In September, I was lucky enough to attend a day trip along with a few other bloggers to Solent Forts. Solent Forts is a luxury hotel in the middle of the Solent. We were invited along to have a look round the forts and for a delicious lunch.
We met at the office in Portsmouth where we signed in. After everyone had arrived, we headed down to the docks to catch our ride to the first fort. We were all in a rib, which I was actually super excited about. I love boats and being out at sea, so I was pretty happy that I was able to go on this little boat across the Solent.
Travel
It’s a short ride over to the first fort, it’s around 15 minutes to Spitbank and the ride going out is beautiful. You get a stunning view of Portsmouth as you head out of the harbour. It’s stunning and worth the trip just for that view in my opinion!
Spitbank Fort
We arrived at Spitbank Fort and were greeted with a tray of champagne (which did not go amiss!). We had some time to explore the bar area (which obviously us bloggers used as the perfect time to get some picys! I loved the decor and I now have hundreds of pics just of the bar area! It felt very cosy, and I loved the exposed brick. We were then given a tour of the rest of the fort where we learnt about the history of the forts and why they were built. As some of you know I love history, so I found this super interesting.
Spitbank Fort has eight bedroom suites. The rooms are decorated beautifully. What I like the most, is that with Spitbank Fort they have kept a lot of the original features, such as the hooks that the men who lived there use to hang their hammocks on and they also have some of the original sinks. It is such a unique and lovely place to visit.
Spitbank Fort was definitely my favourite out of the two we visited. I felt that Spitbank had more of the original character, which I loved.
Horse Sand Fort
After finishing up at Spitbank Fort, we all climbed back onto the rib and headed to No Man’s Fort. However, we did quickly swing by the third fort, Horse Sand Fort. Horse Sand Fort is not a hotel and you can’t actually step foot onto this Fort. What is really cool though, is that it has been left and not touched. You can imagine me dying to get a look in there to see what is inside. Maybe one day!
No Man’s Fort
We headed to No Man’s Fort which is the bigger of the Forts (I mean it was huge!). There is so much that you can do to entertain yourself whilst on the Fort. Also, I did like the decor of the rooms. There was such luxury and one room had a bathtub in the actual bedroom, to me that is the hight of luxury.
On both Forts there are multiple things to do to occupy yourself with. There are games rooms and TV rooms. Also, there are plenty of bars and seating areas so you can just watch the world go by. My personal favourite part was sitting on the top of the Fort because the views were stunning. I could spend hours looking out at the sea and this would be the perfect location for me. At No Man’s Fort there is also a spa. We were very lucky to be treated to a little hand and arm massage which was so lovely and such a nice surprise.
Lunch
Whilst we were at No Man’s Fort we were treated to a delicious three course lunch in the lighthouse. I’m still dreaming of the food there!
To start we had Pheasant and Girolloles Terrine served with sticky fig chutney and delicious bread.
For the main source we had pan fried chicken served with dauphinoise potato, carrots, cabbage and some ratatouille. This was delicious, the chicken was moist and the ratatouille was amazing!
To finish we had an autumn pavlova. This featured seasonal berries and Italian meringue.
This was honestly one of the best meals that I have had and it was so nice to have a sit and chat with everyone whilst we drank our wine!
History of the Forts
Incase some of you are into the history (like me!), Solent Forts were built over 150 years ago when there was fear of an invasion by the French. Out of fear the British Prime Minister, Lord Henry Palmerston commissioned the forts in the 1860s to have as a defence against the french. They took 15 years to build and by the time that they were completed and ready for occupation, the feared French invasion no longer existed. The Forts were later used in the First and Second World Wars, but were only really used as military bases from what I understand. After this, the Forts they were decommissioned by the military and then put up for sale.
I had such an incredible day at Solent Forts. It was such an incredible day, and I can’t believe how spoilt we were! This blogger life does not get old! A massive thank you to Solent Forts for the invite. I can’t wait to return here with friends in the future.
After reading this blog post and seeing how amazing Solent Forts is and you would like to book something at the Forts, make sure to use my promotion code CIARA10 for 10% off of your booking.
