Cutty Sark Characters

Cutty Sark Characters run on weekends during term time at the Cutty Sark in Greenwich, with the characters appearing from 10.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 3.30pm, and static performances at 11.30am and 2.30pm. They don't perform on the first weekend of the month, when the resident Sea Shanty Singers take over instead.

The characters are colourful figures from the ship's past who tell stories about life at sea in the age of sail. It's a good way to get a feel for the world the ship belonged to, and the static performances at 11.30am and 2.30pm give you a set time to gather round.

If you haven't spent much time on board, the ship itself is worth the trip. The Cutty Sark is the world's only surviving tea clipper and was the fastest of her time, built in 1869 and capable of around 20 knots. She carried tea from China and later wool from Australia until steam took over, and after some 30 years as a training ship she was retired to a Greenwich dry dock in the 1950s, where she now sits in a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can explore the captain's quarters, stand on the main deck and touch the hull, which is sheathed in copper to stop barnacles from clinging to the wood. The original 32-foot mizzen mast yard is still there, and the ship's figurehead, Nannie the Witch, remains on display.

There's more to see around the ship too. The Cutty Sark Café sits on the lower ground deck beneath that copper hull, and the on-board display 'Black and Asian seafarers in the age of Cutty Sark' uncovers the stories of sailors from around the world who served on her and on other British naval and merchant vessels. Entry is £22 for adults and £11 for children, with members getting in for free.