Colchester Castle

Colchester Castle

We visited Colchester Castle.  Not knowing Colchester very well, we parked in the Britannia Car Park, about 10 minutes away.  I still don't know if there is a nearer, cheaper Car Park.

It doesn't look like a traditional castle, but it is one of the most important monuments in our history.  Originally built by the Romans as a tribute to Claudius, the remains were used to build a Norman castle after 1066.  We had a guided tour that took us into the foundations, but couldn't allow us on the roof as there are repairs in progress.  The 2000-year-old Roman concrete is as good today as it was 2000 years ago. 

The castle was later used as a prison for the witch trials, where girls as young as 15 were tortured and put to death as witches. 

After our guided tour, we had lunch at "Cod of the Castle", just outside the gates. The food was very good.

Then we went back inside for a better look around. There are Roman displays, Norman displays and the prison has a video imagining the witch trials, which is powerful.

The Colchester Sphinx caught my eye. 

Once we had finished in the castle, we walked around the grounds, found ice cream, and on down to the river, where there were a lot of swans (10+).

Soon it was time to return to the car, our 5 hours were up.

There are some lovely roses in the rose gardens surrounding the castle, and in the park.  These two caught my eye, because of the colours and the petal shapes.
 

A lovely day out. 

The Longest Summer Holiday Ever? 3:Coming out of lock down: Colchester Zoo

It has been quite a while since we visited Colchester Zoo.  Yesterday's visit was via an invitation, and I suspect we were there as a 'trial run' for the real opening, which would have happened today.  Much has changed, admission is by booking only, there is a queueing system, carefully marked out in 2 meter spaces, and there is a one way system around the zoo.  Some of the toilets, many of the food outlets and the children's play area are closed.  The train is not open yet.

The new system worked quite smoothly.  Most people are still careful about 'social distancing'.  The paths are marked with arrows, paw prints and spots to mark queueing positions, in some places they could have been clearer, but mostly they were very obvious, and easier to spot when looking for them.  There is even a queueing system for getting out.  There are extra staff about too.  Some visitors, but by no means all, are wearing face masks.  All the staff are.

The smaller numbers meant that the zoo has a less congested feel, indeed there were places where it felt very strange as we could not see another person on the path ahead or behind us.  Occasionally there was a bit of a wait to see the animals, the viewing areas are also marked out to help people keep their distance, when the visitors in front go, move into the space.

We took lots of photos, and I made a short video of some of the animals:

Happy Jedi Day

OK, got that out of my system. Listen for the groans of the children! Yesterday, being the first Sunday of the month, it was the day of the church walk. This is the first one in which Jo and I have been able to participate. The instructions were to meet at the Colchester war memorial at 14:15. I set the Sat-Nav and away we went. At some point on the journey Jo woke up and asked "Why are we going this way". I indicated the sat-nav, she shrugged, and went back to sleep. We seemed to go past Colchester. I eventually gave up and followed the road signs. We parked the car and arrived at the war memorial at 14:16. The centurion and his wife had not yet arrived, so we were not late. When they did arrive they caused quite a sensation. As we were lead around Colchester we got to see some of the Roman remains that are not normally visible, and we heard about the life of a centurion (retired) and the lives of his subjects. "What have the Romans ever done for us?" - Monty Python as usual has the answer. There was evidence of most of the civilising things the Romans did in the talks at various points around Colchester. The total walk was around 105 minutes, and well worth the small fee that was required. We learnt that dormouse was a delicacy and that their skulls could be crushed and used as toothpaste. A centurion was in charge of eighty men and a legion had about 5000 men. Centurions had wives, but lower rank roman soldiers were not allowed, and if married their marriages were annulled. Colchester was the first capital of Roman Britain, and was always an important city. We learned of Bodecia (or Boudicca as she is now known) and her sacking of Colchester. There was some discussion about where she may be buried. Kings Cross station seemed to be a favourite. That was all history by the time our centurion arrived in 65AD. As a retired soldier his job was to teach the natives about the roman way of life. The Britain's were living in mud huts before the Romans arrived, so stone buildings must have been quite a revelation. Today's Britain's are of course descended from the Romans and many of the invaders and migrants that followed. A very good event, most of the walks are just walks so we chose a good one to start with. On the way back the sat-nav gave me two choices for 'High Street', instead of the one I got in Billericay. May the fourth be with you!