Discovering Portsmouth New Hampshire
Looking to Discover Portsmouth New Hampshire? Read below and you will learn more about this wonderful New Hampshire city.
Today is the day after the Barrel Event Weekend. We decided that after all the delicious tastings, we should stay overnight. Here, we decided to spend the night in beautiful Portsmouth, NH. Neither James or I have been to Portsmouth New Hampshire, so it would be great new travel destination to explore.
Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse
The first place we visited was the Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse. The lighthouse is on an active U.S. Coast Guard Station. The Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse was closed but it is open during open houses and special events.
The lighthouse is open every Sunday from late May (Memorial Day weekend) through mid-October (Columbus Day weekend) from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. “The suggested donation to climb the lighthouse is $4 for adults and $2 for children 12 and under.”www.portsmouthharborlighthouse.org
You do not need reservations; tours are on a first come, first served basis. Visitors are welcome to climb the lighthouse but children must be 42 inches tall to climb to the top, and adults are not permitted to carry children up the stairs. You are able climb to the lantern room to enjoy the magnificent view and to see the fourth-order Fresnel lens up close. Volunteers will tell you about the history of the light station, and they will have souvenirs for sale.
“There are 44 stairs to the watch room and a 7-rung ladder to the lantern room. Flat shoes (not sandals or flip-flops) are required to climb the ladder into the lantern room.” http://www.portsmouthharborlighthouse.org/
You can get close enough to see it and snap a few pictures from Great Island Common in New Castle. For more information on the Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse go to: http://www.portsmouthharborlighthouse.org
Fort Constitution
We also stopped at Fort Constitution which is also on the U.S Coast Guard Station.
“Fort Constitution State Historic Site is located on a peninsula on the northeast corner of New Castle Island. It overlooks both the Piscataqua River and the Atlantic Ocean. The grounds provide a casual gathering spot for picnics. In 1791, the State of New Hampshire gave the United States the neck of land on which Fort William and Mary and a lighthouse were situated. The fort was repaired, renamed Fort Constitution and garrisoned with a company of United States artillery. Renovations, which included a wall twice as high as that of the colonial fort and new brick buildings, were completed in 1808. It is the ruins of this fort that are seen today.”(http://www.nhstateparks.org/visit/historic-sites/fort-constitution-state-historic-site.aspx)
Strawberry Banke Museum
We passed by Strawbery Banke Museum. They are open May – October from 10am to 5pm 7 days a week. The museum is located in the historic downtown area in Portsmouth,NH. It is a 10 acre outdoor museum that brings over 300 years of American history to life.
The museum is and ideal place for children and adults to come together and explore. There are 32 historic buildings and eight gardens to venture through. You will see costumed actors role playing and immersing themselves in the past to educate and entertain you. There are hands on activities and many artifacts to help you learn about the life of the people who lived in this waterfront area. Find out more information @ http://www.strawberybanke.org
World War Memorial Bridge
We got to see the World War Memorial Bridge. I was rebuilt and opened to vehicular traffic in November of 2013. The bridge is part of Route 1 connecting Portsmouth, NH to Kittery, Maine. Here’s an interesting fact “The opening ceremony for Memorial Bridge was held on August 17, 1923. Five-year old Eileen Foley cut the ceremonial silk ribbon to officially open the bridge. Foley would later serve as mayor of Portsmouth for eight terms from 1968-1971, 1984-1985 and 1988-1997. In August 2013, she returned to dedicate the bridge’s replacement 90 years later.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Bridge_(Portsmouth,_New_Hampshire)
Downtown Portsmouth – LaBelle Winery
And we finally entered downtown, as we were driving through the quaint downtown, we observed the LaBelle Winery tasting room and gift shop. This winery is a satellite tasting room, new to Portsmouth and had opened for business this past fall. The winery had continuous foot traffic during our visit.
As we entered we were greeted by the tasting room manager Joanne Hall. She served us during our tasting and answered all our questions and was very helpful. We love the sweet wines so we tried the Verano Sangria, Sweet Blueberry, Dry Blueberry for comparison, Riesling, Sangria Blanca, Cranberry and Riesling. The dessert wines we tried were Spiced Winter Pear, Dulce, Chambourcin, Red Raspberry, and Three Kings.
I was very excited to stop because I know that LaBelle Winery grows Brianna grapes and I couldn’t wait to try it in a bottle. I’ve heard so much about this grape and even tried one from the vine last time I was at their vineyard in Amherst, NH.
To my surprise they mix there white grapes together so they don’t make a wine from just Brianna grapes. I was a little disappointed about this but I enjoyed my tasting nonetheless and came home with a few bottles. We ended up purchasing the Dry Blueberry, Riesling, and the Deluce.
The Portsmouth location also has a gift shop with a product line called The WineMaker’s Kitchen. It is a line of culinary products that incorporate or are inspired by their wines. Their selection includes sweet honey, rubs, coffees, cooking wine, jellies & Jams and more. As you pass through the gift shop you climb a few stairs and there is a room that they use for Paint and Sip.
For more information about LaBelle Winery check them out at:
