A boat which operated as a lighthouse tender in the Highlands for years is to be converted into a luxury floating hotel.
The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust yesterday announced that it has bought the heritage vessel MV Windsor Castle, which has previously served lighthouses and light vessels in Oban and Orkney.
Now nearly £1million will invested in turning the classically designed ship into a 25-bedroom luxury “boatique” hotel.
She will be berthed permanently, adjacent to Britannia in Edinburgh’s historic port of Leith.
Launched in August 1963, she was the last ship built by the Blythswood Shipbuilding Company, Glasgow, and was previously the Northern Lighthouse Board’s (NLB) tender Fingal.
The purpose of the lighthouse tender was to maintain, support or tend to lighthouses or light vessels, providing supplies, fuel, mail and transportation.
She was registered in Leith but spent most of her NLB service working out of Oban for 30 years, with the last six based in Stromness, Orkney.
At 239ft long, she is nearly two-thirds of the size of Britannia. The vessel was sold by the NLB in 2000 to Hong Kong-based Tamahine Shipping and has been maintained to the highest standards ever since, at her berth on the River Fal in Cornwall.
The ship is scheduled to arrive in Leith during the week of August 25, and will undergo an 18-month conversion, scheduled to open in spring 2016.
Britannia is officially Scotland’s best visitor attraction, for each of the last nine years, and the UK’s No.1 attraction on Trip Advisor this year.
Bob Downie, Britannia’s chief executive, said: “After many years of searching for the right ship, we are delighted that we have been able to acquire this iconic vessel and look forward to opening Scotland’s first boatique hotel.
“As a youngster growing up in Oban I have very fond memories of seeing the Fingal and I am delighted that the long-term future of another much loved classic vessel has been secured.”