I cannot believe I have lived in London all these years, yet this was my first time visiting the Cutty Sark. What an interesting ship.
Built in Dunbarton, Scotland in 1869, specifically for the China tea trade, it set sail from London in February 1870 for Shanghai loaded with wine, beer, spirits and manufactured goods. The Cutty Sark arrived there in May, where it took on board 1,305,212 lbs of tea and headed back to London. It arrived in October. Later, when steam ships took over the tea trade, the Cutty Sark had to find other cargo, including jute and later wool from Australia.
You can read the history of this fascinating ship here.
After a cuppa and snack in the cafe, we headed into Greenwich Park and up the hill for the view.
We came back into central London on the Uber Boat from Greenwich Pier to Westminster. This was great fun.
This was a lovely day, and we were lucky because there were no crowds. I think we timed it well. Schools had just returned after the summer break so too early for school trips, and it was a Monday.
There’s lots of information on board and you even have a chance to steer your own ship from Australia back to London on an interactive map. Both my friend and ended up shipwrecked within a short space of time! It was great fun though.
My London+ 