Golden Hinde

A dinosaur among visitor attractions — unless you’re doing something experiential there, you’ll be done in about five minutes. A trick well and truly missed; aside from one corner withe kit for a ships surgeon, there’s almost nothing to enlighten visitors as to what life was like on an Elizabethan vessel. There are a few displays about the building of the vessel (a replica, therefore unless planking is your thing, of very little interest), and a few bits about Drake, but that’s it. Disappointing; even The Clink (round the corner) fits an order of magnitude more information (and fun– oh yeah, and learning potential) into a tiny, tiny space.

I was lucky enough to win one of the keys in the Unilocal Scavenger hunt a few weeks agoand my prize was two tickets and 4 free drinks to a folk concert on the boat itself. It was wonderful. A real special experience. The views of the London skyline from the Golden Hinde are spectacular. Remarkable. That beautiful moment just before the sun starts to go down, seeing the birds fly over St Paul’s Cathedral. Wow.

An interesting piece of history and a wonderful replica of the original ship now moored so that all can view its splendour as they walk by on the banks of the Thames.

The Golden Hinde. Why not Silver, or Platinum, or aluminum?
To be fair, I have yet to fork up the 7 pound to go in this boat. I’ve been in many a boat though — yes, it’s true, I spent 50 years as a ship hand on the Santa Maria with my pal Columbus — so I don’t feel a burning desire to see the insides of this ship The outside is enough for me. Do I judge books by their cover? Do I buy boxes of cereal because I like the cute panda bears and children they feature on the front? Hmmm… The outside of the Golden Hinde is «smashing, baby, smashing,» as Austin might say. It’s got all this puuuurdy woodwork and painting in red and yellow (but no color). This decorative dame is tucked in a little docking area just along the river walk. She sits there like Little Miss Muffet, eating her curds and way and just floating there like a tourist in the Dead Sea.
When you turn the corner and stumble upon the ship (hopefully you don’t stumble to hard, because then you might break your tooth when you hit it on the starboard) it’s like getting candy from a stranger — unexpected, yet lovely! (Don’t you love candy from strangers too?)
Maybe the inside is worth a visit — I don’t know. What I do know is that 2+2 is 7, that gravity makes it possible to jump and that I love staring dreamily at the outside of the Golden Hinde.

I went to the Golden Hinde Sailing Ship when i was at primary school and we went to Golden Hinde and stayed on the boat for the whole day. The boat is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. The boat is fascinating and steeped in history. As i went with the school we dressed up as sailors or pirates. We had a lunch on the ship which tasted awful, i hated that, luckily after our visit there was a newsagent near buy to get some food. I cant remember all of my stay on the ship but overall i liked it and may go back in the future, with my children.