One of the best things about travelling is seeing how others live and I always love it when I come across people with alternative lifestyles.

We spent the weekend in Sussex, taking in some of the sights and sounds of Brighton Festival and Fringe. But we also took some time out to enjoy a walk in Shoreham, a seaside town sandwiched between Brighton and Worthing.

During our visit my friend was particularly keen to show us the Shoreham Houseboats, a collection of barges, tugs and sailing vessles, many of them ex-military.

The popularity of houseboats came about after the end of the war in 1945, when many towns sufferred from a shortage of housing. One of the solutions was to take the redundant petrol-powered vessels which had been used during the fighting and to turn them into homes.

The collection of houseboats at Shoreham is one of the largest and most varied collections in the UK.

Every boat is totally unique and they are so colourful and playful. The fun was trying to spot all of the different elements each boat was made up of:

Spot the bus?

Or the car?