Tollesbury, Colchester and Summary

26th August – Friday – Campervan trip to Tollesbury

We are meeting sailing friends, Lynn, Jim, Jo and Ian.  One campervan, One Motorhome meet at Ian and Jo’s boat in Tollesbury Marina, which now has a camp site.  Tollesbury is a village in Essex, at the mouth of the River Blackwater, 12 miles South of Colchester. 

Daisy, new to us this year, the first time we have popped the top and slept in her.

Man cooking.  A 3 Cobb Cooker event.  Outside Jim and Lynn’s luxury vehicle.

Three sailors putting the world to rights over a drink and a warm cooker.

We had a great couple of days with friends and family dropping by.  Finished off with a good meal at the marina Restaurant.

It is very difficult to take a full picture here, the site is spread out and the land is very flat, etched by water channels.

The old sail lofts at Tollesbury which are now businesses and a café.

View over the marina towards Bradwell.

Sailors/Camper Info

The marina office has a small shop for essentials.  There are two cafes and a restaurant and a covered swimming pool on site.

The facilities are modern with a hairdryer.

£34 a night for the camper is about the same as the cost for a boat. 

28th August – Sunday

Bacon butties with Ian and Jo aboard ‘Sun and Air’ before their departure.  It has been lovely to see everyone.  Till next time.

We visited Tiptree Jam Factory (home of Williams and Sons and Thursday Cottage brands) after breakfast.  There is a very tempting shop, a lovely café and museum.

On the way back we went to look at Heybridge Basin and Maldon, but it being a Bank Holiday Sunday it was heaving, and no parking to be found.  Maldon is a beautiful historic old town and worth a return visit.

31st August – Wednesday

We took the van to Orwell Country Park, at the other side of the Orwell Bridge.  There is a good circular walk which takes in the shoreline of the Orwell River.

Orwell Bridge in the background.

The Ancient Oak.

1st September – Thursday – Colchester

A Grand Day Out to Colchester, Britain’s first city and the first capital of Roman Britain.  It is only half and hour from Ipswich.

Colchester Castle is the biggest Norman Keep in Europe. 

We were not expecting the modern steel structure inside the castle which forms the museum, set on two floors, with old prison beneath.   The museum is chocked full of Roman artefacts and modern projected and interactive displays.

The Mercury Bronze approx. 2 feet tall, billed as one of the finest statues in Roman Britain.

The famous Colchester Vase from AD175.

Something I did not expect was such fine glass.

Spooky and down right scary projections in the prison cells.

£11.25 per person.  No café on site, but plenty in town.

We then went to the Georgian Hollytree's Museum nearby.  It houses the tourist info centre, and a clock and toy collection.

High Street.  There are also lots of lanes, buildings from every generation, modern shopping and independent shops and cafes.

Last but not least we went to the Roman Circus Visitor Centre.

Not a circus as we know it, but a Roman Chariot Race arena.  Only discovered in 2014 it is one of 70 across the Roman empire and the only one yet to be found in Britain.

The photo above shows where the circus would have been on todays landscape.

Above is a clever way to explain how big the starting gates for the races would have been.

Enclosed are the trenches dug out by the ‘Time Team’ during their visit.

Above Mick is a representation of the tiered seating to give an idea of proportion.

We were hooked into the Visitor Centre by an eager volunteer, who took £3 each, but gave us an excellent explanation of the site.  Above is a volunteer made model of the arena which was 448m long and could seat 5,000 spectators.  Built after Boudica’s rebellion of 61AD and used for 150 years.

With our heads full of history we found the beautiful Tymperley’s café.  One of many half timber buildings in town. 

What an interesting day.  There are other museums in town too, all free to enter.  It would be easy to spend a few days here.

And that brings our summer tour to a close. 

A surprise 6 week trip to Holland

438 Nautical Miles, 16 Ports visited

Lots of Grand Days Out

Some great weather, hot, hot, hot at times

A Campervan trip

Great meet ups with friends old and new

The good yacht Fleur has done us proud. 

Having the van in Ipswich has widened our area of exploration.

It has been a pretty chilled summer and we have seen some very interesting places.  The south east, Suffolk and Essex have shared some great locations with us and we have had time to explore.

Thanks for reading, we love sharing our travels with you.