The last ship I watched being launched was the Queen Elizabeth II.
Hard to believe that was more than forty years ago, September 1967, and already she is about to be retired from cruising, and destined to depart on a one way voyage to Dubai where she will become a static floating hotel in just six weeks time.

For those of us in Scotland the last opportunity to see her has been her round Britain voyage which concludes back at Southampton early tomorrow morning. In Scotland she visited Greenock in the Firth of Clyde (for Glasgow) and South Queensferry in the Firth of Forth (for Edinburgh).
However as I now live very near the English border it was easier to take Ann to see her at the English Port of Tyne which serves the city of Newcastle.

Your roving photographer in Cunningham kilt, aboard the Spirit of the Tyne passing alongside the QE2.

The vehicle carrier Thames Highway passes QE2 at the start of a three day voyage to St. Petersburg. Thames Highway was built in Poland in 2005 and has a capacity to carry 2,000 cars.

A view from astern.

Concluding this series of photos with the sun setting over the QE2.