Royal Yacht Britannia (Leith)

At the moment Dave has a contract in Edinburgh and I have come up to stay with him for a fortnight to keep him company and to get a break from the daily routine. For those of you wondering about Mew he has gone to the local cattery where he has under paw, sorry under floor, heating, so he'll be OK! I will be doing a review shortly! Anyway today we decided to go and see the Royal Yacht Britannia which is currently moored in the waters of the Firth of Forth at Leith in Edinburgh. When we were last in Edinburgh we drove out to see Britannia but didn't have time to actually go on board. She was moored next to a small building and car park and ...  Read the complete review

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 ...  Read the complete review

The Royal Yacht Britannia is possible one of the most elegant and well known ships that has sailed the Ocean. She was launched in 1953 and served the Queen and her Family for 44 years before being decommissioned at the end of 1997. The Royal Yacht Britannia is 83rd in a long line of royal yachts and was planned during the reign of King George VI but upon his death the design of her was overseen by the new Queen. When the yacht was decommissioned a number of UK cities bid to secure the ship but it was Edinburgh that was ultimately successful and the Yacht can now be found in the historic port of ...  Read the complete review

I remember seeing the news reports of the Queen with a tear in her eye when she was forced to say goodbye to the Royal Yacht Britannia. Now, having looked around it, I can see why. It would be like being cruising in a five star hotel! It is a floating palace! We visited Edinburgh for New Year and made sure we made time to visit the yacht that served the Royal Family for 40 years (I love being nosey and looking around these kind of things!) If you are in the area I would certainly recommend a visit to it so you can see how the other half live if nothing else! WHERE IS IT? The yacht is now a popular tourist attraction and is situated in Ocean Terminal. ...  Read the complete review

HMY Britannia (Y for Yacht, as opposed to Ship) was, until decommissioned in 1997, the floating home of the Queen and her family. Built in 1953 in Clydebank, Scotland, she travelled over a million miles and still holds the magic sparkle you would expect anything with the prefix 'Royal' to have. Now converted into a museum 'experience', ensuring her awesome history does not go forgotten, she instantly makes it into a tourist's list of things to do in Edinburgh, especially with the backing of being an official five-star tourist attraction, and having won various Best Attraction Awards as well. Britannia is permanently moored now at the Port of ...  Read the complete review