I saw this piece in the Observer newspaper the other day about how Sassenach sailors are flooding north and snapping up bargain prices to berth their boats at Scottish marinas. (Not pictured here, BTW, guess where this is?)

I had to laugh at that. Bargains, indeed! Fleeing from royal rip-offs everywhere else is what they should have said.

Scottish marinas are not what you’d call cheap, only cheaper. Even if you go as far as Kerrera, near Oban, you’ll still be paying £2,600 a year to berth a 35-footer, despite your boat lying a two-hour drive and a ferry ride away from Glasgow airport.

The real story is that costs on the south coast have been cranked up to eye-wateringly expensive rates – the same 35-footer would cost you between £4,000 and £5,500 a year to park – and that bargains are now to be found nowhere. The Scottish marinas are evidence of this.

No, the best value is still in sunny, midge-free France. Same boat berthed in St Malo (yep, that’s it above), right next to the ferry? A snip at £1,200 a year. Stunning cruising all around, too.