Today I visited HMS Trincomalee, Europe's oldest floating warship.

She was ordered in 1811, and built for the Royal Navy in Mumbai in 1816-17. Of course, by the time she was finished, the Napoleonic Wars were over, so she saw no wartime service, and indeed only had two active commissions - one in the West Indies and the other in the Pacific north-west. After that she was used for training and finally as a youth adventure training base. I didn't realise until today, but I remember seeing her moored in Portsmouth when I sailed there as a child.

In 1986 she was transferred on a barge to Hartlepool, where she'd spent her first years as a training ship in the 1860s. She's been fully restored and is afloat - albeit in a dry dock, so could be pumped out if something goes wrong!

Really impressive to see, and a good visit if ever you're in the area.

More photos in the album starting here