Karen

My family will be in London in December. My 14 year old son and 10 year old daughter want to see some old ships while we are there. Any suggestions?

Tim

You should see the Cutty Sark.

Geoff Hamer

The CUTTY SARK is at Greenwich and can be reached easily by train, or by boat from Westminster, Waterloo, Embankment or the Tower. In winter, the boats from Westminster are the most frequent but there are two separate companies (www.westminsterpier.co.uk and www.citycruises.com). The maritime museum at Greenwich is free and has as many ship models, and bits and pieces as anyone could possibly want to see.<BR>Between Westminster and Embankment is the paddle steamer TATTERSHALL CASTLE, now used as a pub. She was built in 1934 as a car ferry. Anyone can go onboard and look around and you can see the steam engine - I think it's OK for children in the daytime. <BR>Between London Bridge and Southwark Bridge on the south bank is a replica of Sir Francis Drake's GOLDEN HINDE, open to the public in a dry dock.

Jen

My young son really enjoyed the Cutty Sark, although he was confused by its appearance at first because he though we were going to see Cutty's Ark. Godo interpretive exhibits on board, really impressedhte kids wtih the smallness of these ships and the hardships of sea travel.<BR><BR>We traveled to Greenwich aboard a Catamaran Cruiser from Westminster, lots of fun becuase of hte humorous yet very informative historical narrative along hte way. We took the noon boat and arrived at Greenwich just before 1PM, so tehy waited to dock the boat until we had seen the famous 1 PM ball drop at the top of the Greenwich Observatory. This was catamaran Cruisers' hop-on-hop-off tour that also stops at the Tower, not their circle cruise which repeats everything in several languages. The we took the tube home.

andrew

How about HMS Belfast (the World War Two warship) which is down by the Thames a short walk from Tower Bridge and is a fun place to go to - there is a lot to see inside.<BR><BR>You could also team that up with a five minute walk west of there and you get to see a replica of the Golden Hinde that Sir Francis Drake used on his many sailing adventures<BR><BR>Hope you enjoy London<BR>Andrew

PatrickW

You might see (though they/re more common in the summer) some Thames barges going up and down the river. These used to be the day-to-day workhorses of the coastal trade, and were famous for only needing a man and a boy to manage them. Sadly you probably won't be able to visit, since they're mostly only used for corporate parties and such and are mostly kept outside London. But there are some informative websites about them: http://www.thamesbarge.org.uk/<BR><BR>You could also visit St Katharine's dock by the Tower, where there are boats of all types. I think there's an old lightship used as a restaurant, there might be a Thames barge or two, and there was a replica 18th century sailing ship there last summer.

Bill I

About 1 to 1 1/2 hrs by train, south of London is Portsmouth. This is my favorite place to go for old ships. On the Naval base there, they have the man-o-war(triple deck, wooden, sailing warship) HMS Victory, which Lord Nelson died on during the battle of Trafalgar. You can tour this ship. They explain things about the ship, they involve some of the kids in the tours. The cannons, hammocks, tables, funiture, etc. are setup as they would have been when in use. There is also the first metal hulled warship built, which you can also tour. Then there are the remains of the Mary Rose - the flag ship of King Henry VIII, which was recovered by a group headed by Prince Charles a number of years back, &amp; which is in no condition to actually go on, but you can walk around the outside of the ship as the restoration is going on. Then there is a maritime museum there also. Also it is a naval base, so you can usually see some modern warships (from the outside) moored there. You can also take a boat ride around the harbor &amp; see things from the water. I have taken my son here when he was 9, &amp; I try to get to Portsmouth everytime(as well as going to Greenwich) I go to London

David White

Karen,<BR><BR>Another nod for Greenwich, which is very convenient from central London. (my kids like riding in the front car of the driverless Docklands Light Railway to get there). <BR><BR>The Cutty Sark is there in all its glory, but perhaps the most inticing aspect of your visit to Greenwich is the recently refurbished Maritime Museum. While this was once a fairly static display--portraits of &quot;old dead navy guys&quot; as some kids may have decribed it--the museum is now very hands-on and innovative. <BR><BR>If time permits, and the weather is acceptable, walk up the hill to the old Royal Observatory. Here your kids can stand on the zero longitude line, with one foot in the eastern hemisphere and one in the western.<BR><BR>Enjoy your trip<BR><BR>David White<BR>http://www.KidsToLondon.com

Bill

I know you said London...but another vote for Portsmouth from another Bill.<BR>The tour of &quot;Victory&quot; was great , as was the museum and the diorama of Nelson's victory. (He came home in a barrel). Don't miss Portsmouth if it's doable for you.

a

And another vote for Portsmouth!<BR><BR>It's an easy trip to Portsmouth Harbour by train (make sure you go to Portsmouth _Harbour_) with no changes. <BR><BR>See www.hms-victory.com, also http://www.stvincent.ac.uk/Heritage/1797/index2.html and http://www.flagship.org.uk/welcome.html

Karen

Thank you all for your suggestions. They all sound very fascinating. I'll let the kids decide on their favorite and do more than one if we have time. I have a question though. Are the boats running in December. Taking a river &quot;cruise&quot; was something we wanted to do, but thought they weren't open in the winter. Thanks for your help.

Jen

The Catamaran Cruisers do run all winter; here's a link to their site. Which also offers a special coupon for kids to go free!<BR><BR>http://www.bateauxlondon.com/