town's guns in 1468 reported that the Bargate held two breach loader guns and a brass muzzle loader. It is not clear when the Bargate started being used as a prison but the first records of it date from 1439. In 1458 the prison was used to detain the Genoese population of the town as part of the response to a Genoese attack on an English trading expedition.

At some point in the 16th century, the court leet of Southampton started to meet in the Bargate, although it continued to switch between the Bargate and Cutthorn mound on Southampton Common until 1670. Also around the 16th century it is thought that wooden sculptures of lions were added in front of the Bargate. The surviving mayors accounts for 1594 include payments for the construction of new lions and the use of the word new suggests that lion sculptures existed before that point. The accounts also mention a pair of paintings featuring Bevis of Hampton and Ascapart on wooden panels. These appear to have been placed on the northern side of the building as they are mentioned as being present by a visitor in 1635.

A bell was added to the southwest corner of the building to 1579. The current bell is inscribed 1605 and was used as the city's curfew and alarm bell. In 1644 the panels featuring Bevis of Hampton and Ascapart were repainted.

The room above the gate itself was probably added shortly after 1400 and the town steward books mention a banquet held there in 1434. It was originally used as the city's guildhall, until the 1770s. It was at this point that the city began to grow to the north of the gate. Also during the 18th century, five panels containing painted shields and the sundial were added to the building and in the middle of the century the old wooden lions were replaced with new lead sculptures.

Additional archways were added in 1764 and 1774. In 1765, a passage was cut through the eastern side of the arch for pedestrians. A further passage through the western side was added later. The construction of these passages ended (for a time) the Bargate's use as a prison.

We walk on popping into Westquay Shopping centre for something to eat from subway before we walked on.

We walk on over to Castle Lane and to the Castle Gate.

Southampton's town walls are a sequence of defensive structures built around the town in southern England. Although earlier Roman and Anglo-Saxon settlements around Southampton had been fortified with walls or ditches, the later walls originate with the move of the town to the current site in the 10th century. This new town was defended by banks, ditches and the natural curve of the river and coastline. The Normans built a castle in Southampton but made no attempts to improve the wider defences of the town until the early 13th century, when Southampton's growing prosperity as a trading centre and conflict with France encouraged the construction of a number of gatehouses and stone walls to the north and east sides of the settlement.

In 1338 Southampton was raided by French forces; the town's defences proved inadequate, particularly along the quays on the west and south of the city. Edward III ordered some immediate improvements to Southampton's town walls but it was not until the 1360s that substantial work began. Over the coming decades the town was entirely enclosed by a 2 km (1.25-mile) long stone wall, with 29 towers and eight gates. With the advent of gunpowder weapons in the 1360s and 1370s, Southampton was one of the first towns in England to install the new technology to existing fortifications and to build new towers specifically to house cannon.

Southampton's town walls remained an important defensive feature during the 15th century, the gatehouses sometimes being used as important civic facilities, including acting as the town's guildhall and housing the town's gaol. From the end of the 17th century their importance steadily declined and the walls were slowly demolished or adapted for other uses throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. This process continued into the early 20th century until, in the post-war years, the walls were recognised as an important historical feature of Southampton. Conservation projects have since occurred and the walls are now promoted as a tourist attraction.

Walking on we pass the Tudor House on Bugle Street.

Tudor House and Garden is a historic building, museum, tourist attraction, and Grade I listed building in Southampton, England. Established as Southampton's first museum in 1912, the house was closed for nine years between 2002 and 2011 during an extensive renovation.

The earliest part of the site is a Norman domestic dwelling, built in the 1180s. Although the site is known as King John's Palace there is no evidence that King John of England ever visited the house. In the 14th century the merchant and mayor of Southampton, John Whytegod, lived in the property. After the French raid of Southampton in 1338 the walls were turned into what would become Southampton's defensive walls. Its windows and doors were filled in or replaced with gun slits. It is one of the finest examples of Norman domestic architecture in England.

The main body of the house was extended and developed by Sir John Dawtrey (d.1518), a major landowner, M.P. and Sheriff. He received large sums of money from Henry VIII to supply food for the navy and to help in the defences of the town. Money was also provided for the building, fitting out and provisioning of ships – including The Mary Rose. During the Tudor period, the house was a home for influential members of Southampton society including Sir Richard Lyster (1480–1554), a judge and Chief Justice of the King's Bench.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the house was used as a merchant house as a cloth maker and manufacturer. During the restoration, in 2007, conservators discovered that several walls were covered with graffiti that dated between 1570 and 1620. Images include ships, caricatures of people, and exotic animals. During that period Tudor House was owned by ship owners, and it is likely that the house was used as a place of lodging for sailors and privateers. The graffiti is now considered to be some of the best-preserved Tudor maritime graffiti in England.

