I’ve been living in London for over 20 years now, and so the month of May with its two Bank Holiday weekends is a bit of a treat. We often have a dilemma about what to do for the long weekends, as good weather is never a guarantee.
This past weekend, though, my brother-in-law was visiting
from Italy and wanted to go to Colchester to see some of his friends. Taking him there was the perfect excuse for
us to take a day trip via the Essex coast.
Leading up to Sunday, all eyes were on the weather forecast, and
fortunately, it turned out to be a stunning day!
Initially we had to cross London from west to east,
providing a tour of all the famous London sites en route. Eventually we made it to the A12, the motorway
leading to Essex. Our first stop was
Maldon. Maldon is a small town on the
coast, most famous for producing Maldon Sea Salt. On the day we were there, there was also the
Maldon Mud Race (http://www.maldonmudrace.com),
a race for charity through the local mud flats!
From Maldon we carried on to Tiptree. Tiptree is famous for Wilkins & Sons Ltd
(http://www.tiptree.com), the company
renowned for jams, marmalades and other products made from fruit and vegetables
grown on the Tiptree farms. For over 300 years this family run company has been
producing delicious condiments, and there is a small museum on-site with relics
from its long history. There is also a
tea room and a shop where you can stock up on the more unusual products that
aren’t available in your local grocery store.
We then made our way down to West Mersea, technically an
island (when the tide is high) on the Essex Coast. Our destination was the West Mersea Oyster
Bar (http://www.westmerseaoysterbar.co.uk/).
This very simple ‘fish & chips’ restaurant on the water, with views
of the creeks of Mersea, was absolutely heaving with people on what was
proclaimed to be ‘the hottest day of the year so far’. We managed to find a table outside, ordered
our food, and then sat in bliss admiring the scenery, watching the people and
soaking up the sunshine. When the food
arrived, we were left in awe. My husband
had oysters, which he claimed tasted like the sea. The kids had fish and chips, which were
amazing, and the portions enormous. We also had prawns, scallops and lobster which
were very delicately cooked and absolutely delicious. This place is a gem!
After filling our bellies, we proceeded to our final
destination: Colchester, Britain’s
oldest recorded town. There is a 2,000
year old castle (although currently closed for renovations) with beautiful
grounds and parklands, as well as many other cultural activities (http://www.visitcolchester.com). Unfortunately we arrived too late in the day
and most places were closed, so we could only view the town by walking around.
After a full day of touring we made our way back home,
completely satisfied with seeing a part of England that we hadn’t previously
visited, and with the added bonus of glorious weather!
By Eva Stock
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