Languard Point - To see the world`s largest container ship

When it was reported in a local newspaper that the world's largest container ship was in Felixstowe docks, (that's Languard Point,) we made our way to see this mammoth. Luckily, we had planned a visit for another reason already!Making our way to the car park close to the observation area, it was obvious that the news travels fast - there were a lot of people about for the same reason no doubt.

World's largest container ship MSC Loreto at Felixstowe

It has the capability of holding more than 24,346 containers.

A view of the MSC Loreto with a large Stena Line passenger ferry passing by.

The Stena Line ferry rounds the river mouth against a backdrop of a radar tower and a line of shallow water markers

Parts of the timber pier which once carried rail lines to the end of the jetty. The railway was linked to Landguard Fort where, in the latter part of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century, a system of using submerged mines was devised to protect the approaches to Harwich Harbour.

The railway was used to transport the mines, using hand-pushed trucks, to the jetty where they were loaded on ships and deployed in the harbour.

The mines were anchored by heavy plates and floated to within about twenty feet of the surface (at low water). At this depth they did not interfere with the normal traffic entering and leaving the port. Cables from the mines were connected to the fort's observation post, which was complete with telescope and rangefinder. The telescope would be trained on the bows of an intruding vessel and when the vessel reached the location of one of the mines an electrical contact was automatically made, and the mine exploded.

The mines were designed to cause an upsurge of water so that the vessel would be disabled, not blown up.

We love the area and have visited many times, whether for sight of specific birds or flowers. The official description is: "Landguard is a designated Local Nature Reserve (LNR) due to its value to the local community and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) because of its high wildlife conservation value, such as its rare, vegetated shingle habitat and botanical species"

On top of which you can see a wide variety of ships going in and out of the Felixstowe docks as well as Harwich. Well worth visiting.

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Felixstowe - a day out

Felixstowe is the nearest seaside town to us and seems to be gaining in popularity judging by the number of people seen there. A couple of visits within a few days and here are some images from those visits, including my first sight of the new Ferris wheel. But to start, some images from the Languard end of Felixstowe.

Many ferries as well as container vessels are visible at virtually any time.

Looking inland there is the beautiful Nature Reserve. Here with part of the old fort in the background.

Then, of course, the busy container port. The Port of Felixstowe is the United Kingdom's largest container port, dealing with 48% of Britain's containerised trade. In 2017, it was ranked as the 43rd busiest container port in the world and 8th in Europe, with a handled traffic of 3.85 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). In 2019 it was ranked the UKs 7th busiest port - shows how it`s growing! Mind you, if you travel the A14 in the area you will see evidence of its growth with a continuous stream of container lorries.

As I said, all sorts of people visit Felixstowe these days - even The Wicker Family. Made by Tracey Barritt-Brown.

Used to be observation towers and gun emplacements guarding the entrance to Harwich

Blocks to stop all sorts of landing craft

Two types of observation for plotting ship positions - think I would trust the radar more!

The new Felixstowe Ferris wheel.

To quote from the local press: A new feature can be seen on a coastal resort's promenade after a Ferris wheel was erected. The temporary attraction, opposite Mannings Amusements in Felixstowe, Suffolk, stands at more than 34.5m (113ft) tall. Once open later this month, it will be able to hold 144 people, with six in each of its 24 gondolas.

The tourism organisation Visit Felixstowe said it was a "great feature" for the town.

East Suffolk Council approved plans for the observation wheel on Sea Road in June. At the time, it said it would provide an "additional attraction to the tourism offer at the resort, helping to support the wider economy".

Obviously, we all had to have a ride and enjoy the views from the top.

Colourful beach huts on the promenade

View from under the pier

Pier from the nearby beach. Where was everybody? - all on the pier it seemed when we went to try the slot machines.

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