Tearoom on the menu for royal yacht

Published on Thursday 9 September 2004 11:56

A NEW tearoom would be built for visitors to the Royal Yacht Britannia in a former staff dining room inside the vessel under plans currently being considered.

The old junior ratings dining hall could be transformed into a luxury cafe within months if bosses decided to go ahead with the move.

Up to 500,000 is reckoned to be needed to revamp the space, which is currently being used only for storage purposes, near the engine room.

A feasibility study was ordered earlier this year after visitor surveys identified a demand for some form of catering facility on board the vessel.

Its findings, due in November, are expected to reveal if it is technically possible to bring the old canteen back to life as a tearoom, how the facility would work and be staffed, and whether it would make a profit.

But Britannia’s director Bob Downie said he was "hopeful" it would be possible, saying it would prove a major new addition for the five-star attraction.

Although there is a major Britannia visitor centre inside the Ocean Terminal shopping and leisure centre next to where the vessel is berthed, it does not have a cafe or tearoom.

Teas, coffees, home-baking and hot meals are all envisaged for the new venture, which could be open as early as Easter and is expected to have a capacity of around 60.

Mr Downie said he wanted to see the creation of a venture similar in nature to the famously upmarket Betty’s Tearoom, which has hugely popular branches in Harrogate and York.

Britannia has been a fixture in Leith since opening as a visitor attraction in the port just over five years ago after the Capital fought off competition from cities such as Manchester, Portsmouth and London to become the new home of the Queen’s former "floating palace".

The new cafeteria, if it is given the go-ahead, will be the first major new attraction on board the vessel since several extra sections - including the old steam-driven laundry, sick bay and the living and sleeping quarters of the royal yachtsmen - were opened to the public three years ago.

Mr Downie said: "It’s too early to say what the findings of the feasibility study will be, but the most important thing is whether it will technically be possible to create a cafe in the old dining hall.

"We have to make sure we can make it work and that the finances of it will stack up, but I’m hopeful we can make it happen.

"This would be the first time this area would be open to the public and it’s not been used as anything other than storage space since the vessel was decommissioned in 1997.

"The running of the cafe would go out to tender but we’d be looking at the creation of a very old-fashioned tearoom."

An Edinburgh and Lothians Tourist Board spokeswoman said: "Britannia has consistently provided something new and different to visitors, which is appreciated by them and is reflected in the raft of awards the attraction has won.

"Development of yet another area on board to provide an additional service to customers, will, we’re sure, be welcomed by the people who matter most - the customers."

Britannia was built by John Brown’s Shipyard in Clydebank, designed by director of naval construction Sir Victor Shepheard and launched by the Queen on April 16, 1953.

Over 44 years it transported members of the Royal Family on 968 official voyages, travelling through the remotest regions of the South Seas to the icy seas of Antarctica.

For state visits, the ship would sail with a full complement of around 300.