As England starts its third national lockdown, the BBC visited the adjoining coastal towns of Harwich and Dovercourt to find out what the restrictions looked like on a damp January morning.
image captionA lone dog walker makes his way towards the Harwich Low Lighthouse
image captionThis bench, which bears a plaque reading "Happy to chat", lay empty on the first morning of the third lockdown
image captionHome to about 18,000 people, Harwich, which has a major international port, sits across the water from Felixstowe, in Suffolk, which is one of Europe's largest container terminals
image captionHarwich Sailing Club was closed on Tuesday morning. The windows reflected a view of the Felixstowe docks
image captionIn the 1980s, Dovercourt was made famous when the BBC sitcom Hi-de-Hi! was filmed there. On Tuesday much of the town's High Street was closed as it entered the third national lockdown
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image captionThose who were out and about on the High Street in Dovercourt - which is home to nearly 16,000 people - were either shopping for food or visiting pharmacies
image captionIt was a similar story at the Dovercourt's railway station, where a lone taxi waited for custom
image captionDown at Dovercourt Beach, the amusement arcade was closed and boarded up
image captionHaving expected to reopen this week, Harwich Primary School learned on Sunday afternoon it would be closed by Essex County Council prior to the government's announcement of the third national lockdown
image captionThe all-weather pitch behind Dovercourt's leisure centre was empty but for a lone caretaker
image captionWhile adding a little colour to a wet winter's day, Dovercourt's popular beach huts were all locked up
image captionAlthough staff were at work inside the Dovercourt Bay Lifestyles leisure centre, it remains closed to the public
image captionBut for a couple of women enjoying an outdoor coffee nearby, the town's Ha'penny Pier - one of the country's only surviving wooden piers- stood empty
image captionRecognised for its high quality beach, Dovercourt holds the coveted Blue Flag status. But on the first day of lockdown, it lay almost empty but for the occasional dog walker