The Royal Yacht Britannia, Edinburgh

...is a review written following the benefit of a second - rather different visit to this particular Scottish tourist attraction. I first visited the Royal Yacht Britannia on my own in 1999, the first year that it was open to the public having been "forcibly" retired to Leith Docks in Edinburgh.

I am not going to go too deeply into the politics behind the decision to put the Britannia on display in the Scottish capital, save ...
...rest of the historic ships are either based in Portsmouth or Chatham. With absolutely no disrespect to Edinburgh at all, it was always my opinion that the Britannia should have retired in her home port - Portsmouth, where all the required facilities are on hand to look after her in a ready made historical naval setting. Indeed if she was to go to Scotland, it would have made more sense to put her back - either in, or close to, her birthplace - John ... more

Once again this is a review written following the benefit of a second - rather different visit to this particular Scottish tourist attraction. I first visited the Royal Yacht Britannia on my own in 1999, the first year that it was open to the public having been "forcibly" retired to Leith Docks in Edinburgh.

I am not going to go too deeply into the politics behind the decision to put the Britannia on display in the Scottish capital, save to say that it seemed an odd one when the rest of the historic ships are either based in Portsmouth or Chatham. With absolutely no disrespect to Edinburgh at all, it was always my opinion that the Britannia should have retired in her home port - Portsmouth, where all the required facilities are on hand to look after her in a ready made historical naval setting. Indeed if she was to go to Scotland, it would have made more sense to put her back - either in, or close to, her birthplace - John Brown's ship yard at Clydebank.

In view of the many famous and historic ships built and launched from that proud but unassuming industrial, shipbuilding town, the Britannia, a well known, if compact, representative of that once great ship building company, would have made a suitable tribute. Apart from the Queen Mary (in Long Beach - California) and QE2, the last great liner built here, all the others have now gone.

Yes, the more I think about the Britannia's current location, the more puzzled by it I am. On my second visit, in a sense, this had become worse, much worse!

Telling you what it was like here in 1999 is hardly relevant today. However, at the end of the last century the Britannia sat in the dock at 90 degrees to its current position - a large open car park formed its backdrop, only a purpose built visitor centre containing a large tank for the Royal Barge was built on the site. The whole of the rest of the area looked pretty derelict.

In 2006, things are different, very different!

THE ROYAL YACHT - DEBENHAMS?

On this occasion I was not driving and therefore did not have to find my way to the Royal Yacht, just as well, because without the aid of road signs I would never have found it - even having visited the dock some seven years previously. Since that visit, the dock area of Leith has changed out of all recognition.

You should not actually get lost approaching the site by road, there are the familiar brown tourist signs to guide you - you will wonder if you have arrived at the right place when you get there though. There are direct bus services from the centre of Edinburgh which will get you to the Ocean Terminal without having to battle the traffic nightmare of Edinburgh city centre.

Thanks to our most generous and gracious hosts, familiar to some reviewers as Mr and Mrs Paul99ine, my wife and I (to borrow a royal phrase!) were chauffeured to a fairly large, very modern, shopping centre. Now, either we were about to become the victims of the ultimate consumer site joke here, or, somewhere beyond this architecturally challenged concrete and glass shopping centre, was to be found the ex Royal Yacht.

Mr P., being a canny local, chose to park in the free outdoor car park, right next to the shopping centre's car park. From here we walked around the dock waterfront, not until level with the shopping centre did we get our first glance of the Britannia, dwarfed by the rather ugly back wall of Debenhams department store. We were facing the stern of the ship, no good photographic opportunity here, far too much clutter in the way.

To gain access to the ship, you have no option but to go through the Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre and up to the second floor in the lift - or if you are claustrophobic take the stairs. Now this may come as a shock to some, but there are many men who are simply allergic to shopping centres. I would not go as far as to describe Mr P. and I thus, but neither of us, given the choice, would have "gone shopping" with our partners in order to reach the Royal Yacht!

What passes for a visitor centre here now is a double shop unit in the upper gallery of the shopping centre. Before entering, we were all in search of a loo, which naturally the shopping centre provided - there were also plenty on board the ship as it turned out.

Regrettably, no, you don't get to use - or even see the Royal "Throne" however.