During the 18th century, Tudor House was owned by the artist George Rogers, who made significant alterations to the house, including building a Georgian wing, complete with two large sash windows. By this time, the oak beam façade at the front of the property had been plastered and repainted.

The house's improvements in fortune coincided with those of Southampton, which had become fashionable as a spa town, due to the discovery of a chalybeate spring.

For a large proportion of the century the house was divided into lease-held properties. The house also had a number of business uses, including a dyeworks, bookbinders, bonnet-makers and architect's office. By the end of the 19th century the area around Tudor House had become one of the city's worst slum areas, with limited running water, disease-ridden properties, and malnourished tenants. Because of this the area, including Tudor House, was scheduled for demolition.

In 1886, when the house was threatened with demolition, local philanthropist William Spranger bought the house, recognising its significance as a site of historic importance. Spranger made significant changes to the house, including installing a 'minstrels' gallery in above the banqueting hall, and creating several doors where previously there had been none. For twelve years he led a campaign to turn the house into a museum. Eventually he was successful, and the house opened as a museum on 31 July 1912.

During the Second World War Tudor House and Garden remained open as a museum, and the wine cellar was used as an air raid shelter by the museum curator, Edward Judd, and his family during the Southampton Blitz in 1940. Tudor House remained undamaged, however a house two doors away was destroyed.

In the 1970s an early 19th-century cannon that had been found during the construction of the Itchen Bridge was placed in the house garden.

By the end of the century, the museum had become fairly dilapidated; a combination of poor renovation work, and time. According to a survey conducted in 1999, the house was 'opening like the petals of a flower', a reference to the way the house was bowing outwards.

In 1999, a survey of the building discovered major structural problems, and major redevelopment work was needed to preserve the building. Funds were sought from Southampton City Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage, and other donors.

The museum closed to the public in 2002, and remained closed for nine years. During this time walls were strengthened, new interpretation was added, and archaeological fieldwork was conducted. Additionally a new block was added, consisting of a cafe and toilet facilities. These were designed to remain in keeping with the original building.

In 2012, the centenary was marked by opening with an admission price of 6 pence, the same price as when the museum first opened.

We walk on passing along Vyse Lane and onto French Street where we reach The Medieval Merchants House.

The Medieval Merchant's House is a restored late-13th-century building in Southampton, Hampshire, England. Built in about 1290 by John Fortin, a prosperous merchant, the house survived many centuries of domestic and commercial use largely intact. German bomb damage in 1940 revealed the medieval interior of the house, and in the 1980s it was restored to resemble its initial appearance and placed in the care of English Heritage, to be run as a tourist attraction. The house is built to a medieval right-angle, narrow plan design, with an undercroft to store wine at a constant temperature, and a first-storey bedchamber that projects out into the street to add additional space. The building is architecturally significant because, as historian Glyn Coppack highlights, it is "the only building of its type to survive substantially as first built"; it is a Grade I listed building and scheduled monument.

We walk back to the High Street and with time to kill still we buy a drink and walk over to Hogsland Park to sit in the shade and relax.

Eventually it was time to make our way back to the Terminal to board Iona. We pass the quay and marina and make our way.

We go through Security and Check in, and before long we were walking up the gangway of Iona. After we visited our Muster Station we walked down to Deck 14 and to our inside cabin 14727. It was never going to be huge bit adequate and was quite comfy.

After we unpacked our bags, we tried to sort out connecting to the ships WiFi, no easy task. We went down tot reception for help. Huge queues sent to a man who would help, who then sent us back to reception. Anyway I was online and we headed up to deck 18 so Mel could have a smoke.

Still trying to get everyone online, was stressful. Having a full blown loud sail away party up there wasn't helping ha ha!

Eventually we were leaving Southampton and were sailing away on our way to Norway, time for a beer!

It was very busy as you would expect on day one, far too busy to try and get in the hot tubs or the infinity pool. We'll try this tomorrow on our Sea day.

We eat dinner at the Buffet tonight, can't fault the food there!

Now to bed before tomorrows day at Sea.