HMS Edinburgh returns to spiritual home 16.05.13
35HMS Edinburgh has made an emotional final trip to its spiritual home.
The Type 42 destroyer has dropped anchor in Leith docks where it will stay for six days.
During their stay the crew will take part in a parade down Edinburgh's Royal Mile to mark the ship's decommissioning. The ship will be open to the public on Saturday.
After Leith, HMS Edinburgh will continue on to Liverpool, where it was built.
The Royal Navy's biggest Type 42 destroyer is sailing round the UK in a farewell tour, which will end in Portsmouth next month.
Around 250 crew are on board but will be redeployed across the Navy at the end of the tour.
Commander Nick Borbone said: "This marks the end of the ship and the life of the Type 42 Destroyer so it's a really significant trip and a huge highlight of that is the visit to what we consider to be our spiritual home of Edinburgh.
"Although the ship was built in Liverpool and is mainly based in Portsmouth, we're named after Edinburgh city and have had really strong links with it over the 30 years or so of the ships life.
"It's one of the cities we visit most, so to be able to pay our respects and let the people of Edinburgh look over what is really their ship will be great before we go back to Portsmouth and decommission."