The Royal Navy’s greatest triumphs and what you can see of them today

Bermuda’s Royal Naval Dockyard – a main strategic base for the War of 1812 between Britain and the US - Totajla

It has not been a good few days for the Royal Navy. The Middle East has spiralled into war, but what was once deemed to be the planet’s foremost naval fighting force has been notable by its absence from the theatre of conflict.

Especially so in the case of RAF Akrotiri, one of two British military bases on Cyprus, which, last week, was left open to a surprise drone attack – a failure that has been called “an absolute outrage and disgrace”.

The situation has prompted a range of emotions, from anger to embarrassment – but it may also be a cause for nostalgia. There was a time when, to paraphrase that most famous of songs, “Britannia ruled the waves”, to the extent that the prevailing image of the Royal Navy is still tied to the triumphs of yesteryear.

Here is our guide to those historic high-points, including advice on what can you see of them today.

Battle of Trafalgar, Spain

When: October 21, 1805

Like the Battle of the Nile seven years earlier (August 1-3 1798), the Battle of Trafalgar played a key part in the ultimate defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1815 – even if its enduring fame has rather exaggerated the immediate impact it had on what would prove to be two nearly decades of war with France.

The battles are also united by two further shared elements. They were both tactical triumphs for Horatio Nelson – whose aggressive assault on a larger Franco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar saw 18 enemy vessels either captured or destroyed, without the loss of a single British ship. And they are both tricky to visit in modern life – as, like most naval clashes, and rather obviously, they took place out at sea.

See for yourself: You can see the waters where cannon fire was exchanged from Cape Trafalgar, the headland which juts out from Spain’s southern coastline, on the outer edge of the Strait of Gibraltar. Crowned by a 19th-century lighthouse, the cape is gloriously photogenic, and sits within reach of Cadiz, 35 miles to the north. Kirker Holidays (020 7593 2288) offers three-night mini-breaks to the three-star Argantonio hotel in the Andalusian city from £694 per person (with flights).

That said, the main reminders of Trafalgar are found in Britain. Not least at the National Museum of the Royal Navy at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, where HMS Victory, the ship from which Nelson directed the battle, is enshrined in its dry dock. And you can find the man himself in his tomb in the crypt at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, triumph at Trafalgar having come at the cost of a musket ball to his lung.

HMS Victory, the ship from which Nelson directed the Battle of Trafalgar, can be seen at the National Museum of the Royal Navy at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard - Alex Segre / Alamy Stock Photo

Nelson’s Dockyard, Antigua

Established: 1704

A decade before his first big success in Mediterranean waters, Nelson was a young seaman dispatched to the Caribbean to help defend British interests in the region. He came to hate Antigua, with its heat and mosquitoes, referring to it as a “vile hole” – but his name still clings to the bay whose fortifications became the Navy’s heartbeat in the Lesser Antilles.

Horatio Nelson was stationed in Antigua from 1784 to 1787. Today, a museum at Naval Officer’s House tells his story - Roberto Moiola

The strengthening of what became known as English Harbour, near the south-east corner of the island, began with the construction of Fort Berkeley in 1704, and hit peak purpose with the building of a proper dockyard from 1725. Nelson was stationed there from 1784 to 1787 – long enough to be forever associated with a place of wharves and weaponry that, here in the 21st century, is both a yachting hub and a gently historic oasis.

See for yourself: The Dockyard Museum offers artefacts and recollection in the former officers’ quarters, and the Inn at English Harbour trades on this heritage as a five-star retreat. A seven-night stay in October starts at £3,584 per person – with flights – via Best at Travel (020 3993 7711).

Royal Navy history on display at Nelson’s Dockyard in Antigua, including cannons - Ian Hamilton

Battle of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

When: February 6, 1806

The Royal Navy’s need to be alert in Caribbean tides was illustrated by this clash with Napoleonic France, barely four months after Trafalgar. Partly in response to that defeat, Napoleon had ordered two squadrons into the Atlantic, to harry British ships.

One of these squadrons was surprised while at anchor off what is now the capital of the Dominican Republic – but was then a significant Spanish colonial port which had fallen into French hands (in 1795).

The engagement was brief and brutal – all five ships under the command of Corentin Urbain de Leissègues were captured or wrecked; no British vessels were damaged. This would prove to be the last encounter between British and French warships in the Napoleonic era.

Santo Domingo is a vibrant capital city popular with tourists - E+

See for yourself: Santo Domingo is one of the Caribbean’s most fascinating capitals – still, at its heart, the first European-founded city in the Americas, dating to 1496. It features in the eight-day “Dominican Republic Authentic Tour” offered by Responsible Travel (01273 823 700) – from £2,025 per person (flights extra).

Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda

Established: 1795

Bermuda was pivotal to British interests in the Atlantic almost from the moment it was settled in 1609, but became crucial after the loss of the American colonies in 1783.

Bermuda’s Royal Naval Dockyard has a rich history, including ammunition bunkers built in 1845 - KenWiedemann/iStockphoto

The direct result was the crafting of the Royal Naval Dockyard at the western tip of the main island – a bulldog with such a powerful bite that it remained on active duty, in various forms, until 1995.

It was the main base for the War of 1812, a nasty struggle between the USA and its former overlord that, in spite of its name, dragged on into 1815, and even saw British troops occupying Washington DC (for a total of 26 hours).

See for yourself: The Dockyard has been restored, and now operates as a shopping and dining hub, and a cruise port. It is also home to the National Museum of Bermuda. A seven-night getaway to the four-star Cambridge Beaches Resort & Spa (a three-mile hop away) starts at £2,711 a head (flights extra) via Elegant Resorts (01244 757 644).

This classic British telephone box, found at the Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda - robertharding / Alamy Stock Photo

Battle of Quiberon Bay, France

When: November 20, 1759

It was not Napoleon, but pre-revolutionary France, which the Royal Navy faced in this seismic encounter just off the coast of Brittany. The principles were much the same: a struggle for maritime supremacy in the Channel and the Atlantic – and a determination to ward off the threat of French invasion.

In both cases, the Battle of Quiberon Bay was a success. Up until this point, France had held the upper hand in the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763), but this showdown helped to reverse the momentum. Daring seamanship saw Sir Edward Hawke chase 21 French ships into the dangerous shallows and sharp rocks near Carnac – sinking six of them.

The Battle of Quiberon Bay was the most decisive naval encounter during the Seven Years War between France and Britain – depicted here in print by Charles N Robinson & Geoffrey Holme (1924) - Print Collector/Getty Images

The battle was one of the reasons why 1759 – which brought a series of triumphs – was known as the Navy’s “Annus Mirabilis”. The politician Horace Walpole would be moved to remark that “our bells are worn threadbare with ringing for victories”.

See for yourself: Quiberon Bay is still as beautiful – and tricky to navigate – as it was in the 18th century. It is a key component of “Brittany – Carnac and Beyond”, a seven-day escorted tour of the French region that Andante Travels (01722 786 745) has planned for September 7-14. From £3,440 a head (with trains).

The fight against the Spanish Armada, English Channel/Thames Estuary

When: July-August, 1588

This 19th-century engraving depicts a fierce battle between the English fleet and the Spanish Armada in 1588 - deepblue4you

The (English) Royal Navy came into formal existence in 1546, as one of the final acts and achievements of the dying Henry VIII. It would prove its worth within half a century, as his daughter fended off the Armada of 137 ships dispatched into the Channel by Philip II of Spain, in a ferocious (but ill-fated) attempt to bring about regime change in London.

Philip’s ambitions would be stymied over the course of two months – and particularly on the night of August 7-8, when English mariners including Sir Francis Drake loaded eight vessels with brimstone and pitch, set them alight, and launched these “fireships” towards the enemy, at anchor in Calais – scattering the Armada so successfully that it never regained its fighting formation.

But the most iconic moment of a stressful summer came on August 19 1588, when Elizabeth I addressed her troops at Tilbury, uttering the famous line: “I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king – and of a King of England too”.

See for yourself: Although it was hugely remodelled by subsequent monarchs – and while Elizabeth’s speech was delivered near, rather than inside it – Tilbury Fort, on the Essex side of the Thames, is still, at root, the defensive watchdog founded by Henry VIII in 1539. It is open to the public between March and November.

Tilbury Fort in Essex is a bastioned 17th century artillery fortress on the north bank of the river Thames - iStockphoto

Battle of Sluys, Netherlands

When: June 24, 1340

There was, of course, no official Royal Navy in the mid-14th century, but there was still plenty of maritime derring-do on display in 1340, as the dashing King Edward III (who was 27 that summer) led a fleet of around 150 English ships into the Channel, and a collision with a rather larger French force (of around 230 vessels).

The Battle of Sluys – which took place in sheltered waters just off the Dutch coast – managed to be both conclusive and inconclusive. Favourable winds and Gallic disorganisation ensured a crushing win – sources suggest that the French lost up to 20,000 men, and as many as 190 ships. But the battle was also merely an early thrust of a rather wider conflict. The “Hundred Years War”, which had started just three years earlier, would drown Europe in blood until 1453.

