The glorious sunshine over most of the Bank Holiday weekend brought out the crowds to Brightlingsea Regatta for one of the traditional highlights of the Essex summer season.
On Sunday the highlight was the Blessing of the Waters by the Bishop of Colchester who was joined by mayors from across Essex and other Cinque Ports from as far away as Kent and East Sussex for the traditional ceremony.
The even is organised by TV naturalist Roger Tabor who was delighted by the success of the weekend: “It was just about perfect for most of the time and there were huge crowds here.”
The blessing dates back to ancient times and also recalls a time when there were disputes between Brightlingsea and its larger neighbour Colchester over fishing rights.
But those disputes faded into history hundreds of years ago and now the civic leaders of Colchester were among the guests processing to the blessing ceremony.
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