Maritime sights in London
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Golden Hinde
Okay, it looks like a dinky theme-park ride and kids do love it, but stepping aboard this replica of Sir Francis Drake’s famous Tudor ship will inspire genuine admiration for the admiral and his rather short – average height: 1.6m – crew, which counted between 40 and 60. A tiny five-deck galleon just like this was home to Drake and his crew from 1577 to 1580 as they became the first sailors to circumnavigate the globe. Adult visitors wandering around stooped must also marvel at how the taller, modern-day crew managed to spend 20 years at sea on this 37m-long replica, after it was launched in 1973. Tickets are available from the Golden Hinde Shop. You can also spend …
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B
Cutty Sark
This Greenwich landmark, the last of the great clipper ships to sail between China and England in the 19th century, was undergoing £25-million repair work in 2007 when a fire damaged about 50% of the ‘fabric’ of the vessel. Luckily half of the ship’s furnishings and equipment, including the mast, had been removed for conservation. At the time of writing, repairs costing an additional £10 million were under way and the Cutty Sark will rise, phoenix-like, from the ashes any day now.
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C
Execution Dock
Wapping was traditionally home to sailors and dock workers. One of the most important historic sites is Execution Dock near the marine police station at 94 Wapping High St E1. This is where convicted pirates were hanged and their bodies chained to a post at low tide, to be left until three tides had washed over their heads.
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