<P> When Belfast was first opened to the public , visitors were limited to the upper decks and forward superstructure . As of 2011 , nine decks are open to the public . Access to the ship is via a walkway which connects the quarterdeck with the pedestrianised footpath on the south bank of the River Thames . The Imperial War Museum 's guidebook to HMS Belfast divides the ship into three broad sections . The first of these , `` Life on board the ship '' , focuses on the experience of serving at sea . Restored compartments , some populated with dressed figures , illustrate the crew 's living conditions and the ship 's various facilities such as the sick bay , galley , laundry , chapel , mess decks and NAAFI . Since 2002 , school and youth groups have been able to stay onboard Belfast overnight , sleeping in bunks on a restored 1950s mess deck . The second section , `` The inner workings '' , below the waterline and protected by the ship 's armoured belt , contains core mechanical , electrical and communication systems . As well as the engine and boiler rooms , other compartments include the transmitting station ( housing the ship 's Admiralty Fire Control Table , a mechanical computer ) , the forward steering position and one of Belfast 's six - inch shell rooms and magazines . The third section , `` Action stations '' , includes the upper deck and forward superstructure with the ship 's armament , fire control , and command facilities . Areas open to the public include the operations room , Admiral 's bridge and gun direction platform . During 2011 , two of these areas were reinterpreted . The operations room was restored to its appearance during Exercise Pony Express , a large British - Australian - American joint exercise held off North Borneo in 1961 . The reinterpretation included an interactive audio - visual plotting table . In July 2011 , the interior of Y Turret , the aftmost 6 - inch turret , was redisplayed using audio - visual and atmospheric effects , seeking to evoke the experience of a gunner at the Battle of North Cape . To emphasise the range of the ship 's armament , the forward six - inch guns of A and B Turrets are trained on the London Gateway service area on the M1 motorway , some 12.5 miles away on the outskirts of London . A 4 - inch gun mount and a shell hoist are kept in working order and used during blank - firing demonstrations by the Wavy Navy re-enactment group . In addition to the various areas of the ship open to visitors , some compartments have been fitted out as dedicated exhibition space . Permanent exhibitions include `` HMS Belfast in War and Peace '' and `` Life at Sea '' . The cost of admission to HMS Belfast includes a multilingual audio guide . </P>
where do the guns on hms belfast point
trained on the London Gateway service area on the M1 motorway