An excursion to the hovercraft museum at Lee on Solent to revisit the Princess Anne and Swift.
Having been here for 20+ years Princess Anne appears to be in remarkable condition thanks to the fantastic work undertaken by the volunteers. Princess Anne was moved to the museum under her own power having completed her final Calais-Dover flight in 2000. Dramatic footage on YouTube shows her mounting the Hampshire beach, crossing the adjacent road and squeezing through the perimeter gates of the museum before coming to rest. She then fired up her engines for one last time to enable her to swing around and come to rest in her current position, partially hidden by the surrounding the sheds which house many smaller craft, memorabilia, gift and coffee shop. Princess Anne has painstakingly been renovated on limited funds over the decades which now sees her in her old Seaspeed livery.
Sister craft Princess Margaret joined Princess Anne in 2000 and occupied the prime position right at the front of the museum with Princess Anne to starboard and Swift to port. Sadly, both she and Swift were broken up.
I had the honour of being granted permission to go aboard the hovercraft 'Swift' whilst she was being broken up. In a bizzare twist of fate her call sign was GH2004 and she was broken up in 2004. Being one of the last civilians to ever go aboard this 1969 built craft was a huge privilege, though a sad moment; being able to walk around her passenger cabins, vehicle deck and machinery areas freely knowing within the week all of this would be gone forever.
I would definitely recommend going to the museum and spending the day there and enjoy the surroundings which include a gift and coffee shop. The staff are great, always willing to offer assistance and information. If you can support this worthy cause please do; once lockdown is over go and have a visit.
