The Cutty Sark

 Arriving in Greenwich along the Thames River I was greeted by the Cutty Sark.

Now if you are not a tea fan you might not know why my heart was jumping up and down

to see this amazing ship.

 The Cutty Sark was built to be the fastest clipper to sail the tea route.

In 1870 she made her first journey to China to bring tea back to England.

She never made the title of the fastest, but she did bring tea back

to a country that was starting their love affair with tea.

Her life on the seas wasn't for long, as steamships and the opening

of the Suez Canal changed the shipping industry forever.

 After being rescued from demise she became a training ship

and then later rescued and placed in a permanent home in Greenwich.

 In the hull of the ship is the largest collection of merchant-ship figureheads.

 On exhibit were many references to tea during the Victorian period.

 Not very clean, but the containers were a good reminder of what filled this tea clipper

once upon a time.

 Can you picture walking here, sipping a cup of tea, and riding the waves

traveling back and forth to China?

The tea was brought to this wharf where it was unloaded and distributed to tea drinkers

during the Victorian period.

How excited my tea loving heart was to learn more of the history of tea in England.