An impromptu evening in Heybridge

On a beautiful evening after a long day's work, we drove over to Copsey's incomparable chip shop in Heybridge, and sat on a bench overlooking Heybridge Basin to eat our superbly battered haddock and perfect chips (with mushy peas, naturally) while watching the sun go down. It was observed, simultaneously, that, had we taken time off for a few days'  'real' holiday somewhere in the UK, we'd probably just be sitting on a bench watching the sun go down over water, eating fish and chips anyway. At such moments it becomes clear that, when one lives in such a beautiful part of the world, there's often little point in bothering to go anywhere else!

We'd intended to repair briefly to the Old Ship after supper, but, following a chance encounter, ended the evening sharing a glass or two of wine aboard a beautiful 40ft yacht in the Lock , with a couple who had returned days earlier from a year's sailing trip to the Caribbean with their two young children. What an enviable adventure.