New Hampshire has a tiny sliver of coastline, the official tally is only about 18 miles. Although if you add up all of the inlets i.e. nooks and crannies, it has about 235 miles of “estuarine shoreline” that the crow would simply fly over in a straight line.
Driving from Massachusettes to some destination in Maine, you can tell the kids in the back seat “we are now in NH” followed by “we are now in Maine” just a few minutes later as you fly by New Hampshire’s coastline on Interstate 95.
But if you don’t stop to explore New Hampshire’s small but beautiful and historic coast, you are missing a treasure trove of natural beauty and historic spots.
Portsmouth is an amazing little city crammed full of historic buildings as well as theater, art galleries, and foodie-worthy restaurants from traditional seafood joints to craft breweries and cutting edge creations.
It’s one of the tourist destinations that get overrun in the summer but I like to explore the town on the shoulder seasons.
Portsmouth can seem like a town frozen in time with an amazing collection of early American homes, shops, and buildings. The Strawberry-Bank museum is a great collection of homes that were threatened with demolition back in the days of the urban renewal of the 70s. This area is now preserved as a collection of houses showing life from 300 years ago in the waterfront neighborhood called Puddle Dock due to frequent flooding.
Many famous revolutionary war figures came from this important harbor and naval area including John Paul Jones, colonial America’s first sea warrior who was a tenant of the Widow Purcell in this house in 1781 while he supervised the building of the Navy’s ship America nearby.
This historic house is just one of many well preserved historic homes in this compact waterfront city that can be toured. Portsmouth is a very walkable town with so much to see including quaint little shops and eateries for every taste. Around every corner and alley is another historic spot such as the new Black Heritage Trail.
Africans have contributed to the economic and cultural fabric of New Hampshire since the 1600s. More than 700 Blacks lived in Portsmouth by the time of the Revolution, many of them caught up as chattel in the lucrative Northern slave market while others were part of a marginalized community of free people.
Portmouth’s Black Heritage Trail
Art and artists are a big part of the modern Portsmouth scene and on the first Friday of every month, from 5 to 8 pm all year, downtown Portsmouth celebrates its inspired, intimate urban community with big-city style art walk in which galleries open their doors for art lovers. It makes a great way to work up an attitude before checking out many of the city’s great restaurants.
And then just over the World War I Memorial Bridge, which raises and lowers to let boat traffic in and out of the mouth of the river, is Kittery, Maine with lobster boats, outlet shopping and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard located in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. PNS is tasked with the overhaul, repair, and modernization of US Navy submarines.
– Wikipedia
For photographers, Portsmouth and the surrounding area provide ample opportunities for creative photography. Here are some photographs from Portsmouth for sale.