From Hamburg to Houghton - why everyone is loving the Tall Ships in Sunderland

Paul Done (rear left) with Sarah, Henry and Benno Kamp.

That’s the message from Tall Ships visitors who have loved every minute of their experience - and every one of them said it had gone without a hitch.

The Echo spoke to tourists from Wearside, County Durham, Nottingham and Hamburg and they all had the same view - that a little bit of advance planning had been the key to making their visit a wonderful one.

Paul and Karen Bowler are from Nottingham although Karen’s relatives come from Hebburn and Morpeth.

Karen said: “We have loved it. We have had no parking problems. We booked in advance and we got the shuttle bus in.

“We’ve had no rush. It has gone really smoothly and it’s not like you get to see something like this every day.”

Nadine Inglis and four-year-old son Benjamin, from Durham, were paying a first visit to the tall ships and Nadine said: “We wanted to do something special and it is brilliant. It looks really well organised and there is an excellent atmosphere.”

Paul Done, from Pittington, was visiting with his daughter Sarah Kemp from Hamburg, and children Henry Kamp, 8, and Benno Paul Camp, 4.

They were visiting during the German school holidays and Sarah said: “We took advantage of the pre-booking arrangements and it has been seamless. It has been amazing and brilliant.”

Simon Terry, from Houghton-le-Spring, has just retired from his job as a Sunderland University worker.

He said of his tall ships visit: “I am absolutely loving it. I am taking advantage of being retired and this is the third time I have been down to the tall ships.”

On his latest visit, he cycled to the Port of Sunderland and said of the tall ships event: “It is a once in a lifetime opportunity and it has been really easy to get here.”