The Hovercraft Museum, Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire
The Hovercraft Museum at Lee-On-Solent is a working museum that’s constantly restoring, preserving and maintaining its collection. You can see the craft undergoing works in the engineering hangar, and if you’ve ever fancied boarding a hovercraft, well, you’re in luck because there are several and among them is the SR.N4 – “The Princess Anne”, the largest commercial hovercraft ever built. It served for over 30 years as a fast cross-channel ferry between Dover and Calais and could carry more than 60 cars and 400+ passengers. In fact this is the craft that still holds the record for the fastest car carrying commercial channel crossing, at 22 minutes – impressive.
You can also see the three hovercrafts used in the James Bond film “Die Another Day” (remember that hovercraft chase?) and the two that were built in TV’s “Scrapheap Challenge”.
The museum holds regular events throughout the year, like 15 minute hovercraft trips, Isle of Wight day trips and Special Hovercraft excursions and tours.
Open: Sat 10.00 am-4.00 pm (NB: closed for a brief period in the winter)
T: 02392 552090 All information correct at the time of writing