Harwich International Port

Harwich International Port sits on the south bank of the River Stour in Essex, one mile upstream from Harwich. It faces the Port of Felixstowe across the water and was once called Parkeston Quay. The Great Eastern Railway built the port in 1883 after merging two smaller lines in 1862. Charles H. Parkes, the railway’s chairman, opened the new quay and gave it his name. A railway station and hotel were added, with the hotel still standing as offices today. The port has changed hands many times since the 19th century. It belonged to the London and North Eastern Railway until 1948, then British Railways took over. In 1984 it passed to Sea Containers, then Stena Line in 1989, and later to Hutchison Port Holdings in 1997. Stena Line now runs twice-daily ferries to the Hook of Holland with ships like the Stena Hollandica and Stena Britannica. Other services once linked Harwich to Denmark, Germany and Sweden, but these have ended. Visitors see wide docks with four ro-ro berths and long railway sidings holding 40 acres of car storage. A disused high-speed ferry pier shows where Discovery once sailed to Holland. The port also serves as a base for offshore wind farms like Greater Gabbard and Galloper, with workshops and offices on site. Tankers call at the nearby refinery, while cruise ships rarely visit now. The old railway hotel and station remind visitors of the port’s railway past.