When visiting the Scottish capital, it’s easy to make a beeline for Edinburgh Castle – you can see the thing as soon as you step foot out of Waverley station, after all. But head a bit further down the road, past Leith and to the sea, and you’ll get to an equally popular tourist attraction: the Royal Yacht Britannia, a huge ship which was once the former royal yacht of the British monarchy, in service from 1954 to 97.
And now, the attraction is about to get even better. The Royal Yacht Britannia has revealed plans to open a ‘new world-class visitor centre and retail experience’ this spring. Before checking out the ship itself, visitors will soon be able to learn about the boat’s history via all-new, never seen before photos and videos, via an exhibition which traces the Britannia’s lifetime from the build of the last Royal Yacht in John Brown’s Shipyard to the ship as a visitor attraction.
There will also be a new gift shop stacked with souvenirs situated on the second floor of Ocean Terminal shopping centre, which is currently going through redevelopment, complete with a walkway guiding customers right to the ship’s top deck to kick off their tour.
The Royal Yacht Britannia was a home-away-from-home for the late Queen Elizabeth II and her family more than four decades. It’s now situated at the Port of Leith, and is available to visit for a peek inside the ‘former floating palace’, attracting more than 300,000 people each year.
Check out the CGI images of what the new centre will look like below.
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