The English seaside town millions of tourists often forget about – with free Victorian pier and blue flag beach
MORE than a million holidaymakers a year pass through Harwich but most barely give the Essex town a sideways glance as their ferry sails out towards the Hook of Holland.
But it was a voyage from here 400 years ago that could be said to have changed the course of history.
The ship was the Mayflower and it was built in Harwich by Captain Christopher Jones, who then risked life and limb to carry his passengers across the Atlantic.
They were the Pilgrim Fathers fleeing persecution here, to build a new life in America and help found a new country.
Harwich still feels like it is somewhat living in the past, with a town crier, an annual sausage-throwing contest a big sea shanty singalong and the Guy Carnival, where locals sport giant heads and fancy dress.
The latter is nothing to do with Guy Fawkes, but is associated with the tradition of “guying” — taking the mickey out of authority for one day a year.
This coastal region, 20 or so miles east of Colchester, is a great spot for holidaymakers who want something more low-key than the sterotypical seaside fare, especially those who are into maritime history.
The story of the Pilgrim Fathers can be learned in Jones’s Wattle and Daub house, part of the Maritime Trail, which runs through the town.
It includes the Redoubt Fort (built when Britain feared a Napoleonic invasion), a radar tower from World War Two, a Guildhall, the giant
Treadwheel Crane, a lovely church and two lighthouses.
I climbed the 100 steps inside the High Lighthouse (its partner, the Low Lighthouse, is now a museum) to learn about the people who lived there after it ceased operating, including the notoriously naughty Lighthouse Lil.
And inside the Georgian Guildhall we saw cells where prisoners, usually homesick foreign sailors, carved pictures of their ships into the wooden walls.
Perhaps the most powerful story, though, is symbolised by a life-size statue of five children, suitcases in hand, descending a ship’s gang plank.
They represent the 10,000 children, mostly Jewish, of the Kindertransport, who came to Britain to escape the Nazis.
Harwich is where they first arrived and where they were temporarily housed, many in the local holiday camp.
No trace of it remains today, but in the 80s it was the setting for hit sitcom, Hi-De-Hi!
The statue stands near the entrance to the Victorian Ha’Penny Pier, so called because that was the original entrance fee.
Today it’s free — a rare example of something costing less than it did 150 years ago.
Although shorter than the original it is still a great spot for crabbing, fishing or embarking on a boat tour of the harbour or to see one to the seal colonies along the coast.
If you’re after something less outdoorsy but still in touch with the town’s history, the Electric Palace Cinema is the best spot to catch the latest blockbusters.
LOCAL PRIDE
Built in 1911, it’s one of the oldest purpose-built cinemas in the UK.
Volunteers play a big part at the cinema as they do in so many of the town’s attractions including giving free guided tours.
A result of this local pride is that prices are kept down: nothing costs much more than a couple of quid.
It also encourages hands-on engagement — kids can climb inside the Treadmill Crane (once worked by two men to load and unload boats) and adults can clamber aboard a lifeboat in its museum, or poke around in the last manned Trinity House light vessel.
There’s a smart hotel for those who want to stay longer, plus pubs with rooms and Airbnbs, as well as a new foodie restaurant, Lambard’s, which has just opened with a £55-a-head tasting menu.
You’ll have to head to the neighbouring Dovercourt, which also has a Blue Flag beach, for seafront cafes and traditional arcades, though.
Instead of stereotypical seaside attractions, Harwich offers an understated, rather old-fashioned charm.
And it cherishes its eccentricity.
On the day the mayor is inaugurated he or she will open the upstairs window of the Guildhall and throw out traditional spiced buns called kitchels to the crowds.
That’s what makes Harwich so special: historic traditions are very much alive and thriving.
GO: HARWICH
STAYING THERE: Rooms at The Pier start from £144 a night.
See milsomhotels.com/the-pier.
Rooms at The Alma Inn cost from £90 per night.
See almaharwich.co.uk.
For more information, see harwich-society.co.uk.
