Mick & Lyn's overseas adventure 2013: Thursday 1 August 2013. Edinburgh. Visit to see The Royal Yacht, Britannia.

Our hotel in Edinburgh was in a great spot by the Firth of Forth but spoiled somewhat by the regular passenger jets flying past plus the noise of the many barking dogs owned by the travelers (Gypsies) who have decided that the lovely parkland between us and the water is a great place to reside. (Have just looked out of the window and found that they have gone. Excellent.)

We spoke to the hotel receptionist who said that as the land was open space legally they are entitled to live there in their caravans. Can you imagine people in Australia towing their caravans into a park and living there permanently?

Weather-wise we had quite a bit of rain overnight and it continued to rain in the morning, only stopping when Mick decided we should bite the bullet like the English do and go out to see the Royal Yacht Britannia.

Britannia which was built in 1953 and used by the Royal family for traveling all over the world, was decommissioned in 1997 after the British Government (Tony Blair) decided they could no longer afford the cost of a running it or the cost of a refit. This of course was being discussed widely before Tony Blair came to power.

The ship is now permanently moored at the quayside and open for people to visit for an entry fee which goes to The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust.

The trust is a charitable organization that receives no public money of any kind and the income it receives is used for maintaining this historically important ship.

It was only about a 10 minute drive from our hotel and access is gained to it from the second floor of the huge Ocean Terminal shopping centre. Entry cost £10.50 each for seniors.

The tour around the ship was self paced with hand held audio devices provided. These resembled large cordless phones and provided concise descriptions of each area of the ship. These areas were numbered with extra information if requested. For instance Mick wanted to hear more about the engines so by pressing a couple of buttons he could listen to this detail.

All in all this was very professionally developed attraction and well worth the visit.

When we left the ship we walked along the exit gangway and straight back into the shopping centre. Lyn went off to Marks & Spencer's to organize dinner and Mick went to get his laptop out of the car so that he could complete the sending of emails with the shopping centre wi-fi. The O2 service at our hotel is practically useless. Almost resembles the previous Vodaphone’s signal availability in Australia.

Below pictures of Britannia.