On the way back from the toilets I was seeking a suitable photographic location - there is a huge glass wall top to bottom of the Ocean Terminal at the far end where the large restaurant area is. From the balcony upstairs it was still impossible to get a clean shot down the side of the Britannia. From my point of view, both as a visitor and a photographer, its presentation here is a real disappointment. Every other historic ship that I have visited has afforded the opportunity to actually see the outside of it. Further adding to the disappointment is the fact that the shopping centre is far too tall and close to the ship for comfort. There is currently, doubtless it will be re-developed, a lot of open dock space here and yet Britannia is squashed in alongside, and dwarfed by, this large and frankly rather ugly modern building.

Fortunately, as you walk into the Britannia Visitor Centre, they have on display an excellent model of the ship - take a good look at it, it is the best view you are going to have of the outside of this very handsome ship.

To your left is where the Britannia tour begins, to the right the excellent gift shop, which you do not need to visit the ship in order to look around.

We arrived for our "tour" at around midday on an October Friday, ok, if you insist, yes it was Friday the thirteenth!

HOW MUCH IS THIS DAY OUT GOING TO SET YOU BACK?

Assuming that you have managed to avoid the temptations of the shopping centre and are single minded in ONLY visiting the Royal Yacht, the prices are as follows:

ADULTS: £9.00

60 YEARS +: £7.00 (Plus members of the armed forces)

STUDENTS & CHILDREN: £5.00

UNDER 5's: FREE (Plus members of the association of Royal Yachtsmen)

WHEN CAN WE GO?

Do not turn up here on Christmas day or New Years Day as you will find it closed, every other day of the year it is open - times vary according to season, I would advise checking on www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk before setting out.

The site does suggest that in August, their busiest period, you call 0131 555 5566 in order to pre-book your tickets. My advice, as with any really popular visitor attraction, is to avoid visiting it in high season like the plague.

HOW WAS IT FOR US?

Thanks to our weekday, off season arrival at the Britannia, I have to say that it was a very comfortable visit indeed. There was no queue at the admissions desk, and whilst there were other visitors, it became busier after lunch-time, we saw what we wanted to, at our own leisure without any of the pushing and shoving that characterised our visit to Windsor Castle.

Our visit was also blessed with superb, for October, weather, on a cold wet day, a visit to the Britannia would not be such an attractive proposition.

THE HISTORY LESSON

The first section of the visitor centre is laid out as a museum. There is a lot of information to take in here, about the ship, details of its building, service years and of course the Royal Family and their many guests on board during those years.

Britannia was the last in a very long line of Royal Yachts, she was the eighty-third, the first being the Mary, presented to King Charles II by the people of Amsterdam. Ironically, Britannia was actually the first of the line to be launched by a ruling monarch. Our present Queen launched the ship on 16th April, 1953 as a replacement for the previous Royal Yacht, Victoria and Albert III, which was built in the previous century for Queen Victoria.

At this point, it may be a good idea for me to declare my interest in marine engineering, rather than as any great monarchist. Mind you, the blend of these two interests are indeed what promises for most, an interesting experience here at the Britannia.

The RN part of the ships title denotes that this indeed was a Royal Navy ship. The Y is for Yacht, as opposed to their more normal S for ship! Indeed it was the Admiralty who commissioned John Browns shipyard to design and build this ship, the confirming order being placed on 5th February 1952, the day before King George VI, the Queen's father, died.

The government of the day had thought that a new Royal Yacht would be a great boost for the ailing, but highly popular king. Regrettably they did not appreciate just how ill he was. Amongst many other pressing duties of the early 1950's this left the young Queen Elizabeth with a substantial job on her hands. In a sense, she had "hit lucky" - all of the many Royal residences had been passed down through the family and were ready made, décor, furnishings and all. She had surprisingly little say in the places in which she lived. On the drawing board at John Brown's however was a brand new Royal Yacht, something of a blank canvas in terms of design and more importantly fittings.

The Duke of Edinburgh (ah at last a Scottish / Edinburgh connection with this ship!) was a naval man. He had commanded Royal Navy warships and was very much au-fait with modern maritime design. The Queen's priorities were naturally slightly different. She desired a private "home away from home", a bolt-hole where she could escape the attention of the world's media, even if only for a short period. It also gave her the opportunity to have one royal residence that she could design to her own taste.

