40 years on, QE2 returns home to Clyde

The Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise liner has been on a farewell tour of sorts, making its final celebratory stops with the last one being the shipyard in Greenock on the Clyde River where it was first built 40 years ago.

The QE2 holds the distinction of being the world’s most travelled ship, carry 2.5 million passengers in her long career and watching 5.6 million nautical miles rack up on the captain’s log. It was today in 1967 that the ship was christened and set out on its maiden voyage from the John Brown shipyard in Clydebank.

Once the ship is moored back in its birthplace, a whistle will blow to commemorate the very moment it first set sail. Many of the workers who helped with the ship’s construction have been invited to the planned gala as guests of honour.

But all this does not mean that no one will be enjoying the QE2 ever again; just over a year form now it will be delivered to its new home in Dubai, where it will be converted in to a tourist attraction, with entertainment facilities and a hotel onboard.