Doris Vists the Royal Yacht Britannia on the Queens 90th birthday.

Doris Vists the Royal Yacht Britannia on the Queens 90th birthday.

The Shades Of Bad team planned a well tweeted visit to Edinburgh on the 21^st April 2016. It was to shoot a film for the spin off show Doris Visits. Here at the production company we had been contacted by two local lads, Sam and Findlay, who wanted Doris to Visit Edinburgh. They produced a list of top visitor attractions and we noted that cruise ships stopped there so it fitted our remit. We decided to drive given the kit.

What we did not put together until we were in the car travelling and listening to the radio, was the ‘two plus two equals huge prize’ scenario. It was the the 21^st April and it was Queen Elizabeth II’s 90^th birthday and her decommissioned yacht The Royal Yacht Britannia is Edinburgh’s number one attraction. We went straight there before meeting our local team and found bands playing and the whole place felt heavy in music copyright issues. Doris would not be able to commentate in her normal way. However, after the band left we found a wonderful sign that encouraged us to make a complete film on Britannia not just add it as part of a general Edinburgh film.

 

One of the reasons it is the number one attraction in Edinburgh might just be because it totally allows you to support it in social media. Maybe they know that only positive will come of it as they have such a great product. Whether you are a royalist or not, this is history at its best. It is fantastic. The Royal Yacht is detailed right down to the bone china, attaché case and the personal pictures. You see everything from the Queen’s bedroom to the state room, from the officer's quarters to the medical surgery and laundry. It is an incredible visit which was an effort to edit down to under ten minutes. It will take you a couple of hours as there is more to see and much to study. We learnt a lot and were grateful for this unplanned birthday treat. 

I would suggest you get there early, as soon as it opens and before it is busy, or late as we did. Then attempt the rest of Edinburgh as per our other films. Another tip is to take earphones or headphones and ask for an audio guide with a neck strap.

You might just want to use your camera a few times.

Our second prize was finding that Edinburgh was the origin of Harry Potter. None of us were fans of the books or films, so the Potter era had escaped us all apart from my visit to have lunch with a colleague at Leavesden when he was on themovie. And it was just another film set and I have grown up on film sets.

But then,when you think and remember, yes, Edinburgh was where it started. Then, walking the streets it all makes sense. Every building inspires such wizardry. We had even seen a close friend’s production of Potted Potter at the festival more than once and never focussed on it coming from there. We have a separate ‘HarryPotter’s origins film’, which you can get to by clicking here.

The main Edinburgh film covers a good few of the other attractions, Arthurs Seat to the Castle, the Royal Mile to Restaurants and buildings. You need more than a day and good walking shoes. 

The £4 all day bus pass is worth considering too if you wish to get to places in and out of town. 

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