Yachtsmen have booked extra berths at St Katharine’s Dock in central London this weekend in the hope of getting a glimpse of the Pope (pictured above arriving in the UK).

The pontiff is due to travel through the capital on Saturday from Horse Guards Road, The Mall and Constitution Hill to Hyde Park Corner and then Hyde Park in his Popemobile for a vigil in Hyde Park that 80,000 people are expected to attend.

Nigel Manning, 34, visiting from Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, said: ‘I’ve made a special pilgramige up the Thames to see the pontiff.

‘For me it’s incredible that I can get so near by water to someone who for me can bring calm after storm.’

Another visiting yachtsman said: ‘I’ve spent my whole sailing life crossing the North Sea, going down channel and I hope to go further afield.

‘Navtex and GPS are great, but when the trouble really begins I always throw up a prayer.’

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