Colchester Tour
We had a rare sunny day today, so I thought I'd get some pictures of Colchester to show you where we've been living and some of the town's highlights. It's been a while since we've published any pictures, or even taken any for that matter. You can also get lots of information (and perhaps even follow the tour below) at the Visit Colchester site.
This room has been our home for the last few weeks and through the next week. It's nice to have such an ordered room, but we'll really enjoy having our own separate bedrooms soon. Guess we'll also have to adjust to making our own breakfast and changing our own towels and sheets ...
Our room is just a few minutes' walk to the town centre; here are some sights along one of the ways there.
This is a view across the A134 to the Balkerne Gate, archways cut into the Roman wall that used to surround the city. Much of the wall is still standing; it's at least a thousand years old. Behind is a tower that's an iconic part of Colchester.
This view down the A134 gives an idea of the size of the town.
Colchester Park is 32 acres right below the town centre. The Roman wall and the River Colne run through it; you can also see a small pond and boats on the left. On the horizon on the right you can see farmland beyond the edge of town.
This is Colchester Castle, the oldest of its kind in England. Colchester is also the oldest occupied city in England. The castle is part of the park.
Here's the High Street. It borders the large square of shopping streets that comprise the town centre.
And this is one of the shopping streets. This is a common pattern in English towns. In this case, imagine about 64 square city blocks (8 blocks to a side). Take out parts of the streets so that you don't have direct through traffic. Narrow the streets to one lane and pave them with bricks or stones. Then line them with hundreds of unique shops, restaurants, and pubs. Yes, hundreds, more than several malls' worth, enough to take weeks to find them all. Several shops are department stores and there are many chains, but there are also many unique, locally-owned shops. On the edges, add multi-storey parking garages. I really like it.
This is the largest of the squares inside the town centre. There are a few more. I'd call it a public square, but that's redundant as the whole town centre is public. This is a favourite spot for me as there's a Costas coffee shop/cafe (on the left) and a Virgin Megastore (on the right).
Sarah and I visit this area daily because the library and the park are all right here. We're also spoiled because our room is such a short walk away; in Ipswich we'll be at least a mile away from the town centre.
Once we settle in Ipswich, I'll take more photos and give you a tour there.
This room has been our home for the last few weeks and through the next week. It's nice to have such an ordered room, but we'll really enjoy having our own separate bedrooms soon. Guess we'll also have to adjust to making our own breakfast and changing our own towels and sheets ...
Our room is just a few minutes' walk to the town centre; here are some sights along one of the ways there.
This is a view across the A134 to the Balkerne Gate, archways cut into the Roman wall that used to surround the city. Much of the wall is still standing; it's at least a thousand years old. Behind is a tower that's an iconic part of Colchester.
This view down the A134 gives an idea of the size of the town.
Colchester Park is 32 acres right below the town centre. The Roman wall and the River Colne run through it; you can also see a small pond and boats on the left. On the horizon on the right you can see farmland beyond the edge of town.
This is Colchester Castle, the oldest of its kind in England. Colchester is also the oldest occupied city in England. The castle is part of the park.
Here's the High Street. It borders the large square of shopping streets that comprise the town centre.
And this is one of the shopping streets. This is a common pattern in English towns. In this case, imagine about 64 square city blocks (8 blocks to a side). Take out parts of the streets so that you don't have direct through traffic. Narrow the streets to one lane and pave them with bricks or stones. Then line them with hundreds of unique shops, restaurants, and pubs. Yes, hundreds, more than several malls' worth, enough to take weeks to find them all. Several shops are department stores and there are many chains, but there are also many unique, locally-owned shops. On the edges, add multi-storey parking garages. I really like it.
This is the largest of the squares inside the town centre. There are a few more. I'd call it a public square, but that's redundant as the whole town centre is public. This is a favourite spot for me as there's a Costas coffee shop/cafe (on the left) and a Virgin Megastore (on the right).
Sarah and I visit this area daily because the library and the park are all right here. We're also spoiled because our room is such a short walk away; in Ipswich we'll be at least a mile away from the town centre.
Once we settle in Ipswich, I'll take more photos and give you a tour there.
posted by Michael Nelson at 11:24 am
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