See for yourself: So significant has been the silting of some sections of the Dutch shore in the last six centuries that Sluis (modern spelling), a port in 1340, is now five miles inland. It makes for a pretty day-trip from Bruges, 15 miles away, over the Belgian border. A three-night dash to the four-star NH Brugge Hotel, flying from Heathrow on May 21, starts at £377 a head, via Expedia (020 3024 8211).

Historic Sluis, found five miles inland from the Dutch coast, is recommended for a day trip from Bruges - Alamy

Battle of Jutland, Denmark

When: May 31-June 1, 1916

The trenches and gas attacks of the Somme have come to dominate the stories of the First World War so utterly that the conflict’s only real naval fight has become something of a historic footnote. The Battle of Jutland’s profile has not, perhaps, been assisted by the fact that it was inconclusive – a titanic clash between 152 British ships and 99 German vessels which failed to produce a knock-out blow. Indeed, the British Grand Fleet lost 14 of its number to the seabed, where only 11 enemy ships were sunk – but it was enough to keep Germany’s “Hochseeflotte” penned into the Baltic for the rest of the war.

A print of HMS Lion in the Battle of Jutland during the First World War - Photos.com

See for yourself: In 2016, on the centenary of the battle, a graceful memorial to the near-9,000 men killed that day was unveiled along the coast adjacent to the battle site – the position of each of the 25 wrecks replicated via ghostly sculptures in the sand dunes. It, along with the peninsula’s Sea War Museum, can be visited as part of the seven-day “Denmark Castles and Jutland” road trip sold by Viva Holidays (0808 239 9003) from £699 a head, including flights to Copenhagen.

Walk along the coast that witnessed the Battle for Jutland – such as the Rubjerg Knude sand dune cliff - Westend61

Battle of Taranto, Italy

When: November 11-12, 1940

Britain had already demonstrated its willingness to be proactive in the Mediterranean four months before this attack on Italy. On July 3 1940, Winston Churchill had ordered the destruction of the French fleet – moored at Mers-el-Kébir, on the Algerian coast – in case Paris, newly conquered, allowed it to fall into German hands (the bombardment was highly controversial; Churchill would write that “this was the most hateful decision, the most unnatural and painful in which I have ever been concerned”).

The Battle of Taranto took place in the Puglian port of the same name, today a popular destination - iStockphoto

By the end of the autumn, it was the turn of the Regia Marina (Italian Navy), moored in the Puglian port of Taranto – 21 Fairey Swordfish torpedo-bombers were dispatched from aircraft-carrier HMS Illustrious under cover of darkness; eight Italian warships were destroyed or disabled. The raid is believed to have been noted by Japan, which staged a similar assault – with war-changing consequences – on Pearl Harbor just 13 months later.

See for yourself: Taranto is Puglia’s second largest city, and an intriguing base for a holiday in the region. A one-week stay at the four-star Hotel Delfino Taranto, flying from Stansted on July 18, costs £563 a head via Last Minute (020 3386 8411).

Blackbeard’s last stand, North Carolina

When: November 22, 1718

Not every significant Royal Naval battle of the past was against the fleet of a rival nation-state. In the mists of the early 18th century, one of the greatest threats to British maritime interests were the pirates who wrought chaos in the Caribbean.

The most notorious of these, perhaps, was Edward Teach – the Bristol-born mariner better known as “Blackbeard”. His attacks on ships sailing to and from the British colonies earned him enemies in high places, and when word broke that he was lurking in the channels off North Carolina during the winter of 1718, heavy guns were called in.

The pirate Blackbeard was cornered by Captain Robert Maynard of the Royal Navy in Ocracoke, North Carolina in 1718 - Jared Lloyd

It was Captain Robert Maynard of the Royal Navy who, in charge of two armed sloops and 57 men, cornered Blackbeard as he was moored in Ocracoke Inlet. Outnumbered, but unaware of his disadvantage, the pirate was lured into boarding Maynard’s vessel, the Jane – and although he fought viciously, was cut down in hand-to-hand swordplay. Finally killed, his severed head was placed on the Jane’s bowsprit as a warning to others.

See for yourself: Ocracoke Island dances with the pirate’s ghost via a “Blackbeard Trail” (see Visit North Carolina). It can be visited via the 13-day “Charming Carolinas” road-trip sold by Bon Voyage (0800 316 3012) from £3,395 a head, with flights.

Recommended

Life's a beach in the Carolinas

Play The Telegraph’s brilliant range of Puzzles - and feel brighter every day. Train your brain and boost your mood with PlusWord, the Mini Crossword, the fearsome Killer Sudoku and even the classic Cryptic Crossword.