A maritime town with a "fascinating history" in Essex is home to one of England's busiest passenger ferry ports and one of the nation's oldest surviving cinemas.
Sitting on the north-eastern tip of Essex at the confluence of the rivers Stour and Orwell is Harwich - the UK's second busiest passenger ferry port according to Visit Essex.
Described as a "traditional historic maritime town" with "a fascinating history", the town's name comes from the Old English 'here' and 'wic' meaning 'army dwelling' - a nod to reports that a Danish army camped on the site in the ninth century.
By the 13th century, Harwich had grown into a functioning port, and in 1319, it was granted a royal charter from King Edward II.
Notable explorers such as Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins departed from Harwich during the reign of Elizabeth I.
In 1620, the Mayflower, captained by Harwich-born Christopher Jones, carried the Pilgrim Fathers to America.
Harwich became a Royal Navy base in 1657 and remained heavily fortified through the Napoleonic era as well as playing a role in both world wars before developing into a major ferry terminal.
Around a 90-minute drive from Romford town centre, visitors can today enjoy the "quaint streets" of Harwich and visit "gems" such as the Electric Palace Cinema which opened in November 1911 and is now "the oldest unaltered purpose built cinema in Britain" according to Visit Essex.
The cinema, in King's Quay Street, closed in 1956 after being damaged in the East Coast floods of 1953, but was saved from demolition thanks to the intervention of the Harwich Society, and re-opened in 1981 by the Electric Palace Trust.
The historic cinema was used as a filming location for Downton Abbey: A New Era.
St Nicholas Church - built in 1821 - the Redoubt Fort - built in 1808 - and the old Radar Tower are also noted as sites worth seeing in Harwich.
The radar tower is described as the first radar installation of the Second World War by Visit Essex and it can be opened on request at Harwich Visitor Centre.
Wildlife enthusiasts can enjoy seal watching boat tours that set sail from the Harwich Half Penny Pier - a "fantastic" two hour experience with the opportunity to spot some birds and colonies of harbour seals and grey seals basking on the mudbanks, according to Visit Essex.
Harwich is also home to The High Lighthouse and the Low Lighthouse which historically worked in tandem as leading lights to guide ships safely into the harbour.
Withdrawn from service in 1862 when the shifting sandbanks around the Stour estuary rendered them unreliable, they were replaced by a new pair of cast-iron lighthouses at Dovercourt.
The Low Lighthouse now houses Harwich Maritime Museum and the High Lighthouse is managed by the Harwich Society as a heritage attraction.
The town is home to several pubs including both 4.6 out of five star Google-rated The New Bell Inn and The Alma Inn.
The latter has been "at the centre of Harwich life since the 1850s serving ale to the citizens, sailors, soldiers and farmers of the wind that passed through," according to its website and is "ideally located within moments of the quay".
According to data from Rightmove, the average sold house price in Harwich over the past year is £256,667.
Most properties sold over the last 12 months were terraced and sold for an average of £198,842 whilst detached properties fetched £354,200 on average and semi-detached properties averaged £241,343.
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