Exploring some of the UK’s maritime stars in their museum moorings, Rhiannon Batten discovers history on the high seas
SS Great Britain
Proving the saying ‘shipshape and Bristol fashion’, Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s vast 1845 passenger steamer sits gleaming on Bristol’s waterfront, in the very dock in which it was built. Designed to run between the city and New York, it was the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic. Later used to transport emigrants to Australia (and tourists – Anthony Trollope wrote Lady Anna aboard one such journey in 1871) it was scuttled in the Falkland Islands in the 1930s, before being rescued in 1970. Now immaculately restored, the ship welcomes you to marvel at its screw propulsion technology and explore steerage and rst class cabins. ssgreatbritain.org
The Mary Rose
With its seafaring history, naval prowess and boat-building heritage, Britain is not short of interesting old ships to visit. Handily for those who want to do just that, two of the most famous (plus HMS Warrior, Britain’s first iron-clad warship) are moored up alongside each other at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. HMS Victory, Nelson’s agship from the Ba le of Trafalgar, shows the full force of this oating killing machine, as well as more domestic aspects of life in the Georgian navy. The Mary Rose, meanwhile, is the only ship of its kind on display in the world and o ers a brilliantly interactive look at life in Henry VIII’s day, both off -shore and on. historicdockyard.co.uk
Cutty Sark
One of the fastest clippers in the world when it was launched, in 1869, this maritime luminary once sailed from Shanghai to Kent in 107 days and from New South Wales to Cornwall in just 69. Built in Dumbarton, it takes its name from a witch in the Robert Burns poem Tam O’Shanter, and the Cutty Sark went through a bad spell in the early 1880s marked by murder and mutiny. Moored up in Greenwich since 1954, it was restored in 2012 following a major re and is a highlight for passing London marathon runners. It is now part of the National Historic Fleet; the nautical equivalent of a Grade I-listed building. rmg.co.uk/cutty-sark
RRS Discovery
The RRS Discovery was designed as a scienti c research vessel. The last traditional wooden three-masted ship to be built in the UK, in Dundee, Discovery launched in 1901. That its first mission was Sco and Shackleton’s trailblazing British National Antarctic Expedition of 1901–04 explains its thick wooden hull; this was designed to prevent crushing and boost insulation (though ice still formed on officers’ cabins overnight, even if they did enjoy the luxury of eating o specially commissioned Royal Doulton china). Now berthed beside the V&A Dundee, the ship forms the centrepiece of the city’s Discovery Point attraction. rrsdiscovery.co.uk
The Titanic
When is a ship not a ship? One answer is Titanic Belfast, which conjures a palpable sense of the great ocean liner, despite the vessel itself now lying at the bo om of the Atlantic. Standing on the former site of the Harland & Wol shipyard, where the doomed ship was built, the prow-like museum is built to the same height as its namesake. Taking visitors through the ship’s story, from the perspective of its builders, as well as its passengers, brings into sharp focus the devastating – and lasting – impact its 1912 sinking had. Beside the museum is the SS Nomadic, the tender ship that ferried passengers to the liner on its maiden voyage. titanicbelfast.com
Royal Yacht Britannia
In service from 1954 to 1997, Britannia has lived out her retirement in Leith, the docklands area of Edinburgh. Built in Clydebank, the yacht was cleverly designed to be converted into a hospital ship should war break out, but mainly served as a home for Queen Elizabeth II on her annual cruises and on royal tours. Charles and Diana also honeymooned on it. Highlights include The Queen’s bedroom, and the state dining and drawing rooms; styled by Hugh Casson in the early 1950s and little changed, these were apparently designed not to be too lavish so as not to appear distasteful to a nation still su ering austerity. royalyachtbritannia.co.uk