45 Lions 𓃬 , 2 Riders 🚲, Adventure figures, plenty of time but sadly no Unicorn 🦄.

The first lion was located at Casemates: 𓃭Wild at Day and Night𓃭, designed by Amy P.

From here we picked up the Hilsea Lines trail towards Eastern Road, and the second lion was 𓃭 Leo, Jewel of the Sea𓃭, located at the Andrew Simpson Centre just before the main entrance.

We followed the newly renovated shared path along Eastern Road, just past Miller & Carter, to our next lion, 𓃭Free as a Bird𓃭.

We then moved inland a little towards the John Jenkins Stadium at Moneyfields, where 𓃭The Love of a Cat𓃭 was the next lion spotted.

From here it’s a short hop across to Baffins Pond and 𓃭Musical Memories𓃭, before venturing further into the heart of Portsmouth to St Mary’s Church, where 𓃭Solent Sunburst𓃭 awaits.

From here you could head down through Fratton and along Goldsmith Avenue, but we opted for the safer path along Clarkes Road/Milton Lane, which does mean walking your bike over the railway bridge.

The home of Portsmouth FC was next — Fratton Park and 𓃭The Fratton Roar𓃭 — before heading through Milton Park for 𓃭Lionel Leeks𓃭 and Bransbury Park for 𓃭Cubmarine𓃭

All the lions are expertly designed and painted, and many fit perfectly into their surroundings. There’s plenty of information on each one too, which the app complements really well.

We could easily have spent more time at each lion, but we were mindful that we still had quite a few to get around.

After Bransbury, and a quick look at the building work going on for the new leisure centre, it was off down to 𓃭The Portsmouth Distillery𓃭.

Check the opening times for this one, as it’s home to 𓃭Purrlock Holmes𓃭 — and make sure you check out the nice little extra bonus while you’re there.

We joined the cycle lane along Southsea — shouted at Deano! — and followed it all the way along to 𓃭Protheus𓃭, who can be found just by the entrance to the Rose Gardens, before heading around the newly cleaned Canoe Lake, home to 𓃭Cumberland Rose𓃭.

As lunchtime approached, and through more luck than judgement, we somehow found ourselves at Greek Cuisine Tony’s on the Pier — which, if you haven’t tried it, you really should.

Conveniently, this was also right next to the Gaiety Bar-sponsored 𓃭Tales Between the Tides𓃭.

Funny how these things happen.

Fully fuelled, but still not halfway, the next lion was just down the beach at the D-Day Museum: 𓃭Admiral Lord Roarington𓃭.

At this point we jumped back inland towards Palmerston Road for 𓃭Southsea Common People𓃭 and𓃭Fun at the Fair𓃭 on Castle Road, before crossing the Common back towards Clarence Pier and 𓃭Pixel King𓃭.

The next few are pretty close together, although they do require a little zig-zagging through the city centre.

First up was 𓃭Lion of Love Valen𓃭, who calls Portsmouth Cathedral home, followed by Portsmouth Grammar School and 𓃭Diverse City𓃭.

Then there’s another one where you’ll need to check opening times: Portsmouth Museum and Art Gallery, where 𓃭Dazzle the Lion𓃭 is located around the back.

From here we decided to dip further inland and cross off 𓃭Salt and Sovereignty𓃭 at the University, 𓃭Together We Are Fierce𓃭 on Winston Churchill Avenue and 𓃭Foster Families of Portsmouth𓃭, opposite the Guildhall up by the library.

You could pick up the Victoria Park lions here, but we opted to head back down towards Gunwharf first, finding 𓃭Sea of Stories𓃭 hidden away at the University North Campus.

Then came a little bit of walking.

Into Gunwharf to grab a hat-trick of 𓃭One Hundred Voices, Sea-Lion𓃭 and 𓃭The Mariner𓃭, all of which are easily accessible.

Leaving Gunwharf, it’s a very short ride to 𓃭Memories𓃭 at The Hard Interchange, who appears to have inherited a Play Up Pompey scarf.

From there we headed into the Dockyard for another two: 𓃭Roar With Us𓃭 and 𓃭Wear With Pride𓃭.

Again, you’ll need to check the Dockyard opening times.

No bikes are allowed inside, so one of us stayed outside with them. You also need to pick up a free walk-in ticket. Luckily there were no queues when we went, but you could be there for a few minutes if it’s busy.

