Harwich and boarding the Westerdam

  Harwich, England, United Kingdom
Friday, June 11, 2004

Cliff Hotel, Harwich

We headed immediately to the hotel to get checked in. After lunch at the hotel's pub, we walked along the coast

Walk from hotel at Harwich

up towards the lighthouse and port area of the town.

Harwich High Lighthouse

The town was famous for the old Naval shipyard where many vessels were built from 1660 to 1827. The facility is now used by a private company. There is a redoubt that was built to protect the port from Napoleon's forces in 1808. The redoubt has been restored with some of its armament and it is open to visitors. It is a classic example of this type of fortification.

Harwich Redoubt

In the port area we saw the home of Christopher Jones who captained the Mayflower on her voyage to America in 1620.

Christopher Jones' house

Another interesting spot was the Three Cups tavern which hosted many historic figures over the centuries. We visited St. Nicolas Church on our meandering around the old town.

Finally we boarded our ship in anticipation of our voyage to Norway where my wife's father emigrated from in the 1930s and my paternal grandparents emigrated from in 1850. Here's Harwich as were getting underway for Bergen.

Harwich from the MS Westerdam

Our stateroom was the standard type, small but functional.

Our stateroom

1-Our stateroom