Veteran destroyer HMS Newcastle enjoyed a penultimate spell in the public eye at the South Coast’s largest maritime event of the year.

The Geordie Gunboat leaves the Fleet in January after 26 years service, and ends her front-line duties with two high-profile events.

The Type 42 destroyer, the oldest vessel in the surface fleet, was the largest ship on show in Southampton, an event otherwise dominated by the yachting and small boat fraternities.

“Newcastle is a fine ship,” said Weapon Engineer Officer Lt Cdr Ian Mills. “We are proud to be the oldest ship in the Fleet, and I have to say that for 26 years old, the old girl looks very good.

“It is so nice to be going out on a high. At the end of a career a ship may get one high-profile event. We’ve got two.”

Beyond upwards of 10,000 visitors, the ship hosted celebrity TV chef Ross Burden, who was eager to keep away from the galley, the Princess Royal, and 18 members of Britain’s medal-winning Olympic sailing squad.

They may – or may not – have spotted the toy black cat stuffed in an air conditioning vent, a long-running joke with the ship’s aircrew.

“I’ve sailed on everything from small dinghies to tall ships, and followed the progress of the Olympic team on TV, but I never thought I’d get the chance to meet them and actually touch a medal,” said LSA Andy Doble.

Despite her age, Newcastle has been worked hard in the twilight of her career – a world tour, Atlantic deployments and most recently a seven-month anti-terror stint in the Mediterranean have all been squeezed out of the ‘old girl’ since the turn of the century.

After the boat show the destroyer and her ship’s company paid an emotional final visit to her namesake city, performing a final march through Newcastle and returning the freedom of the city scroll to civic leaders, as well as handing the ship’s much-travelled mascot, Salty the Bear, to Marine Park School in Whitley Bay.

Youngsters have followed the cuddly toy’s exploits since he joined the Geordie Gunboat for her world tour in 2000.

The last day Newcastle is officially needed by Commander-In-Chief Fleet Admiral Sir Jonathon Band is January 31, although the wind-down begins once the destroyer has completed navigational training and Commanding Officer Cdr Jeremy Blunden has departed in November.

Sister ship HMS Glasgow will also be bowing out on a high in October. Glasgow is another of the Type 42 fleet which has been earmarked for decommissioning under this year’s defence shake-up. The third being HMS Cardiff, which will make her farewells next year.

HMS Glasgow is spending a week on the Clyde to say her goodbyes to affiliations which in many cases go back to the 1970s.