I am pretty sure many individuals who live in the UK must have heard about Colchester, which holds claim to be the oldest recorded town in Britain. I had previously studied there for my Masters degree at the University of Essex for about a year. Many fond memories to reminisce over … So when my friend from Colchester invited me to go up there for a visit, I happily agreed!
The town of Colchester is in the East of England located within the county of Essex. It can be easily reached from London in under an hour by train from Liverpool Street Station or by taking the A12 if driving.
Colchester is relatively small in size however has all the charms you could ever want. Its main landmarks are within easy walking distance from each other, which is very convenient. This revisit after all these years reminded me of the countless great times I had here in the past.
Colchester High Street
Strolling through the high street, I was most impressed by the broad range of independent shops. Nice and different enough so you don’t feel like you are in the usual generic habitat of other town's elsewhere. My friend and I were perusing through a maze of narrow side streets and enjoying checking out the latest fashion trends. Colchester certainly does offer a fantastic shopping experience.
Then out of the blue, I was shocked to see a two meter tall figure of an asian woman walking along one of the streets outside a Fenwicks department store! I soon realised it was actually a statue! My friend told me that this bronze sculpture was designed by Sean Henry. Apparently, it is based on a real person though they wanted to remain anonymous. Apparently, the message behind it sets out to celebrate the unity of humanity!
Looking at the “Walking Woman” more closely, she was dressed in black and confidently striding forwards. Appearing to have a very clear direction in mind! I can see the connection between the overriding message and the artwork very clearly now. It is an absolutely brilliant piece of artwork which added to the colour and vibrant nature of the high street. What a welcome addition to Colchester town centre!
Historical Town
As I mentioned, Colchester has some unique historical attractions scattered throughout the main town centre.
My friend stopped in front of one building in particular, turned to me and asked: “Do you know the ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’ song?” “Of course!” I replied without hesitation as this is probably the best known nursery rhyme in the world! My friend pointed toward the top of the building and told me that the writer Jane Taylor wrote the original version whilst living high up in a loft space up there.
I was really pleased at this new and interesting little fact! After all, we can all recollect singing that song during the early years of our childhood. How very special and sweet!
Colchester is proud of it's cultural heritage. Almost at every turn or corner, you see houses and churches that were well kept but build a few hundred years ago. Simply loved it!
The Colchester Castle Museum
Continuing our enjoyable adventure, we arrived at the famous Colchester Castle. The castle is conveniently located near the town centre within a massive park.
The history of this "Norman" castle can be traced back to the first century AD and is not only the largest castle built in the UK but also in Europe!
Though as I had already taken part in it a couple of years ago, we opted not to go this time. As far as I can recall, you can learn about olden days of Colchester in the museum, how it was ruled during the Roman Empire's reign and how it all fell at a later date. You can also admire people's outfits from the mid-century, such as their "Roman armour. Up on the roof, there is a spectacular view of Colchester. And finally, there are also many interactive activities on-site, providing the perfect learning opportunity for kids. And adult alike!
The Castle Park
Soon after, I went with my friend and her cute little dog to their beautiful local park. The landscape was amazing, definitely not something that you would find in most London parks. The view is really wonderful and I can just imagine how gorgeous the flowers and trees must look here in the spring time.
