But when it does fall and lay, like this Sunday morning, 5th February 2012, it something that lots of people enjoy, bringing out everything from proper sledges to plastic trays to slide down a couple of seafront hills!

Ipswich has been a port for all of its life, with the most import quay by the Customs house being established probablty in the 7th century. A wet dock was constructed in 1842 which was ‘the biggest enclosed dock in the kingdom’ at the time, with the tidal river being diverted along the “New Cut”. The new dock was very successful for a long period, providing a home for both flour and animal feed millers, and for factories and warehouses dealing with a wide range of other cargoes.

But coastal trade declined as local businesses became parts of national companies and moved away, and other businesses with different needs took over. The Port of Ipswich built its own ro-ro berth ouside the dock, and the wet dock became less important.

The settlement started with a Roman fort on the site, and the Normans later constructed a castle – this help found today busy little town, where we spent a delightful day exploring and wandering.

But my personal favourite place was the lovely Savoy Theatre, said to be the oldest working theatre in Wales. It’s beautifully preserved, classically styled, and run with charm and efficiency by a volunteer crew, all members of the theatre trust . . go see it if you can!

New Quay (Welsh: Cei Newydd) is a seaside town in Ceredigion, West Wales with a population of around 1,200 people. It is located on the shores of Cardigan Bay with a harbour and large sandy beaches, and it is a popular seaside resort and traditional fishing town.

New Quay was originally just a few thatched cottages surrounded by agricultural land, with a natural harbour providing a safe mooring for fishing boats and a few small trading vessels. The “New Quay Harbour Act” was passed in 1835 and a stone pier was built – bringing more trade, and the town developed into what we see today. Shipbuilding also began and by the 1840s, more than three hundred workmen were being employed in shipbuilding in three centres, New Quay itself, Traethgwyn, a bay to the north, and Cei-bach, a pebble beach further north below a wooded cliff. Here were built smacks and schooners for fishing and coastal trade, and larger vessels for sailing to the Americas and Australia. New Quay also then had half a dozen blacksmith shops, three sail makers, three rope walks and a foundry.

By 1870, shipbuilding had ceased at New Quay but most of the men living there still went to sea.

Norwich is a surprisingly large city in the middle of rural East Anglia – with over a quarter of a million people, and a beautiful and historic city centre.

The city has a long and proud history – during the 11th century, it was England’s second city, and it remained so until the start of the industrial revolution.

Today, it has one of the UK’s finest city shopping centres, an 12th century castle keep, and wide range of cultural and educational facilities – everythings from a selection of live theatres and cinemas to museums and churches.

Aberaeron was planned and developed from 1805 by the Rev. Alban Thomas Jones Gwynne. He built the harbour and supported a shipbuilding industry in the 19th century. The architecture of Aberaeron is unusual in rural Wales, being constructed around a principal square of elegant Regency style buildings grouped around the harbour. The architect was Edward Haycock, from Shrewsbury. Some of the architecture was of sufficient interest to feature on British postage stamps.

Steam ships continued to visit the harbour until the 1920s but, in later years, it evolved into a small half-tide harbour for recreational craft. The estuary is also crossed by a wooden pedestrian bridge.

Crafts were an important part of village life. Information recorded in trade directories shows that in 1830, although it was not yet fully developed as a port, there were in Aberaeron one woollen manufacturer, one bootmaker, one baker, one corn miller, one blacksmith, one blacksmith and shovel maker, two shipwrights, one carpenter and one hat maker. Ships continued to visit the harbour until the 1920s but, in later years, it evolved into a small half-tide harbour for recreational craft.

In the late 1890s, a hand-powered cable car ‘The Aeron Express’ was built to ferry workers across the harbour when the bridge was demolished by floods. The structure was recreated in the late 1980s as a tourist attraction that ran until the end of summer 1994.

Rochester has a lot of interest, although it isn’t a particularly outstanding tourist detsination. It has a mostly ruined castle – although it’s in a wonderful location, overlooking the town, the river Medway, and the river crossing. It has a beautiful cathedral, smaller and less publicised than the mighty Canterbury, just down the road, but – for this writer at least – it actually has a more appropriate and religious atmosphere. There’s no rush, no hustle, no crowds . .
The town of Rochester’s favourite son is Charles Dickens – he spend much of his childhood there, and after becoming a successful author, bought a house not far away.