Royal Yacht Britannia, Edinburgh
A RIGHT ROYAL RESTING PLACE
The Royal Yacht Britannia will soon move to its permanent new home
alongside Ocean Terminal in Edinburgh, which is a fitting setting
for such a magnificent ship, as Lorraine Wakefield finds out.
Since the former
Royal Yacht Britannia came to its final resting place at Leith in
Edinburgh in 1998 nearly one million visitors have followed in the
footsteps of the Royal Family by standing on the deck of the famous
ship.
Visitors from throughout Britain and around the globe have marvelled
at the grandeur of the Britannia, which served the Royals for more
than 50 years and travelled thousands of miles playing host to dignitaries
and royals from many different countries.
When Britannia was first brought to Scotland three years ago plans
were already afoot to create a fitting home for her and the £120million
Ocean Terminal is now complete and ready for the royal yacht to
berth alongside.
The Royal Yacht Britannia will open for the last time at its current
berth on 23 September and will then close for ten days to allow
it to be moved to its new berth some 100 metres away, ready to re-open
to the public on 4 October.
The move to Ocean Terminal will also mean a new visitor centre and
an extended tour of the yacht and according to Britannia sales and
marketing manager Julia Stephenson it will make the visitor experience
even better.
"Our home at the moment was always a temporary home while Ocean
Terminal was being developed and the deadline was always October
2001," explained Julia.
"It is our final home and more of a fitting home as well. It is
a more fitting backdrop for the yacht and there will be more for
visitors to do. Ocean Terminal will have 70 shops and 12 bars and
restaurants and Britannia is the centrepiece.
"We will have a new visitor centre on the second floor of Ocean
Terminal and visitors will gain access to the yacht from there,
about 100 metres across the water from the present berth.
"We are updating the information that is in our current visitor
centre and giving it a different lay out and we are opening up more
areas of the ship for visitors as they wanted to see more of the
working parts.
"More working areas of the yacht will be opened including the officers'
and sergeants' mess, the Royal Marines barracks, the laundry and
the sick bay and that will add around 15-20 minutes onto the original
tour.
"The Britannia had 220 yachtsmen and 20 officers and we will be
showing more of the contrast between the working parts of the ship
and the royal apartments.
"We have had almost one million visitors in the past three years
and we are absolutely delighted. We get visitors from all over the
world because the ships has got international recognition and we
offer our audio tours in five different languages and will add Dutch
and Japanese as well when we re-open.
"All types of people visit from those with a great interest in the
Royal Family, to people who are interested in nautical engineering
and ships and then there are people who are just curious and want
to see what life was like on the royal yacht.
"Britannia is just like when the Royal Family stepped off, we have
all the original furniture, paintings and artefacts and there is
something for everyone from the engine room to the Queen's bedroom."
As well as being a visitor attraction, the Royal Yacht Britannia
also hosts corporate events and functions onboard for that very
special and exclusive occasion.
Parties can hire the dining room for up to 96 guests and enjoy dinner
just as the Queen once did in splendid surroundings.
Following an introduction to the Royal Yacht in the visitor centre
the audio tour of Britannia takes visitors all over the ship from
the flag deck, the highest point of the yacht, to the royal quarters
where they had their very own deck for playing deck games.
One of the Queen's favourite places on the yacht was the sun lounge
which is modestly furnished but would offer fantastic views of any
port of call through its large windows. The Queen and Prince Philip's
bedrooms are also included in the tour and are mirror images of
each other in design, with only the décor showing personal preferences
with the Queen opting for lace trimmed pillows and Prince Philip
having more masculine accessories.
Also included in the tour is the officers wardroom; the kitchens,
where food was prepared for both the crew and the Royal Family;
the nerve centre of the yacht on the bridge and the engine room.
In the Royal Apartment visitors can see the grand dining room still
laid out in all its splendour, the drawing room and Queen's and
Prince Philip's sitting rooms.
All in all a visit to Britannia offers the chance to step back into
the grand opulence of days gone by and enjoy the experience of being
a royal - even if just for one day.
More information about the Royal Yacht Britannia, opening hours
and ticket prices can be found on the website at www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk
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