居住在英国的人应该都熟悉科尔切斯特镇吧，据说它是英国历史最悠久的城镇。 我以前曾在那里的埃塞克斯大学攻读了一年的硕士学位，留下了 许多美好的回忆。所以当科尔切斯特的朋友邀请我去她那里玩时，我高兴地满口答应了！
科尔切斯特镇位于英格兰东部的埃塞克斯郡内。 从伦敦的利物浦街车站坐火车直达科尔切斯特镇，仅需要一个小时。如果开车的话，走A12高速公路也很方便。
科尔切斯特镇并不大，但很迷人。所有的旅游景点都可以步行到达，非常方便。这么多年以后再回来，让我想起了很多在这里度过的美好时光！
科尔切斯特主街
在镇中心的主街上漫步，淋漓满目的独立商铺很有特色，感觉与其它地方很不一样。我和朋友穿梭在历史小巷里，细细品味着最新的时尚潮流。如果你和我一样喜欢购物，一定也会喜欢这里的，呵呵。
突然间，我惊讶地看到一名亚裔女子在Fenwicks百货公司外面的一条街上走过，她超高的身影很引人注目！但我很快意识到这实际上是一个两米高的雕像！朋友告诉我这个青铜雕塑是由肖恩•亨利设计的。雕像是以真人为模特，这背后的信息是庆祝世界各国人们的统一！
我仔细地观察这位“正在走路的女人”。她穿着黑色服饰，自信地往前走，似乎有一个非常明确的方向！这真是一件很不错的艺术品，增添了科尔切斯特主街的色彩和活力。
历史古镇
正如我前面所说，科尔切斯特的历史景点都在市镇中心附近。朋友突然在一幢建筑物前停了下来，转身问我：“你知道'Twinkle，Twinkle，Little Star'这首歌吗？”我说当然啦，因为这可是世界上最知名的童谣之一哦！ 朋友指着眼前建筑物的阁楼，告诉我写这首歌曲的作家简•泰勒以前就住那儿！
我好兴奋哦， 相信大家都可以回想起我们小时候唱过这首歌吧！想象一下简•泰勒当时在阁楼创作这首歌的时候，会是怎样一个温馨的画面！
科尔切斯特镇的历史文化遗产数不胜数，我 几乎在每一个转角处，都能看到数百年前建造的房屋和教堂，让我印象尤为深刻！
城堡博物馆
不知不觉地我们来到了著名的科尔切斯特城堡。它位于镇中心的一个大型公园里。
这座诺曼式的城堡的历史可以追朔到公元一世纪，是英国历史上修建的最大城堡，也是欧洲保存至今最大的城堡。
由于几年前我已经去过了，所以这次我们就没有进城堡。在这个城堡博物馆里，你可以了解到科尔切斯特镇的起起落落，它如何在罗马统治时期的强大以及后来又是如何衰落。你还可以在两层的博物馆里欣赏中世纪的服饰，罗马盔甲和陶瓷工艺品等。博物馆里还有不少与小孩子们互动的节目，给他们提供了很好的学习机会。在顶层，你还可以欣赏到整个科尔切斯特镇的美丽景色，很值得参观！
城堡公园
我和朋友随后在公园里闲逛顺带遛狗，呵呵。城堡公园的风景如画，视野辽阔，让人心旷神怡。这里地域之广是伦敦大都市公园不能媲美的。如果在春夏花开季节的时候过来，这里应该会更美！
（未完待续）
Hello. It is great. Thanks for your sharing.
really nice photos and stories
thank you for sharing
I really want to visit Cholchester
My pleasure. Thank you so much for visiting my blog @slowwalker!!
Hi @rea , Merry Christmas to you and your family
Thank you @ace108!
You're welcome
Thanks for sharing very nice photos. It's like you took us to a tour of the town. It seems to be a very quiet and peaceful place.
Indeed Colchester is a peaceful old town. Thank you @hiroyamagishi.
Congratulations @rea, this post is the sixth most rewarded post (based on pending payouts) in the last 12 hours written by a Superhero or Legend account holder (accounts hold greater than 100 Mega Vests). The total number of posts by Superhero and Legend account holders during this period was 33 and the total pending payments to posts in these categories was $2858.55. To see the full list of highest paid posts across all accounts categories, click here.
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Lovely place, thanks for sharing :)
Nice shot. Will follow you. Maybe wanna take a look at my blog. Made some nice pictures I think
Hy pretty ..
Welcome to new year
Pretty good
the views are amazing pretty I love it
because I am happy with the beautiful scenery-beautiful thanks @rea
Thank you.
