After shedding tears when fire engulfed the Cutty Sark five years ago, Lesley Bellew was overwhelmed once again when the world’s last remaining tea clipper re-opened to the public.

She’s back. Gleaming in the spring sunshine, the Cutty Sark has been magnificently restored to take its place again as one of the most iconic and best-loved landmarks in London.

It is a bit of a shock when you first realise you can no longer see this last surviving tea clipper as a whole – a giant glass 'skirt’ at waterline level horizontally divides the clipper in two.

But on top deck, the view across the Thames to the Shard and Canary Wharf, through the rigging, captures the essence of London’s history and ever-changing landscape. This is the area of the ship most instantly recognisable to former visitors and it is here, in all its glory, that if you are going to get emotional about this maritime miracle, it will happen.

You can also celebrate in the fact that 90 per cent of the fabric and fittings are still visible. Precious items were saved because conservation work had begun before the fire and the mast, rigging and parts of the cabins had been removed, much of it taken to the Historic Dockyard at Chatham.

The Cutty Sark has been controversially raised three metres out of dry dock and visitors can now walk under its incredible golden hull – clad with Muntz metal, an alloy of copper and zinc. You can no longer look down into the dry dock but new steel supports take the strain off the hull so you can get close up to really understand how the clipper cut through the water at record speeds.

The space below the hull also doubles up as an exhibition space which now houses the world’s largest collection of figureheads, including the Cutty Sark’s witch, Nannie, also restored to her former splendour.

The Queen opened Cutty Sark in 1957 and returned last week to officially reopen the ship following a £50m renovation after the devastating 2007 fire.

Built on the River Clyde at Dumbarton, the Cutty Sark was launched in 1869 to carry tea from China. Her expected working life was 30 years. She was the most advanced ship in existence and could carry more than 1.3 million pounds of tea in a single voyage.

However, the introduction of steamships and the building of the Suez Canal brought a change of use and from 1883, she spent 10 years transporting wool from Australia and became the fastest in her trade with her first return trip taking 83 days.

She was later bought by the Portuguese and renamed Ferreira, visiting almost every port in the world. In 1922, she ran into a gale in the Channel and was taken to Falmouth for repair. By now she was in a sorry state. It was here that Wilfred Dowman, a retired skipper, recognised her as Cutty Sark and went on a mission to buy her. Fortunately, Dowman had married well, to Katherine, a member of the super-rich Courtauld family.

Dowman paid over the odds at £3,750 and the restored Cutty Sark became a training ship for Sea Cadets. When Dowman died in 1938, Katherine offered the ship to the Incorporated Thames Nautical Training College at Greenhithe.

Cutty Sark made an appearance at the 1951 Festival of Britain but was now surplus to requirements at Greenhithe. She was rescued from the scrapyard by Frank Carr, director of the National Maritime Museum. He helped to form the Cutty Sark Society and Prince Philip immediately became its patron.

The Cutty Sark is open Tuesday to Sunday and bank holidays, 10am to 5pm. Admission £12, concessions £9.50, children £6.50 and family tickets £29. Visitor inquiries 0208 8582698 or visitwww.rmg.co.uk/visit/events