THE ship met up with its fellow task group ships in Plymouth - we will be working with units from the Estonian, German, Belgian, Dutch, Italian, French, and Norwegian navies during our four months away.

We then sailed to Lisbon, Portugal, across a very rough Bay of Biscay. On the way, we conducted manoeuvres and Replenishments-At-Sea with the other ships, familiarising ourselves with the way other navies' work.

We then had a weekend stop in Lisbon, with a bit of time for sport against the other ships and sightseeing in the city.

From Lisbon we sailed into the Med through the Straits of Gibraltar, with guns at the ready to face any threat coming from the nearby shores. The next day, we conducted a full gunnery exercise with our counterpart ships.

Ledbury is by far the most well-armed ship here with our 30mm cannon, six-barrelled MiniGuns, and General Purpose Machine Guns.

We then arrived in Palma, Mallorca, for a short stop. In Palma, we said goodbye to our Captain of two years, Lt Cdr Paul Russell; and then said hello to our aptly-named new Captain, Lt Cdr Chris Nelson RN.

Lt Cdr Nelson, who lives in Plymouth but is originally from Coventry, joins Ledbury after being the navigating Officer of the assault ship HMS Bulwark.

We then sailed from Mallorca and headed towards northern Italy, passing Corsica on the way. On passage this time, we conducted Search and Rescue exercises and maritime security sweeps, always on the look out for suspicious vessels involved in smuggling.

After a short fuel-stop in the Italian naval base at La Spezia, the ship is now at sea in coastal waters practising our primary role of minehunting in special-purpose exercise areas. The ship's Mine Clearance Diving team is also in action, diving on dummy mines laid on the sea bed.

Ledbury will remain in the Med well into the Autumn, on exercise and patrol tasks with our NATO allies.

The chip will return home in time for Christmas, and many members of the ship's company are looking forward to Herefordshire to renew our strong links with Ledbury town.

The Captain, Lt Cdr Nelson, said, "I am delighted to take command of HMS Ledbury as we begin our deployment to the Mediterranean. The ship has a cracking reputation and it is brilliant to be out here seeing the ship and her people do their business so well."