Colchester Castle

Thursday, August 13, 2009 – Today we decide to take the bus to Colchester, because there is a train strike today in East Anglia. The trip takes us through many villages, and I am able to show Ed all of my old haunts. The bus travels past the house where I lived, along with grocery stores, banks, pubs, and Rickstones School where I used to work. We were enjoying the ride when the bus broke down halfway through our trip in Witham where I used to work. The stop over enabled me to shop in my old favorite stores and charity shops (bought a lovely linen skirt for 2 pounds!) and live my “Deja-vu” experience. A new bus picked us up, and 3 ½ hours later we arrived at Colchester!

Colchester was the effective capital of south-east England when the Romans invaded in AD 45 and established the first permanent Roman colony. You can still see the Roman walls and surviving town gate – the largest in Britain. During the Middle Ages, Colchester developed into an important weaving and clock making centre. You can still see the original tall houses and steep narrow streets from the Flemish weavers who settled here in the 16th century. Colchester was besieged for 11 weeks during the English Civil War, before being captured by Cromwell’s troops. We quickly dine at a French café along the main street, and walk to the Colchester Castle Museum. This castle is the oldest and largest Norman keep still standing in England. It was built in 1076 on the platform of a Roman temple dedicated to Claudius, using stones and tiles from other Roman buildings. We strolled through the well tended and colorful manicured gardens spanning acres of green pastures, flowers and a pond behind the castle. Our bus trip home was much faster – and we were soon relaxing in Lyn and Steve’s back garden with a cold beverage.