Edinburgh
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Edinburgh Town Guide, Royal Yacht Britannia, 6K

One of Edinburgh's most recent tourist attractions is the Royal Yacht Britannia, which you can visit at the port of Leith.

Edinburgh Town Guide, The Yacht, 1K The Royal Yacht Britannia was launched in 1953, the 83rd Royal Yacht since Charles II owned the first one in 1660.

Although obviously meant to be used as a Royal Yacht during peacetime, the ship was also designed to be used as a hospital in the case of war breaking out, although luckily it was never used for this purpose.

In her 44 years of service Britannia travelled over a million nautical miles and visited dozens of countries. She is 125m long, the main mast reaches 42m above sea level and her top speed is 21.5 knots.

When the yacht went out of service in 1977 it was decided not to replace her with a new Royal Yacht, which means that the Royal Yacht Britannia is the last of a long line. And it is worth noting that since she went out of commission, as the Queen no longer uses her, she is officially now only known as Britannia.

Now permanently docked at Leith near Edinburgh, the Britannia is open to the public. You can look through many of the rooms including the Bridge, the Royal Drawing Room and even the Queen's bedroom.

The yacht is open daily from 10am to 5pm. Admission costs around £6 for adults. You will need to make a prior reservation in order to board.




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