A HISTORIC pub trail has been launched as a new tourist attraction in Harwich with hopes it could also help support the struggling trade.

The town was once home to more than 40 public houses, at a time when visiting sailors would become stranded when the winds were low to sail their ships.

Now, in a bid to bring that history back to life, CAMRA stalwart Richard Oxborrow has spearheaded a project to create a website to encourage visitors and residents to wander the streets and lanes of the old town to visit the sites of Harwich’s long lost pubs.

So far, 20 of the pubs are listed on the www.harwichpubtrail.co.uk website, with hopes more will be added over time.

The official launch of the Historic Harwich Pub Trail will be on Saturday April 5 at 12.30pm when the Harwich Society will open its 15th century headquarters, Foresters, which was formerly a pub known as the Drum and Monkey.