Portsmouth (ˈpɔːtsməθ/ ) is a city located in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is the United Kingdom's only island city, being mainly located on Portsea Island. The City of Portsmouth and Portsmouth Football Club are both nicknamed Pompey. As a significant naval port for centuries, Portsmouth is home to the world's oldest dry dock still in use and also home to some famous ships, including HMS Warrior and Lord Nelson's flagship HMS Victory. Although smaller than in its heyday, the naval base remains a major dockyard and base for the Royal Navy and Royal Marine Commandos whose Headquarters resides there. There is also a thriving commercial ferry port serving destinations on the continent for freight and passenger traffic. The nickname Pompey is thought to have derived from shipping entering Portsmouth harbour making an entry in their logs as Pom. P. in reference to Portsmouth Point. Navigational charts also use this abbreviation.
The Spinnaker Tower is a striking recent addition to the city's skyline. It can be found in the redeveloped former HMS Vernon, an area of retail outlets, restaurants, clubs and bars now known as Gunwharf Quays.The Portsmouth Urban Area covers an area with a population well over twice that of the city of Portsmouth itself, and includes Fareham,Portchester, Gosport, Havant (which includes the large suburbs of Leigh Park), Lee-on-the-Solent, Stubbington and Waterlooville. The administrative unit itself has a population of 197,700, which forms part of the wider Portsmouth conurbation, with an estimated 442,252 residents within the wider urban area making it the 11th largest urban area in England. At the 2001 census it was the only city in England with a greater population density (4,639 /km2 (12,015/sq mi)) than London as a whole (4,562 /km2 (11,816/sq mi)), although many of London's individual boroughs had a much greater density.
The suburbs of Portsmouth arguably form a conurbation stretching from Southampton to Havant on the M27/A27 road along the coast, and north to Clanfield on the A3 road.
The climate of Portsmouth is much milder than that of the surrounding areas, winter frosts being light and short-lived and snow quite rare. Temperatures rarely drop much below freezing, as the city is surrounded by water and densely populated. Portsdown Hill also protects the city from the cold northerly winds during the winter months. Summer temperatures can also be higher than in some other south coast cities due to the "urban heat effect", where heat is reflected and retained by buildings. Located on the south coast, Portsmouth also receives more sunshine per annum than most of the UK. The average maximum temperature in January is 10C with the average minimum being 5C. The average maximum temperature in July is 22C, with the average minimum being 15C. The record high temperature is 35C and record low is -6C.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portsmouth
Most of the city of Portsmouth lies on Portsea Island, located where the Solent joins the English Channel. This makes Portsmouth the United Kingdom's only island city and the thirteenth most densely populated place in Europe. It is the second most densely populated place in the UK, after Inner London.[35] The island is separated from the mainland to the north by a narrow creek, bridged in places to make it a peninsula in appearance. The sheltered Portsmouth Harbour lies to the west of the island and the large tidal bay of Langstone Harbour is to the east.
Portsdown Hill dominates the skyline to the north, providing a magnificent panoramic view over the city, and to the south are the waters of the Solent with theIsle of Wight beyond.
Being a seaside city, it is low-lying: the majority of its surface area is only about ten feet above sea level. The highest natural point on Portsea Island is Kingston Cross (21 feet), although the road surface over Fratton railway bridge reaches 25. There are, therefore, dangers that rising sea levels as a result ofglobal warming could cause serious damage to the city.
The west of the city is mainly council estates such as Buckland, Landport and Portsea. These were built to replace Victorian terraces destroyed by bombing in the Second World War. After the war the massive estate of Leigh Park (one of the largest housing developments of its kind in Europe) was built to solve the chronic housing shortage during the post-war reconstruction. Since the early 2000s the estate has been entirely under the jurisdiction of Havant Borough Council, but Portsmouth City Council remains the landlord for these properties, thus making it the biggest landowner in Havant Borough.[36]
Part of Old Portsmouth, the oldest part of the city, was known as Spice Island. Literally outside of the law once the city gates were closed, it was infamous for its pubs and other establishments, which attracted sailors on their "runs ashore".[37]
The climate of Portsmouth is much milder than that of the surrounding areas, winter frosts being light and short-lived and snow quite rare. Temperatures rarely drop much below freezing, as the city is surrounded by water and densely populated. Portsdown Hill also protects the city from the cold northerly winds during the winter months. Summer temperatures can also be higher than in some other south coast cities due to the "urban heat effect", where heat is reflected and retained by buildings. Located on the south coast, Portsmouth also receives more sunshine per annum than most of the UK. The average maximum temperature in January is 10C with the average minimum being 5C. The average maximum temperature in July is 22C, with the average minimum being 15C. The record high temperature is 35C and record low is -6C.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portsmouth
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