Colchester Hotels | Holidays | Breaks

Stride out of your Colchester hotel to step on Roman foundations, past Elizabethan and Georgian townhouses and Victorian parks.

Historic Colchester

Explore the history of Britain’s oldest recorded town in Castle Park. Here, Victorian manicured gardens surround a Norman castle built on Roman foundations. South of town, the pinnacle-designed St John’s Abbey Gate was built to contain revolting peasants in the rebellious 15th century. Stained-glass windows tell Colchester’s story at the Baroque Town Hall.

Art and museums in Colchester

Leave your Colchester hotel and check your watch against the antique timepieces in the Elizabethan Tymperleys Clock Museum. The story of the Roman defeat at the hands of fiery redhead Boudicca, the first real Essex girl, is told at the Castle Museum. Blue tits and Brent geese flap in the old church grounds at the Natural History Museum.

Quirky things to do in Colchester

Giggle through wildflower meadows after tasting the Essex-fermented red and white at Carter’s Vineyard, north of your Colchester Hotel. Jedi knights catch up with Chewbacca and R2D2 at the Stars Wars toy collection at Hollytrees Museum.

Events in Colchester

Gulp Essex-dredged shellfish in October at the Town Hall at the Colchester Oyster Feast. Chocolate fountains flow in Castle Park in June at the Colchester Food and Drink Festival. Join the mini Mardi Gras in September when majorettes lead floats at the Colchester Carnival.

See all Colchester Hotels

BEST WESTERN The Rose & Crown Hotel,
Colchester

BEST WESTERN Marks Tey Hotel,
Colchester

BEST WESTERN Gatehouse Hotel,
Ipswich

BEST WESTERN Claydon Country House Hotel,
Ipswich

BEST WESTERN Atlantic Hotel,
Chelmsford

BEST WESTERN Ivy Hill Hotel,
Chelmsford

BEST WESTERN Ufford Park Hotel, Golf & Spa,
Ipswich

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The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Opening times:
Feb-Oct 10am-6pm (or dusk if earlier)
Nov & Dec 10am-4pm (some exhibits close early) Feb - Dec 2012 (annual)

West Ham United FC 2010/11

Opening times:
21 Aug 2010 - 22 May 2011 (annual)

Tottenham Hotspur FC 2011/12

Opening times:
Aug 2011 - Jun 2012 (annual)

Eagle Heights Birds of Prey Centre

Opening times:
Mar-Oct: daily 10.30am-5pm
Nov, Jan & Feb: Sat & Sun 11am-4pm Jan - Nov 2012 (annual)

Arsenal FC 2011/12

Opening times:
Aug 2011 - May 2012 (annual)

What's on in Colchester:

Cambridge Science Festival

Dates Open:
12/03/2012 to 25/03/2012

ISS Canary Wharf Squash Classic

Dates Open:
21/03/2012 to 25/03/2012

Designer Warehouse Womenswear Sale

Dates Open:
16/09/2012 to 18/09/2012
15/06/2012 to 17/06/2012
14/09/2012 to 16/09/2012
23/03/2012 to 25/03/2012
03/02/2013 to 05/02/2013
02/12/2012 to 04/12/2012