A TOUCH of elegance comes to Felixstowe this summer with the launch of open top buses sweeping along the sea front.From July onwards residents and holidaymakers will be able to catch a bird's eye view of some of the resort's finest attractions.

A TOUCH of elegance comes to Felixstowe this summer with the launch of open top buses sweeping along the sea front.

From July onwards residents and holidaymakers will be able to catch a bird's eye view of some of the resort's finest attractions.

The new service, from Ipswich Buses, follows the successful launch of a sightseeing tour in Ipswich last year.

Included in the must-see list along the six-mile route from Landguard Fort to Felixstowe Ferry are a host of popular and interesting sights.

Languard Fort, built at the request of Henry the Eighth and the only fort in England to have repelled a full scale invasion attempt by the Dutch in on July 2, 1667, will be seen.

There will also be a chance to catch a glimpse of Felixstowe's historic pier before it's too late. The pier has been deemed structurally unsound and its future remains in the balance.

Sightseers can then see the award winning flowers in the Spa Gardens. Last year the town scooped a silver gilt award in the final of the Britain in Bloom competition. The displays regularly take trophies in Anglia in Bloom.

Bus travellers will see the resort's beaches, which have until recently won a Blue Flag award for the south beach and a yellow flag for the Dip.

And if the land born attractions hold few surprises, how about watching Sealands – the former WWII sea-fort, proclaimed a sovereign state by Roy 'Prince' Bates? From the promenade it looks like two oil drums, but from the vantage-point of a double decker, there would be no better place to observe the comings and goings of the self declared state.

Ipswich buses, which will launch the service in conjunction with City Sightseeing, will reveal the timetable closer to the July 27 launch.

Managing Director Malcolm Robson said: "Our company has been pleasantly surprised at the response of the City Sightseeing partnership in Ipswich in 2002. We are looking to expand our Suffolk operations with a new service in Felixstowe for summer 2003."

*SIGHTSEERS have been back on the trial around Ipswich with the return of the Ipswich open top tour bus.

The tour, from Sunday , which includes a spectacular ride over the Orwell Bridge, will depart hourly from Tower Ramparts bus station each day, from 10.45am to 3.45pm.