A NEW visitor centre in Rosyth Dockyard was given its official opening last week and will allow groups to catch a closer glimpse of the construction of two huge aircraft carriers.

Fife Provost Jim Leishman attended alongside the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Donald Wilson, to help cut the ribbon and mark the opening of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance (ACA) visitor centre last week.

The new centre will give interested groups such as schools and Rotary clubs the chance to learn about the ACA and the construction of two of the largest warships ever built for the Royal Navy, the HMS Queen Elizabeth and the HMS Prince of Wales. The views from the centre give a fantastic view of the HMS Queen Elizabeth from across the docks as construction continues to progress on the massive ship and on the other side of the building, visitors can see the new Queensferry Crossing taking shape across the Forth. As well as the upstairs viewing area there is also a dedicated visitor experience gallery downstairs that showcases the history of the impressive ships.

Senior naval officer Simon Petitt was pleased to see the opportunity for groups to get a closer look at the ships taking shape. I’m captain of the first ship’s company but clearly I don’t have a ship to drive around yet!” he said.

“It’s exciting, it’s just amazing. We’re sat here in Rosyth seeing two of the largest ships the Royal Navy has ever built in one of the largest engineering projects the UK has ever delivered. It’s fantastic.

“You drive over the Forth Road Bridge and you look for it and think, ‘It’s somewhere over there,’ but when you’re here it’s big, isn’t it?

“It’s something for the area to show off – it’s something the whole of the UK can show off. A lot of the work happened in Scotland, including Rosyth. It’s a huge enterprise.” Ian Booth, managing director of the ACA, said, “With several years of the programme still to go, having a dedicated area where industry professionals and select visitors can safely view 65,000 tonnes of aircraft carrier and find out more about its unique construction and history as well as their capability in supporting our armed forces is incredibly useful.

“We receive lots of requests from interested parties to visit the carriers and unfortunately, with the ships still being under construction and safety being our number one priority, we cannot grant access to anyone who isn’t working on critical activities. This is a great option for those with a vested interest in the carriers to see them come to life in a safe and comfortable environment.”