The Royal Yacht Britannia is probably on of the most famous ships in the world. For over forty years it served the Royal family and in that time travelled over one million miles. She travelled to every corner of the globe during her illustrious career playing host to 968 Royal and Official visits.
Since she was built at John Browns shipyard in Clydebank Scotland in 1953 Britannia was a floating home from home for the Royals and was the perfect residence to host glittering state visits, official receptions, royal honeymoons as well as many family holidays.
She was decommissioned in 1997 in Portsmouth in front of the Queen , The Duke of Edinburgh and fourteen other senior Royals. Then four months later she moved to her new home at Leith just outside Edinburgh were she is open to the public.
Open daily Mon toFriday Jan Mar---10am to 3.30pm AprMay---9.30 to 4pm Aug Sept----9.30 to 4.30 Oct Dec----- 10am to 3.30
No advance booking necessary except in August when booking is required.
At last you can see what life was really like for the Royal Family. Peep into the Queens bedroom have a good nosy at the Dukes sitting room gaze in awe at the State Drawing Room before heading off to inspect the bridge. There are lots of other rooms to view not forgetting the engine room still looking as pristine as the day it was built.
There is also a visitors centre where there are lots of photographs which show the history of this fascinating ship as well as newsreel footage.Here you also pick up an audio handset to take on your tour , this is of particular help to the hearing impaired as it has a volume control. The ship is fully accessible by wheelchairs and guide dogs for the blind are allowed.
After you have wandered in the footsteps of Kings and Queens you can relax in the cafe or buy some souvenirs in the well stocked shop. It is advisable to allow at least one and a half to two hours for your visit.
This was voted best tourist attraction of 1999 and was Which? attraction of the year 2000.
It is a great day out and if you are in Edinburgh it is well worth a visit, if not you can enjoy some of the sights on line at www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
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I didn't realise it was in Edinburgh. I will have a good look at the website, things like this fascinate me.
SusanLesley 13.06.2001 14:36
We hadn't got enough time to go aboard while we were there last year but it's on our list of 'must sees' for when we're next in that part of the world! Susan
BNibbles 25.05.2001 20:49
Very interesting opinion. I seem to recall from when I collected die-cast model ships that she was on the Navy's "books" as a hospital ship - can't remember if she ever got used as one though.
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Advantages: Educational. Slightly Magical. A Great Visitor Attraction. Disabled Access Throughout. Disadvantages: Situation and Surroundings. Some Material Decay Now Taking Place.
Advantages: Educational. Slightly Magical. A Great Visitor Attraction. Disabled Access Throughout. Disadvantages: Situation and Surroundings. Some Material Decay Now Taking Place.
May 15th, 2001
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