A must for anyone visiting or living in Colchester has to be a visit to the Castle Museum – one of the jewels in Colchester’s crown - but to really make your visit complete, do join a Castle Tour led by one of our experienced Guides, and gain exclusive access to areas that are not otherwise open to visitors.
You will go down into the Roman Temple vaults which lie underneath the Castle where you will step back 2,000 years to admire the Roman engineering skills and discover what the builders had for lunch! Enter the tunnel dug in 1683 by a Mr Wheeley seeking Roman gold and see how the vaults were used as an air raid shelter in WWII.
Next climb up the Norman stairway leading to the roof where you can see the Norman Chapel (but is it the chapel?) and the tree planted to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo – and from here you will enjoy a magnificent panorama of Colchester. You cannot get a better view from here of landmarks including the Town Hall, ‘Jumbo’, a magnificent Victorian water tower and Lion Walk church spire, which fell down in the ‘Great Colchester Earthquake’ of 1884!
TOURS daily 12.00, 1.00, 2.00 and 3.00. The tour lasts about 45 minutes. For more info visit Colchester Museums website
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Latest exhibition in the Castle is : ‘Starting From Scratch’ by Brian Graham. His paintings draw inspiration from of some of the earliest finds of human occupation in East Anglia. Runs to 29th April – free with museum entrance fee
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PS Don’t forget Treasures Of China 30 June to 6th January 2013 A new and prestigious exhibition of over 7o stunning treasures from China and not to be missed
