Portsmouth is the second largest city status in the United Kingdom in the ceremonial Counties of England of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is the United Kingdom's only island city, being mainly located on Portsea Island. It is situated south west from London and south east from Southampton.
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 the HMS Warrior (1860) and Lord Nelson's flagship, HMS Victory. Although smaller than in its heyday, the naval base remains a HMNB Portsmouth for the Royal Navy and Royal Marine Commandos whose Headquarters resides there. There is also a thriving commercial ferryport serving destinations on the continent for freight and passenger traffic. The City of Portsmouth and Portsmouth F.C. are both nicknamed Pompey. 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 (shore establishment), 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 United Kingdom Census 2001 it was the only city in England with a greater population density than London as a whole , although many of London's individual London borough had a much greater density.
The suburbs of Portsmouth arguably form a conurbation stretching from Southampton to Havant on the M27 motorway/A27 road along the coast, and north to Clanfield, Hampshire on the A3 road (England).
