Greenwich UK - Cutty Sark, clipper ship

There are several transportation options to travel from London to Greenwich - bus, train or boat. We chose to travel by boat down the Thames River with the MBNA Thames Clipper. The boat stops at several piers in London, so pick the closest one to you. We got on at London Bridge. You can pay the fare with an Oyster card (a pre-paid transportation card good for the subways in London). 

From the London Bridge pier we could see the ship "The HMS Belfast" and Tower Bridge.

I am not familiar with the HMS Belfast, so you will have to go look it up. You may be able to visit it.

As we floated along we passed the Tower of London and saw the entrance to the traitors gate, where traitors were "escorted" into the premises. 

Our stop was "Greenwich". If you want to visit the "Cutty Sark", get off here. It is right next to the pier. (The next stop "North Greenwich" drops you away from the center of town - near the O2 Center.) 

The "Cutty Sark" was originally used to transport tea to England from China. Later it transported coal to China and wool from Australia. Even later it was used to be a training ship for sailors. At one point it was sold to a Portugese firm and converted into a barge. Later it was bought by a gentleman from Falmouth, Cornwall. Here is a photo of the ship's history.

The clipper started out by doing trade with China to obtain tea. Tea was introduced to England by Catherine of Portugal, King Charles II 's wife. It became all the fashion. She was a trend setter.

The British wanted to increase their trade revenue in order to buy more tea from China, so they pressed the Chinese to open their markets to accept opium from the UK. The Chinese refused, but the Brits forced the issue through several wars known as the "Opium Wars". Eventually the Chinese gave in and allowed this trading.

When the Suez Canal opened in 1869 it shortened the voyage from England to China. The sailing clippers could not handle the strong winds on that route, so their tea trading declined. The hardier steam ships took over the tea trade.

Here is a model of the "Cutty Sark" with its sails.

There are two levels to visit inside the clipper. They both have exhibits about the history of the ship. The hull was wood covered with copper plating. The wood was reinforced by metal. It made for a strong ship. You can see this from the inside of the ship. 

On deck you can visit the officers' and apprentices' quarters. Can you guess which quarters were more spacious? The latter had narrow and short bunk beds.

The officers had a nice room to meet up and drink. Note the hanging drink holders.

Here is the hull of the ship.

Here is the ship's main mast.

Here is the ship from outside.

I would recommend a visit here. The clipper is an interesting part of England's maritime history.