Portsmouth Things to Do Tips by Dabs

On Saturday morning we had a few hours before the harbor cruise so Robert and I decided to go to Strawberry Banke, a collection of 40+ historic buildings, all but 6 of which are in the same spot where they were built, covering 375 years of Portsmouth's history from pre-Colonial to WWII. It was a fascinating look at different periods in Portsmouth's history, my favorite buildings were the store set in the WWII era with all of the original packaging for products that you can still buy today and the Aldrich House that was decorated in scenes from Thomas Aldrich's novel Story of a Bad Boy. Please see my travelogues for more on Thomas Aldrich.

Most of the buildings are open to the public, the Walsh House had a docent dressed in period costume who led us through the house telling us about the history of that house and a slice of what their daily lives would have been like, some of the other houses have docents available to answer questions.

Strawberry Banke was the original name of this area, named for the wild strawberries that grew along the shoreline.

Admission was $15 for adults, you can spread your visit over two days if you prefer. We spent about 2 hours there and could have easily spent another hour or so. Parking is free in the their lot. If you need something to eat, there is the Pitt Tavern where you can get soup and salador the Dunaway restaurant with sit down dining.

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Phone: (603) 433-1100
Address: 14 Hancock Street
Website: http://www.strawberybanke.org/

EmilieNoelle arranged for the VT group to go on the Isle of Shoals cruise on Saturday afternoon, the one we went on was from 1:25pm-4:15pm, nearly 3 hours during which a live narrator spoke about points of interest that we were seeing along the way.

The cost was $25 per person, parking in the lot near the dock was $4. We didn't need reservations that late in the season but they are recommended during the peak summer months. It was much cooler out on the water than on land, especially on the upper deck, I'd recommend bringing a sweater along with.

The Isles of Shoals are nine rocky isles a few miles off the coast of New Hampshire and Maine. No one lives on them year round but Star Island has the Oceanic Hotel which is used as a religious conference center, there are a few summer houses, and the Shoals Marine Research Laboratory is on Appledore Island.

There's some interesting history on the islands, Smuttynose Island was the sight of a double murder in the 1800s, the book "The Weight of Water" by Anita Shreve is based on that story. Celia Thaxter, a New Hampshire poet was raised on White Island, her father was the lighthouse keeper. She eventually moved to Smuttynose and then Appledore and played host to many famous authors of the day.

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Phone: 800-441-4620
Address: 315 Market Street
Website: http://www.isleofshoals.com/

We didn't have a lot of time to explore downtown Portsmouth but before the happy hour on Saturday, we took 30-45 minutes to walk around the center which had a very interesting mix of architecture housing shops and restaurants.

We walked a very small section of town, if you have a little more time to spend, you might get a copy of the Portsmouth Harbor Trail guide or taking one of the walking tours mentioned on the website below or stop by the Portsmouth Historical Society, located in the former John Paul Jones house.

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Website: http://www.portsmouthnh.com/harbourtrail/