If you think about it, whilst indeed the Royal Family do live the life of "the other half" in some senses, more than in the case of the rest of us, they do pretty much have to take what they are given. Huge palaces and castles are mighty difficult, not to mention prohibitively expensive, to totally re-design in one's own style, even if the powerful heritage lobbies, would approve.

The Queen commissioned Sir Hugh Casson to design the Royal Appartments on board; his primary objective was to create a comfortable county house afloat. The Queen wanted the décor to be kept light and in comparison to the Royal Residences on land, far less richly decorated. According to Sir Hugh, she took a well informed interest in all matters to do with the design and specification, even down to the smallest door handles.

Maybe a modern analogy here would be to compare the young royal couple to big lottery winners who are able to design their own house - or even yacht from scratch.

Well, not quite. These were the early 1950's - a very austere time in English history, the country was still struggling to pay off huge war debts, some items were still rationed.

A flashy new Royal Yacht was not going to be acceptable in all circles; in order to diplomatically side step this issue, the Britannia was nominally designed as a dual purpose ship. It was said that, at 24 hours notice, it could be converted into a hospital ship. The one and only time that this was required - the Falklands War in the South Atlantic, it turned out that Britannia ran on a "special" diesel fuel oil not readily available…….

……odd that don't you think, seeing as by that time she had sailed all of the world's oceans without any apparent "fuelling difficulties".

In 1992, the Britannia was officially absolved of any hospital duties, her majesty's Royal Navy had apparently found more suitable alternatives.

A RIGHT ROYAL YACHT!

Whilst fitted out principally by the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh for their own use, the Britannia was used extensively by other members of the Royal family, rarely seeming to be berthed in harbour for any length of time. Yes, of course she was used for ceremonial duties throughout the Commonwealth during her forty-four years of service. She was also used for a lot of royal holidaying, including four honeymoons, starting with Princess Margaret and ending with Prince Andrew's. It is a sobering fact that the ship outlasted all of those marriages.

DO YOU NEED ONE IN POLISH?

After viewing the museum, it is time to collect your audio guide. Judging by the thousands of these sitting on charge, it can get very busy indeed on this ship. We were very impressed to see the range of languages catered for - being married to a Polish lady, I probably take more note than most of this - but yes she was offered a Polish audio guide!

WELCOME ABOARD

In case you had not already realised, the Britannia is afloat in Leith Docks. In order to go aboard you have to cross an airport style corridor which leads you directly to the highest - Bridge - Deck.

Before I go any further, I should mention here that this is one visitor attraction fully accessible for less able bodied members of the community as each deck on the ship is entered from a corridor off of the land based staircase and lift shaft. You walk no staircase actually on board.

Back to the bridge, and we are looking at state of the art 1950's ships controls with the chart room behind. In charge up here was the Captain, not just any Captain, the Royal Yacht was the only ship in the Navy commanded at all times by an Admiral.

On either side of the bridge are the open "wings" - in most ports of the world offering spectacular views…….if only that were the case here at Leith today.

On the deck immediately below, offering a comparable view, is what became known as, the Royal Bridge. It was a favourite vantage point from which the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh could greet the crowds as they entered or left port.

Behind the bridge is the larger Flag Deck, RMY Britannia carried around 2,000 flags. Most prominently flown, when the Queen was on board, were the Royal Standard - from the main mast, the flag of the Lord High Admiral (the Queen) and on the mizzen (third) mast the Union flag. One interesting fact that I learned from this visit was that the main mast and radio aerial had to be 'scandalised'. No, not a reference to the gutter press, but a naval term for hinging a mast - in this case the top twenty feet - in order that the ship could pass under bridges.

In the accommodation area underneath the Bridge and Flag Deck are situated the Admiral's Suite and Officer's cabins. The Admiral's Suite comprises a day cabin - a living room, come office, come dining room, a small sleeping cabin and a bathroom. Of the officers and crew, only the Admiral had his own bathroom - the rest had to share facilities.

THE REVIEW TAKES A DIFFERENT TURN!

