Thursday, August 6, 2009

Gateway To The World at Southampton Vacation Boat

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Every year Southampton hosts sailing events, this as the Southampton Boat Show, that attracts tourists based on data from about the world.

The city, celebrated as 'the gateway to the world', has seen various visits from the world's greatest ocean liners, in conjunction with the QE2 and the Titanic.

Every year the city hosts sailing events, such as the Southampton Boat Show, which attracts tourists from around the world.

The port shot up from humble beginnings. The ancient seaport of Hamptun, out of which the city gets its name, seems in some of the country's earliest historical records. It was in Roman times that Southampton's first port was first built on the River Itchen. Raids by the French on the 14th century led to the construction of forts, or walls, specific of that still stand today. Bargate and Westgate are two of the best preserved Medieval Town Walls in the UK.

Over the years, the city of Southampton grew as a required sea port. It was in 1415 that Henry V sailed to France and Agincourt, and in 1620 English Puritans set sail in search of the New World, on The Mayflower.

Competition from a larger number of ports saw trade reduction until the opening of the primarily dock in 1836.

The steam age developed, and so did the city of Southampton. Adding to such development was the arrival of the railway from London and its shipping industry.

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In the 1930s, ships sailed based on what i read in Southampton about the globe, making it the 'Gateway to the World'. Unfortunately, Southampton's sucess became its downfall when the city was flattened within World War Two.

Since then, the city has carried on rebuilt and redeveloped. The city remained Britain's leading port in the 1950s and 60s. In 1962 over half a million passengers voted for through the port, as vastly as 4% of imported cargo into Britain. The 1970s saw the port will be by some older docks going to get redundant. The number of passengers travelling in the ports of declined as air travel took off in the 60s. In the 1980s and 90s some of the old docks were converted into areas of shops and offices and marinas.

The 1938 handbook to Southampton Docks states:

"Within comparatively recent years, Southampton has become established as one of the foremost commercial seaports of Britain. The facilities and equipment are among the top in the world, and the development of the dock approach under Railway Company ownership has been marked by an era of progress unparalleled in the history of the port. This great increase in trade has conferred upon Southampton the title of Britain's Premier Passenger Port and also the forth port in respect of the class of freight traffic dealt with." Today, whilst visitors stop to admire the QE2 harboured in Southampton's docks, it might news them to know that Southampton is too the home of the fighter plane "Supermarine Spitfire" or "Spitfire" for short, designed for use by the RAF in World War II.

It's no shock the Southampton's port became known as the 'Gateway to the World'.

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