Leaving the sea behind, we headed up Queen Street towards Victoria Park, where we found 𓃭The Town Crier𓃭 and 𓃭Sunshine Roar𓃭, virtually next to each other in the centre of the park.

Into Cascades next. We opted to go around the back via Charlotte Street and entered through the second entrance, where 𓃭Heaven’s Light𓃭 is just inside the door.

Next up was Pitt Street Skatepark — or, for anyone of a certain Portsmouth vintage, where Sainsbury’s used to be — to see 𓃭Cirque Du Roar𓃭.

That was it for the ones fairly close together. The next few were slightly further apart, although thankfully not by much.

The International Ferry Port is home to 𓃭Hertha𓃭.

This is the only lion inside a building, so if you’re on your own you’ll either need to lock the bike outside or somehow drag it upstairs with you.

Hertha sits proudly on the first floor overlooking the port.

The Mountbatten Centre was next on the list. It’s a fairly easy ride down towards HMS Excellent and then along Tipner, which is significantly more traffic-free than crossing the roundabout and using the main roads.

The grounds of Mountbatten are home to 𓃭Hope – Hearing Other People’s Experiences𓃭.

From there we picked up the Hilsea Lines path again, heading past the awesome Hilsea Lines Café — more on this later — towards the new Lido.

Those who know me will already know that I 💖THE LIDO. It’s such a great space.

Not only are they home to 𓃭Rusty𓃭, they also have two Lego figures in Lido colours at the Coffee Wagon.

Leaving the Lido, we found 𓃭Cushty𓃭, and if you know the saying you’ll love the artwork on this one.

By this point time was ticking and Auz had other plans later, so we opted to deviate from the planned route and head towards Port Solent first before doubling back towards Cosham.

En route we found 𓃭A Pattern of Portsmouth𓃭 at Lakeside North Harbour.

As we went on a weekend the gates were locked, so we had to use the main road entrance to get in and out.

Across the busy crossroads, 𓃭Commodore Cat𓃭 can be found at the entrance to the Marriott Hotel.

At Port Solent we deliberately whizzed past the first one to pick up 𓃭The Blue Guardian𓃭 on the Boardwalk, before stopping at 𓃭Leonardo Da Pompey𓃭 on the way back out. This saved us needlessly crossing the road multiple times. We’d already ridden far enough without inventing bonus mileage.

The last three were very quick to get.

Up into Portchester to St Michael and All Angels Church for 𓃭Pompey: City With a Heart𓃭, before dropping back towards Cosham for 𓃭Map of Hundred Portsmouth Stories𓃭 at Cosham Library.

Last but not least was 𓃭The Butterfly Sky Lifts Us Up𓃭 at the excellent King George V football complex.

45 lions. Done.

Well… almost.

We opted to finish the ride with a drink at the always-busy Hilsea Lines Café — a place I often, and I’m never entirely sure how, end up after a decent bike ride, walk or swim.

The flapjacks are something else!!

Overall, it took us around six hours, but with only three hours and 15 minutes actually cycling.

That included two coffee stops, one at the start and one at the end, lunch on the pier and a few walking sections.

I’m sure it can be done a lot quicker, but we weren’t worried about time. The whole point was to enjoy the ride and take in some of the very best Portsmouth has to offer.

You get to see parts of the city you may not have visited for years, support local businesses along the way and, most importantly, appreciate the lions themselves.

They’re all equally impressive and you can really see the effort the artists have put into them.

If I had to pick my top three, though, it would be:

🥇 Wear With Pride — Karis Harrington

Mainly because of its location… and because it has Navy Rum on it.

It stands as a symbol of adventure and courage, proudly displaying tattoos inspired by Portsmouth’s maritime tradition.

What’s not to like?

🥈 Cushty — Daisy Barker

Inspired by Portsmouth’s lively spirit, it brings together local history, jokes, slang and familiar sights.

It’s very Portsmouth.

Cushty…

🥉 Rusty — Gill Prendergast

Every morning he dons his swimming costume and goggles and heads out for a dip in the English Channel.

Have I mentioned that I 💖 THE LIDO?

I would thoroughly recommend doing the Pride of Portsmouth Lion Trail before it ends on 13th September, whether that’s visiting a few of them, splitting them across several days or doing all 45 in one go.

Unfortunately, the Unicorn had no location listed today… (or we thought at the time, it later transpires it might have been at Southsea Library!!)

So it looks like we’re going to have to go back out again soon.

What a shame. 🦄🚲