Having in October, 2006 viewed the Britannia thus far, i.e. the upper decks, I had pretty much made my mind up how this review was going to take shape. What I had seen so far had been nothing but disappointing. After so many "idle" years here in Leith, the Royal Yacht had undoubtedly deteriorated since my last visit. Small areas of rotting woodwork on the deck, a lifeboat davit with clear signs of rusting and sprung plating, my conclusion would be that 'oh yes things were going down hill, as happens to all old ships left afloat and open to the environment'……

……I had reckoned without RMY Britannia working her old magic on me!

As we went deeper and deeper into the ship, I realised that, royal state rooms apart, I was seeing very much more of this ship than on my previous visit. Then it was rather like visiting a stately home, you saw the plush area where the Queen and her family lived the high life, a quick look through the glass panel into the exquisite engine room and that, as they say, was your lot! Not now.

HIS 'N HERS EVERYTHING!

You still start with the royal apartments, which I thought were a real eye opener on the relationship between the newlywed Queen and Duke. I remember to this day, the surprise of seeing "his and hers" bedrooms, with their tiny single beds and separate en-suite bathrooms. Well, actually you do not see the bathrooms, but this is the ONLY place where you can actually get to view a bedroom previously belonging to the Queen.

Compared to many royal palaces and stately homes visited, the décor of these private apartments on board Britannia is surprisingly modest. Comfortable, in a rather dated 1950's fashion, certainly rather more "middle class" in appearance than one may have imagined. Certain areas of life are however "how the other half live", I don't know about you, but I do not have a thermometer in my bath to ensure that my maid draws water of precisely the right temperature each time!

Opposite these two bedrooms is a maids room and the only suite on the ship containing a double bed, the aptly named "Honeymoon Suite" To the rear (aft) of the bedrooms is to be found the Queen's favourite area on the ship, the rear facing Sun Lounge, which opens out onto a large open Verandah Deck. This is the largest deck area on the ship and was reinforced in order to land a helicopter, an operation never to take place.

Whilst on matters transport, a Royal car was also carried in a garage on deck. This (an aging Rolls Royce Phantom - ironically the property of Bentley Motors!) is now on display, a glass wall having been inserted where the garage opened. Logistically this was some feat as the garage matches the length of the car - it was inserted there by use of a special cradle, so tight a fit was it on the cradle that the cars' bumpers had to be removed prior to loading! In later years, rather than taking her own car with her, countries visited were expected to provide suitable transport, the garage was turned into a royal beer store.

KEEPING YOUR COOL MAAM?

Incidentally, if you have ever wondered how the Queen kept her cool in those tropical foreign climes, the Royal Yacht Britannia is fully air conditioned!

Moving down a deck, we are in the most palatial area of the ship, the public state rooms. We enter them rather as a servant would have done, via the expansive kitchen and servery areas into the State Dining Room. Just about anyone who's anyone in world affairs has been wined and dined here, if these walls could talk what stories they would have to tell.

For those with sufficiently deep pockets, or corporate hospitality accounts, this room is now for hire. Thanks largely to that, the layout is not as the Queen would have recognised it. However the décor is still the same, with one wall being lined with alcoves, mounted in which are various collected treasures, ether given to, or collected by members of the royal family. This, the largest state room on the ship, also doubled as a cinema and on Sundays, a place of worship. On 2nd August, 1971, Princess Anne celebrated her 21st birthday here - the only time that the ballroom floor beneath the carpet was ever revealed and used!

Adjacent to the Dining Room are to be found - on opposite sides of the ship, the Queen and Duke's sitting rooms. These are rather more offices, than places of rest and relaxation, both are similarly fitted out - hers in lighter fabrics and wall panelling. If they wished to communicate, they did so by internal telephone, an identical system to that installed in Buckingham Palace. Their private secretaries had offices below, again connected by telephone.

To the aft of the sitting rooms are located the State Drawing Room and Anteroom, which open out into one large area. In the smaller anteroom, the royal family gathered for pre-dinner drinks. In the Drawing Room is a baby grand piano, the ivories of which have been tickled by such luminaries as Princess Diana, Princess Margaret, and Princess Alexandra. More usually it would be a member of the Royal Marines playing discreet background music. On one occasion Sir Noel Coward, guest of Princess Margaret whilst cruising in the Caribbean, entertained at the piano.

