YOU will never look at Southend the same way again after a Mystery-on-Sea walking tour.

The 90-minute tour of the Royal Terrace and Clifftown areas of Southend are woven with local history, tales of ghosts, legends and unexplained mysteries. Oh, and a bit magic as well!

Experienced storytellers and magicians, Tracy Wise and Adrian Fox make history burst into technicolor with their tours.

Intriguing facts include thatLord Nelson and Lady Hamilton were once guests at the Royal Hotel. In fact Lady Hamilton held a ball in honour of Nelson before he set off for Trafalgar, and it was the last she saw him (the Halloween event at the Royal Hotel in October will be inspired by this story).

“People sometimes have a poor image of Southend and our walking tour is a way to appreciate its rich and fascinating history,” said Tracy.

“As well as the history there are a surprising amount of ghostly experiences in Southend. In the three years we have been running we have been able to gather lots of stories from people abouttheir own supernatural experiences.”

Adrian is a former radio presenter who worked for Essex Radio, and had a ghostly experience while in the studios there. Tracy had her own supernatural experience ahead of one of her monthly shows at the Royal Hotel where unexplained puddles of water started appearing all over the hall.

“It correlated with an experience in the building next door where there were reports of builders in the eighties having their tools moved around and clearing up water puddles,” explained Tracy.

Tracy is a magician and author who performs monthly atthe Royal Hotel with her shows Crime Scene Illusion and Tales From the Shadows shows, based on the hotel’s history and ghost stories.

Adrian is a former radio DJ and a magician andspeaker. He is also the president of Southend’s local magical society, Southend Sorcerers, where Tracy is also a member. The walking tours are wheelchair-friendly and are suitable for those aged ten years and over.

Dogs are welcome, and groups arekeptto a maximum of 20. The pair are set to launch a tour investigating the historic Shoeburyness Garrison site, with dates to be confirmed. The next show at the Royal Hotel will be the Halloween Special on 27 October.

See www.mysteryonsea.com for details.