Air date: October 9th, 1998 (UK)
The Hatts are going on holiday, but when they exit Annie and Clarabel at Tidmouth Hault, Lady Hatt calls them "beach huts". Thomas is offended, but his driver assures him that they will not be turned into beach huts, but they could be improved. The next day, Percy takes their family to Dryaw Airfield, for them to board Harold.
The flight is delayed by a low-flying bi-plane, Tiger Moth, but they get there, and holiday for several days, before Harold comes with bad news: Tiger Moth has gone missing. The Fat Controller joins the search and in the end they find it crashed in a haystack. The Fat Controller continues his holiday, boating on a canal. Unluckily, they become bogged down in mud and Percy has to help them back to Tidmouth Hault, where Annie and Clarabel, bearing fresh new paint, are waiting for them.
Lady Hatt comments that the coaches look "much more suitable than those old beach huts on wheels"; no one says a word. That night Thomas tells Annie and Clarabel that, no matter what they look like, they will always be really useful.
Tropes featured in the episode:
- Bad Mood as an Excuse: Lady Hatt felt hot and tired and took out her troubles on Annie and Clarabel.
- Bait-and-Switch: Sir Topham and Lady Hatt's boat gets stuck on a mud bank and Percy comes to their rescue. The next shot is of Sir Topham and Lady Hatt on the boat as it moves again, with the former saying, "This is the life, isn't it, my dear?" The camera then zooms out, revealing the boat to be on a flatbed that Percy is pushing.
- Butt-Monkey: Sir Topham Hatt and his family, who get into more than a few jams in this episode, including almost getting hit by a low-flying Tiger Moth and getting their boat stuck on a mudbank.
- Comically Missing the Point: Lady Hatt criticizes Annie and Clarabel for being old and dirty, and thinks they should be used as "beach huts". After seeing Annie and Clarabel repainted, she comments that they're more suitable than the "beach huts on wheels", still oblivious that they're the same coaches she criticized earlier.
- A Day in the Limelight: The Fat Controller gets another spotlight-centered episode.
- Lower-Deck Episode: This episode focuses more on the humans of Sodor, with the engines having notably less screen than normal.
- Tranquil Fury: Thomas, Annie and Clarabel barely raise their voices when Lady Hatt calls the coaches "beach huts on wheels".
