Cutty Sark
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The world’s sole-surviving tea clipper, famous for her record-breaking passages around the globe.
Cutty Sark was built on the Clyde in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line and was one of the last tea clippers ever made, as well as one of the fastest.
The ship visited every major port in the world through the course of her working life. She spent just a few years in the tea trade before being used to transport wool from Australia; a journey for which she held the record time for ten years.
However, following improvements in steam technology the clipper was no longer fit for use and was sold to the Portuguese company Ferreira and Co. in 1895. She continued as a cargo ship until she was purchased by retired sea captain Wilfred Dowman in the 1920s who decided she should be preserved for the nation. Since then, the vessel has been berthed in Falmouth and Greenhithe, finally arriving at her current resting place in Greenwich in 1954.
Today the ship serves as a museum celebrating its illustrious maritime history. Visitors can go below deck to see artefacts and nautical memorabilia, or explore the cabins that once belonged to Cutty Sark crew.
The ship was badly damaged by fire in 2007 while undergoing conservation. It has since been restored and reopened to the public in 2012.
