A highlight of the holiday.

We drove to Ipswich, boarded one of three coaches to Harwich where we boarded the PS Waverley .

After calling at Clacton we were diverted round the many treacherous sandbanks which were, with tide being low, exposed sufficiently for seals to rest upon. This took us through several wind farms and past the Maunsell Sea Forts (scroll down for information).

Entering the Thames estuary the message came that we could not pass below Tower Bridge until later than planned, so we pootled up with plenty of time to see the Thames Barrier, Millennium Dome (now the O2 arena), Canary Wharf and the Shard all lit against the darkened sky and beneath Boris' Olympic cablecar.

Approaching Tower Bridge we could watch the bascules rising for us and every camera on board was deployed (much to the annoyance of the Captain, who complained that the flashing obscured his view).

All too soon we docked at Tower Millennium Pier for coaches to return us to Ipswich.