It's been many years since I visited Colchester and I don't have any photos of it surviving, unfortunately. Thank you for a beautiful piece. If you don't mind, please check out my new blog with my own images that I am featuring.
wow they look stunning i love these old structures , when i went to england i saw some of the structures similar to those !! what a rich history they have :)
I cannot agree more @jessicahart.
England has so many of these towns!! I visits a few on my last trip, clearly need to re-visit :)
Yes, lol.
You can really feel how culturally rich this place is ! Wow that statue is super cool 😎 if that was me, I would’ve taken hundreds of pictures with it haha
I won't be surprised, lol.
Really nice bro it attracts me because I also do photography post @rea
Very beautiful, the old castles are my favorites!
very charming such palaces have a mesmerizing attraction
Love the Pictures, Looks Like an Amazing Place... Id Like to Visit Soon!!
And you won't regret it. :)
Every thing looks old, even the trees, and I believe the building is still very strong. How old do you think the structure is by now. Thanks for sharing.
好想去逛逛啊
期待下集
过来英国的话， O哥你可能要请假一个月哦， 因为太多好玩的地方了， 呵呵!不
Happy Christmas to all of you
Thank you.
Great post @rea
Merry Christmas!
. Kindly check out my Christmas post too. It would be great to hear you say something about it and even upvote it https://steemit.com/minnowsupport/@basonrich/seven-keys-to-having-a-magical-christmas-ever-20171225t43634139z
And
https://steemit.com/christmas/@basonrich/reach-out-now-now-is-the-time-20171224t223616623z
Thank you for bringing me with you through your photos. You're great photographer @rea !
Hi @leahlei, thank you for the nice comment. :)
最后那张鸭子旁边是鸳鸯吗？好漂亮！
好像是吧， 呵呵。
Yay Colchester! It's a walk-in history museum. Roman walls, a Norman castle, a Saxon church, a siege during the civil war, a priory dissolved by Henry VIII, a Dutch textiles quarter, a Victorian water tower that looks like an elephant. They found a Roman hippodrome recently up by the barracks, although there's nothing really to see. It's the history of England in miniature.
An city like Colchester is always filled with fresh air, making it stand out from the crowd. I hope we all can preserve historical buildings carefully so that our next generation could be able to see as well.
Great article!!! Places like colchester are the reasons the UK is on my list of places to travel
Dear @rea,
Merry Christmas,
i love your pictures
i just following you
i also have my travel here Philippines
please check this out https://steemit.com/travel/@sorenkierkegaard/my-church-travel-to-south-cebu-oslob-philippines
You left out the dumpy parts, the drunk chavs, and the ridiculous amount roundabouts.
It's a dive lol.
Loved the story and the photos, my daughter lived in Liverpool for a while.
@rea merry christmas wish u all the best, and happy new year have fun for everything u did
Great post on Colchester I went there a few years ago now for some work didn't realise this is where you studied also wanted to say Merry Christmas @rea
Nice post :)
I grew up spending my summers in Colchester. I loved your article! I hope you were able to get some pictures of the ancient roman wall while you were there as well. Resteemed to my 5000 followers!
Great post, you seem like a creative. I also happen to have similar interests and post photo journals. If you wanna see other great photography work, check out my posts at @itsadel. Excited to see what else you have to contribute to the platform. Steem On !!
Though i have never been there, i feel like i just had a tour .....nice writing
Sooo... this is what looks like the modern Camulodunum burned to the ground by Queen Boudicca (see my article https://mspsteem.com/history/@herverisson/enemies-of-rome-7-3-boudicca-hares-and-foxes-vs-dogs-and-wolves) ! Thanks for the tour! Interesting!
Wow that is really great coverage with pictures of historically important place @rea.
Followed, resteemed and upvoted✌.
Do check my post about my village farm https://steemit.com/photography/@shivgre/my-village-farm
Hey @rea .Belated merry Christmas...its great to hear about Colchester...hope you stay happy..
I' always a big fan of smaller towns, they are so peaceful and full of interesting stories
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