SLUMMING IT BELOW DECKS

The next deck down introduces you to a different world, that being of service to the royal family - or to the ship itself. The ship is very different in character below decks - the areas that on my first visit were not open to the public. At the stern are to be found modest, but comfortable royal staff accommodation and offices.

The strict hierarchy of command is reflected in the quality and spaciousness of the below decks accommodation. The officers Anteroom and Wardroom are comfortably, if rather "prettily" upholstered. The Wardroom was a formal dining area where officers sat dressed in best. As we descend through the ranks, the dining and drinking areas, known as a "Messes", become increasingly clubby and then pubby. Apparently it was not unknown for members of the royal family to pay informal visits to the Warrant Officer's and Chief Petty Officer's Mess.

The short straw, in terms of accommodation, was drawn by the Royal Marines, most visible of all the Royal Yacht's naval personnel. Renowned musicians, and impeccable drill performers, they impressed dignitaries all over the world. However their accommodation inside the Royal yacht - termed "Barracks" were extremely cramped. Due to their role on board, both as entertainers and as divers, regularly sweeping the hull, they had large quantities of equipment to store.

Other fascinating areas of the ship on display today are the tiny general shop, the "NAAFI", where, as we did, you can purchase home made (on the Britannia!) fudge, the hole in the wall mail office and the impressive sick bay and operating theatre. Incidentally, although this was nominally a "Hospital Ship", the Queen always carried her own Physician on board, leaving the ships doctor to look after the welfare of the officers and crew.

KEEPING IT ALL SPOTLESS

Before making your descent, to the engine room, the laundry is the last area that you view. Whilst being one of the smallest ships in the Royal Navy, Britannia had by far the largest laundry, the only Navy ship indeed to have a permanently staffed laundry at that. There were two reasons that it was designed in this way, firstly as a hospital ship far greater cleaning capacity would be required, secondarily the 240 officers and crew went through up to SIX uniform changes a day when the royal family were on board.

Naturally the Royal Smalls were kept strictly segregated from the officers and crews uniforms!

GENERAL SCHWARZKOPF'S "MUSEUM PIECE"

Finally and from a marine engineer's point of view, most interestingly, we come to the very bowels of the ship - the engine, generator and boiler rooms, with which the American General was so impressed.

Here there was a doormat, not to wipe your feet on the way out, but on which to wipe your feet before entering! Appearing almost exactly as it did upon leaving John Brown's yard in 1953, this area is probably the most immaculate today on the whole ship. You admire the chrome plated and brass tubes through a glass wall. Almost unbelievably, this power plant has steamed this famous ship well over a million miles, to be precise, 1,087,623 nautical miles. Due to the dedication of the engineers who ran and maintained this area, not only are the engine and boiler rooms spotlessly clean, but the whole ship was mechanically extremely reliable.

THE ROYAL BARGE

No, you are not being pushed off her Majesty's ship Britannia. I am of course referring to the Royal Barge moored alongside the ship in an incongruous little tank. Like the ship, this too was air conditioned. The barge dates from 1964 and shared deck space with 10 boats and 18 life rafts - more safety craft than carried on any warship.

A FEW BALD STATISTICS:

Designed by Sir Victor Shepheard - Director of Naval Construction.

Launched by HM Queen Elizabeth II 16th April, 1953.

Length 412ft (125.7 metres)

Gross tonnage 5,862 tons

Shaft Horsepower 12,000

Maximum Speed 22.5 knots - 21 knots cruising speed

Powered by two geared steam turbines, burning diesel fuel

Range: 2,196 miles @ 20 knots. 2,553 miles @ 18 knots.

AT LAST! IN CONCLUSION……

……of this quite unintentionally very long review!

A visit to The Royal Yacht Britannia will make for a fascinating morning or afternoon, whatever your political or royal persuasion. On so many levels it is a wonder and an education. Despite my initial reservations about its situation and current condition, I and, I believe, the rest of our party, thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the ship and will undoubtedly remember it for many years to come.
 

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