Things to do with kids this Summer - Cutty Sark - Lower Hold - Greenwich London

Having a stay-cation or visiting London with the kids this summer ?
I will be posting 2 different series of this wonderful ship.
Let's start with  the Lower Hold :

Cutty Sark was built in 1869 and was one of the very last tea Clippers.
She was the fastest sailing cargo ship ever but steam power came  to replace sails.



Besides, with the opening of the Suez Canal in the same year Cutty Sark was built; steam ships enjoyed a journey to China or Australia cut by a huge 3,000 miles !







The main trade was with tea from China.
This is a stunning example of a tea Chest.

Clippers were racing to bring the tea back from China.
Betting on the fastest ship became a national sport ;-)

The ship bringing the first tea of the year would win a considerable bonus.







                                                                                       


Tea used to be very expensive before Cutty Sark as a 119% tax was added to its price.

In a bid to eradicate the Dutch's tea smuggling trade, the tax was brought down to a low 12%

This made tea affordable to most and contributed to the booming tea industry in England.











A model view of the beautiful Cutty Sark.




Cutty Sark would also bring wool back from Australia.
She set the record in sailing to Australia with only 77 days in 1883.